OK, so now we've come to restoring Ilia's memory. I still think the whole thing of her losing her memory was useless, just creating more work for us to do. Oh well, I don't discourage the ideas of the writing staff, of course.
But still, a horse whistle? Hello?! We don't even need it! Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of having something close to call Epona, but by now, we're nearly at the end of the game and can warp anywhere we need to. If we'd had it at the beginning, maybe it would've helped? Most especially if you're a beginner?
Nope. Nope. Gotta get it now when we really don't need it.
Like I said before, I'm not a fan of LinkxIlia either, so I know all the fans of it the pair are yelling at the top of their lungs about how awesome this part was. I do like Ilia, although she's not on my top favourites. I know it sounds typical for a LinkxMidna fan to dislike LinkxIlia, but come on. Let's not stereotype, people. We all have our preferences.
Oh! I love the Hidden Village. It's like something out of a western! Totally awesome. I believe it's the original Kakariko Village, yeah?
I love Shad in this part, really. XD It was great to see him all happy and excited! I sure feel bad for him when he has to leave when we find the Sky Cannon. Aww...poor Shad. But he took it pretty well, so that was cool of him.
And a thank-you shout out to Ferngirl! If it hadn't been for her, I never would've gotten some of the dialogues I needed for this story. The moron who made the visual guide skipped A LOT of the game. DX But thanks to her fic, I was able to nab some important lines! Thanks, Ferngirl!
All right, let's move on.
--
When we warped out, we ended up back in the Temple of Time, the entrance to the dungeon. So we exited out the doors we'd come in through, and ended up back outside in the ruins of the place. Back from the past.
Right before us as we came outside was Ooccoo, with her son.
"Well done, adventurer!" She said. "Oocco sees what she was looking for. Goodness yes! It's the Dominion Rod you found in the temple! But that thing has been around for quite some time, I can see from here that its magic has been exhausted. Ooh, what am I to... I thought at last I could return to the sky... And I have completely forgotten the spell that would once again bestow it with magic... It can't be helped, I suppose I'll just have to look for the statues that respond to the rod... It's decided! That's what we'll do! That's what we'll do, indeed! Well, Ooccoo is on her way! See you again!"
Ooccoo and Ooccoo Jr. then hurried off, leaping over the wall. Midna popped out of the shadows and started to go after them.
"Hey! Wait! What did you do the Dominion Rod? ...She's gone." She sighed and came floating back over to me. "I suppose a useless rod is really just more baggage, but...what are you going to do? Hmm... Did she just say something about returning to the sky?"
"She did." I said with a nod. "If what she said was true, then the Dominion Rod is a key to help to get to the sky, and those statues she said that responded to the rod. She must mean those owl statues we saw around Hyrule."
Midna nodded in agreement. "The last piece of the mirror is also said to be in the heavens... If we can restore power to the Dominion Rod, maybe it'll come in handy!"
Hmm...I think I recalled Shad saying he had gone off to Kakariko Village before we left the bar earlier...
Well, I could check on how the kids were doing, and see how Ilia was doing also. So we warped to Kakariko Village.
Malo was still running his little store, and apparently Gor Ebizo and Gor Liggs were helping him out in taking donations should that he could buy out that Overpriced Shop in Castle Town. I didn't have much to lose, so I chipped in some ruppees to help them out.
Talo was on the lookout point high above the village, to keep an eye out for monsters. A Goron was helping him out, keeping watch on a level below him.
Beth was standing near the entrance to the cemetery, and mumbling about how Ralis turned out to be the Prince of the Zoras and missed her chance to go with him. I guess that meant Ralis had returned to Zora's Domain, as he said he would.
So then we went into the Sanctuary. Ilia was there with Renado, and Gor Coron, the Goron Elder I'd sumo wrestled with to get in to the Goron Mines was there also along with Darbus, their patriarch.
Renado saw me come in, and must've been waiting for me. "Ah! I've been waiting for you, Link. Fortune has smiled upon us! If things go well, we should be able to help Ilia recover her memory! Do you know Telma's friend, Shad? Well, it seems he is researching the heavens, and he has come here to see the statue in the basement of the sanctuary."
