Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is owned by Nintendo. The following work is not intended to add to, promote or distort this game or it's series. This is a work of fanfiction, and the author does not profit in posting. This is simply a writing exercise written for fun.
Chapter Ten: Minerva
If there was one thing I knew best about myself, it was that Conall and I were the greatest team in our queen mother's armies. We'd practiced so many hours around one another, that our dances had perfected to a degree of prediction few sword masters could muster.
Though we could not see the poe to fight it, we knew striking it with light would rid us of it for a while, and so we'd spent a decent amount of time coating our blades in lamp oil so we could set them ablaze for this moment. The slices we made in the air were precise, finding the invisible figure around the ghastly lantern time and again. With each successful slash at its demon heart, the mocking menace cried out in agony.
His final shrill indicated that we'd been victorious.
Though, by the time we'd realized he'd vanished, the slip of paper he'd trapped us with had already descended to the bottom of the ancient hall, and we were high on the rafters above it. Glancing about, we sought a place to hook our grappling lines and follow it. Fortunately, this old temple was filled with mesh lamps that still appeared stable enough for our purposes. Once we'd decided on our path to the main floor, we tossed our still burning swords into the abyss and followed them to the ground.
Despite the slight burns of the ropes against our hands, the two of us reached the bottom at a reasonable rate, smiling slightly as we did. Taking a deep breath of relief, I walked over to the fallen page and collected it before my eager eyes. Apparently my disappointment was quite visual, as Conall soon approached me in curiosity.
"What's wrong?" he wanted to know, and so I showed him the page. Every third word was missing. He glanced it over and sighed as well, his mind wanting to solve the puzzle, but knowing this one lacked a definite answer without a key. "Damnit." He muttered, turning to the ceiling to decree, "Stupid poe!" Not that it did us any good.
We were several stories underground by now, and nowhere near the solution we sought. "I guess we keep going." I suggested to my ward brother, "Perhaps the words will turn up if we do." To that, he nodded, still frustrated in every move and gesture.
Proceeding around the base of the statue, we sighed and moseyed about, noticing a combination of things we'd never seen before. Though the serpent belonged solely to Din, her sister compatriots were here as well, all in their animal forms of the eel and lizard. Internally, I thanked our queen mother for her scholarly tendencies in our upbringing, reading the ancient language near fluently, even as Conall struggled to keep up with my thoughts as wonder overtook them. Though what struck me was a set of carvings scratched into the base, below the ancient edicts. They appeared very recent and rushed, as though an escaped prisoner had written them.
More ominous was the space below, stained dark as though it were once coated in blood.
"As does the heart have three points" I read aloud, "So too does the passion that burns. Release these flames and find the joined hands of the unrequited." I turned to Conall in confusion, finding his brow equally furrowed.
Using his lantern, he began investigating the room, noticing a single torch at the furthest end. "It's another puzzle." He called out to me as he approached to light it, "There must be two more torches around here." I nodded and began using the lighted torch to my advantage, checking the opposite corners of the room: no torches.
Turning back to him, I frowned and gestured to the doorways to the side, each made of forged metal and likely sealed. Nell matched my expression and pulled a set of picks free of his pocket. I chuckled at the sight of them, stealing them away and reminding him that "I'm the thieving ward, remember?"
He could only grin and shake his head as he stood back. As I worked the lock, making steady progress, Conall commented his own measure of our situation, "Too bad we don't have the strong ward with us. Daru would have looked at the door and laughed." I nodded in agreement, "I love that big guy."
I turned to him with a smirk as the door clicked free, "You love all Gorons, especially when they are celebrating." He shrugged, unable to deny it. Together, we moved into the next room, sensing a strange sensation as the shadows of the ceiling moved about. Though we'd heard legends of these ancient beasts, we never had encountered them before: wallmasters.
With a quick nod, we bolted across the floor, hearing the several monsters on the ceiling descend moments behind us. But we dare not fight them, not without knowing their true numbers. Moments later, we'd found another door, this one unlocked for us, and we dove into the enclosure before the fiends could pluck us from the ground.
Panting, I turned to my ward brother and nodded. "Yeah," I joked, "Daru would have been a nice addition to our team." Nell chuckled at the comment before pulling himself to his feet and offering me his hand to do the same.
Author's Note: I realize this one is very short, but there are longer chapters soon to come. It's rather tough writing two timelines from specific perspectives like this. I hope you are enjoying it. Also, thank you to 'guest' for your comments: I really appreciate your kind words! I was really starting to worry about this story! Thank you to those of you who've liked or followed as well. All of your responses mean a lot to me!
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