A way to get Ilia's memory back? That was a relief to know. At least she'd finally be taken care of and I wouldn't have to worry so much of her anymore either.
That owl statue Renado mentioned that Shad was studying in the basement, I remembered seeing it back when we were in the twilight, collecting the tears from the bugs. An owl statue was nudged into a crook in the wall. I was right, we did end up having to deal with it later. It was definitely a statue that responded to the Dominion Rod, but it looked different from the others we'd seen that looked like it.
"And, as I have learned, when Ilia was saved, she overheard someone talking about the rod of the heavens, or something like that..." Renado went on. "The Goron elder believes that to help regain her lost memories, we must piece together the fragments of her past... Which means... If we work our way backward from the very place where she lost her memory, we may find something that will restore it. Now we must retrace Ilia's path... I am certain it was Telma who cared for her before she arrived in this village, was it not? It would be best to speak with her first. Please take this to Telma!"
Renado handed me a letter, inside an envelope. I guessed it explained to Telma what we could do about restoring Ilia's memory. She would definitely know a thing or two.
"...It shames me to say it, but to be honest, I cannot abide Telma's company..." Renado murmured under his breath, his eyes shifting a little. "We have a fighting chance, Link!"
I thanked him for the letter, and turned over to the two Gorons who had been eavesdropping.
"Whether we get that girl's memory back, young warrior," Gor Coron said, "will be up to you." He dropped his voice to a whisper so that Darbus couldn't hear him. "Even our chief, Darbus, has lost the memory of his dark time… We have not told him that you were the one who saved him. He is a proud Goron, and he can be… touchy. If he knew he had been saved by a human… On the other hand, he does have a strong sense of moral duty, so if anything happens, you can count on him to help."
No one told him I saved him? I didn't know what to think about that.
"If there is anything I can do to help, just say so!" Darbus boomed. "It is in times like these that we must come to one another's aid! Not that you could ever do much to help ME my tiny friend! Gah ha ha!"
I just nodded to him and decided to go into the basement. I hid a smile and I knew Midna was thinking it too.
We went into the basement, like we'd done before. Shad was standing near the owl statue and studying some notes from the book he was always holding.
Shad must've heard me come in as he looked up.
"Oh my… Color me surprised… If it isn't Link!"
Color me surprised? Who talks like that?
"What a coincidence, meeting you in a place like this. How very odd. Say, old boy, do you remember what I told you before about the legend of the sky beings known as the Oocca? Yes, well, there's something about it that's been bothering me, so I came here to snoop about. To think that you would appear here with such perfect timing!"
Well, it wasn't exactly perfect timing, but I decided to humour him.
"Here, look at the belly… There's something written there, you see? This, too, was in my father's notes… It is called Sky Writing, I believe. 'Awaken us with the word that breaks the seal.' …Yes, indeed, that is what it says. Wait a moment… Isn't that Ilia a friend of yours? It's simply tragic how she lost her memory. And that rod of the heavens she mentioned… I'm sure it has something to do with the word that breaks the seal. Hmm… Isn't there any way to restore her memory? I'm certain it would help us figure this all out."
If Ilia could help us out in breaking all this code, we had no choice but to restore her memory by now. Despite that, I was hoping to do something about it sooner or later, I'd hate for her to have to practically start her life over because of lost memories.
I told Shad I'd get back to him later on and then we emerged from the basement, out in the graveyard. I met with the White Wolf and learned the Mortal Draw.
We then warped off to Castle Town, on our way in, we were hailed by the Postman, who gave us a couple letters, and then went on his way, while I did the same. We went into town and to Telma's Bar, coming back inside.
"Oh my... If isn't Link!" Telma greeted. "You made it! How've you been, honey?! Mercy, but you have good timing. I was just talking about you! Shad mentioned he was doing research in Kakariko Village. You should go talk to him, honey! Oh... Mercy, how could I forget?! If you're going to Kakariko Village, be sure to give my regards to that adorable shaman, OK, honey?"
"Actually, Renado asked me to give you this." I pulled out the letter and handed it to her.
"Oooh!" Telma giggled, reading over the letter. "Well, if it isn't from Renado, the shaman! All this writing, and he doesn't bother to mention a thing about little ol' me? Honey, that is what I call RUDE! Well, there's no accounting for the foolishness of a man. And at least I understand Ilia's situation now."
"Me too." I admitted. "You cared for her before we brought her and Ralis to Kakariko Village, and Renado figured you could help us out, since we have to build up her past."
"Of course I can lend a hand for that adorable little girl! Hmmm, what else do I know... The first one to bring Ilia to this shop was that doctor... Maybe he knows something, but he's a crusty old bat, that's for sure... Ah! I've got it! Honey, you go and take this to him. This magic little paper will get that codger talking!"
Telma handed me a slip of paper, and I saw that it was an invoice, running the doctor's tab. I glanced at it and saw the astronomical sum. Oh dear.
"It sure would be nice if she started remembering things soon, eh, Link?" Telma remarked.
I nodded in agreement. thanked Telma and we left bar. On the way out, I noticed Louise sitting near the counter. I smiled at her, and she meowed in reply. Then I left the bar, going to the medical clinic nearby.
Entering, the doctor looked at me.
"Eh? What's that?" He said, fixing his glasses. "Just as I wondered who it might be, I see it's the admirable young lad who was willing to help the Zora boy for nary a single rupee... Just what is it you want, lad? A physical? You've got some money, don't you?" He paused. "...By the way, that girl Ilia didn't mention anything about me, did she?"
Typical. I decided to ignore that last comment and get right to the point.
"Actually, Telma asked me to give you this." I held out the invoice to him.
The doctor studied it and did a double take. "AIIIGH! L-Look! I can't pay this off right now! I can see Telma's hired you as some sort of heavy to strong-arm me, but she'll have to wait! Look, lad, if I'd been able to sell the wooden statue that young lady had, I would've been able to get the money... But see, I accidentally spilled medicine all over the little carving, which made it stink awfully. I put it outside to dry...but then... Well, it was stolen. Who goes around stealing stuff like that? What a world! You always have to be on guard, eh? ... ...Uh, look, Mr. Heavy, at any rate, neither the money nor the carving is here, so I can't repay you. Now, to work, to work..." He disappeared into his office area cubicle.
A wooden statue that smelt like medicine, huh? If Ilia had it...then maybe it could be helpful in restoring her memory!
So the medicine spilt on it made it smell, then maybe I could track it down with my wolf senses.
I noticed a crate nearby, and coming from it was the strong, spicy smell of medicine. So I pushed it aside and saw a puddle of green medicine. Eww, it stank. But no worse than the reekfish.
The doctor wouldn't be able to see us, so I transformed into a wolf and Midna plopped onto my back. I sniffed the medicine, making sure to remember the smell. Then we climbed up to the window and jumped out from there. Of course, the townsfolk were terrified to see us, but I ignored them, following the scent of the medicine.
The scent led to...Telma's bar? We went down there, and Louise was outside. Did SHE take it? Went over to her.
"You're looking for the wooden statue that Ilia had, aren't you, dear? Think it's a coincidence that I happen to know it got stolen from the doctor's place? No... Yes, I'll admit it...I took it. But then I was attacked by some sort of skeletal dog beasts who took it from me. I don't know why those beasts were after her statue... I thought it likely that she was in a dangerous spot, though. Those fiends lurk just outside the southern gate... Unfortunately, they only come out at night. ...And another thing... They always move around as a pack. You won't get that statue back unless you give them all a thrashing... That statue sounds like a key to getting Ilia's memory back... You must get it back!"
So is that why she took it? Oh well, it didn't matter. I nodded to her in thanks and then we left the two, going out the south gate. Which was conveniently the gate nearest us.
It was the hour of twilight, so nighttime was coming soon. We had nothing else to do, so I went out onto the grass and waited. Waited. And waited. Before I eventually got bored and just lay there on my stomach. Midna followed my example and sat up against my side.
Once it was nighttime, we got into action as the strange skeletal dogs rose up from the ground, trying to attack us. So with the help of Midna's energy field, we enclosed them within it and attacked them all.
The wooden statue bounced along the ground, and we picked it up. This was definitely it!
With the wooden statue in our arsenal, we then warped to Kakariko Village.
--
We came to Kakariko Village, and I transformed into a human before going inside the sanctuary. Ilia and the others were still there, so luckily I didn't have to go look for them.
Taking out the statue, I handed it to Ilia. She took it, eyeing it with great surprise.
"What...is this?!" She grabbed her head, trying to remember something. "I... I remember something... I was confined somewhere... Yes, and I was saved by whoever was confined with me... And when that person set me free, they gave me this statue..." She gasped. "Yes, yes, I remember that much! But that means...that person is still in trouble! Oh, what is WRONG with me?! I can't remember where that place was!"
"I REMEMBER!" Gor Coron suddenly bellowed. "I thought I had seen that before somewhere... That belonged to the tribe that protected the Hylian royal family long ago. They worked in secret, so they lived in a lonely, forgotten place. But I heard that tribe dwindled in the prolonged wars... If you want to find that hidden village, look for a path leading to the Lanayru Province on the far side of the Bridge of Eldin."
Hearing this, Ilia slumped in sadness. "But...a rock landslide blocked the way to the village long ago, so you can't get there anymore."
"What? Oh, I do not mean to worry you, little human. Problems like that are not problems to Gorons."
Gor Coron turned to Darbus and gave him a nod. The Goron patriarch grunted back and went outside.
The Goron Elder then turned to me. "Our patriarch, Darbus, will be waiting for you up ahead. I would try to find the path leading beyond the Bridge of Eldin that leads to the Lanayru Province."
That sounded easy enough. I remembered where that was, back when we had to cross the Bridge of Eldin to get into the twilight that was surrounding the Lanayru Province.
I thanked them for their help and then went outside, where we warped to the Bridge of Eldin. Since we'd managed to restore it back when we went into Gerudo Desert, it was passable. Good thing we found that piece of the bridge, too.
It took a while, but some ways after we'd crossed the bridge, not too far from the Great Bridge of Hylia, there was a tunnel on the cliffside, so we climbed up and went through it.
Up ahead, Darbus was throwing his mighty fists at a bunch of rocks that were blocking the path ahead. I stood by and watched him. He then let out a roar and punched the rocks one last time, reducing them to rubble and clearing the way.
Darbus turned to me in triumph. "There is a hidden village up ahead, little human. The elders call it a forgotten place. This scent has been burning my nostrils...it is the scent of evil. There is one powerful creature I have seen about...but under that beast are many minions who attack and plunder like a pack of hyenas."
I grimaced at this, realizing that we were probably now going to deal with more bulblins. Great.
"There are 30... No... At most, 20 of them ahead..." Darbus continued. "They are probably just a small band of survivors... Ragged remnants who have settled, leaderless, into this village. If that is all there are, little human, then you alone are more than enough for them. But you will have to defeat them ALL to save that girl's benefactor. Before you go, I will tell you a secret to besting them: destroy them all before they spot you! Got it, little human?"
I nodded, and then he curled into a boulder ball and rolled out of the tunnel. So then we continued down the tunnel and came into the hidden village.
The village was really small, with a few buildings around. Sure enough, along the balconies and pathways were bulblins, and a lot of them. This had to be the old Kakariko Village, if I'm correct. If Ilia's benefactor was all right, they were probably holding her hostage in one of the buildings.
Taking out the Hawkeye, I used it along with my bow and arrow to shoot off bulblins, but they must've spotted me because one of them let out a screeching call.
A few of them were inside the rundown, battered buildings also. There was a Howling Stone behind one building, probably an old bar, and so I quickly howled it back. The White Wolf then told me where to find him next, and then we continued on.
Finally, I shot down the last monster and stepped back outside. There was a house at the far end of the village that I hadn't been to yet. The entire village was quiet now, having fallen silent after I took care of the bulblins.
Right then, the door of the house opened, catching our attention. An old woman stepped outside, looking around.
"The howls of the beasts... They've faded into silence..."
I went over to her, and she looked surprised to see me as she studied me.
"Wait, are you... The savior! It's you, the savior!" The elder woman said happily. "Please, please forgive me...for not opening up the door. My name is Impaz. I am the last resident of this poor village. My name comes from the great one who built this village so long ago... This village was once the secret home of a proud tribe who served the royal family... But it fell into decline, and became infested with dangerous beasts. It's become an awful place..."
Impaz glanced around the village, sighing sadly. Then she turned back to me. "Excuse me for asking, but is your name...Link?"
I nodded. "Yes, my name's Link."
"Ah! I knew it... So then, you saved that nice girl? ...How lovely." Impaz said softly. "When she was here, she would often cheer me up by saying you would come to help. That sweet girl.. She worried about this old woman even as I helped her to escape from here..."
Her words sunk into my mind, and it all made sense now. Ilia had been trying to escape here and make it to Castle Town, and maybe one of the bulblins hit her head so that she would lose her memory.
"By royal order, I can't leave this place until a certain person arrives." Impaz went on. "...No matter what terrible fate is visited upon it... Oh, but listen to me blather on! I have a favor to ask: would you help me return this to her? I think she always kept it close to her heart, but even so, she didn't hesitate to part with it in order to protect me..."
Impaz reached into her pocket and then handed something to me. It was a whistle in the shape of a horseshoe attached to some string. I remembered before I was to leave on my journey that Ilia had been working on something, and this might've been it.
If that was true, then maybe it could help her regain her memory!
"I believe in my heart that it's kept me safe all this time... So please... I ask that you return it to that girl."
I thanked her for the item, and was about to get going, when I remembered Ilia mentioning something about someone having talked about the rod of the heavens. Since Ooccoo said she needed the Dominion Rod to get back home, which was apparently in the sky, could she mean the Dominion Rod?
I took out the rusted Dominion Rod and showed it to Impaz. When she saw it, she gasped.
"Hey! That rod... Is that the Dominion Rod? Ahh... Could it really be? Are you the messenger to the heavens?! Among the legends of my clan, there is a story from the time when the Oocca still maintained contact with the royal family. Yes, it was said that a mysterious rod was handed down from the people of the sky, and it was called the Dominion Rod... The rod was only to be carried by the messenger to the heavens when the royal family needed to communicate with the Oocca. From generation to generation, my ancestors have guarded the book that, by royal decree, was to be given to the messenger to the heavens. This is that book. Please, take it."
She handed me an old, leather bound book. I looked it over and flipped through a couple of pages. It was written in strange markings that I was unable to decipher.
"This book is written in the ancient language of Sky Writing." Impaz explained. "I am so glad I stayed in this village... If I had not met that young girl, what would have become of me? Meeting that girl must have been ordained by the gods, so that I could be here today to pass on this knowledge..."
Taking the book into our arsenal, I thanked Impaz and then we left the village to be on our way.
We warped back to Kakariko Village, and went into the sanctuary. Renado, Ilia and Gor Coron were still there, talking while Ilia stood there silently. I went over to where Ilia was, and held the whistle out to her. Maybe now her memory would be restored, I hope.
Ilia looked at it, and gasped in recognition.
"I… I knew you once…" Ilia whispered. She shut her eyes. "Yes… This feels so familiar… The scent of hay. Long ago… When we were young, you and I…You were always there… You were always beside me…" She looked up and smiled at me. "Link."
I couldn't believe it, her memories had been restored! It was as if it were some kind of a miracle.
Everything around us seemed to disappear, and I could almost see that we were in Ordon Spring, with Epona there too. I couldn't even begin to describe how relieved and happy I was to know that Ilia was all right, and wouldn't have to worry about her.
I heard the sound of muffled giggles behind me, and I knew Malo, Talo, Beth and Colin were peeking in behind us. Renado and Gor Coron quietly left the sanctuary, to give us a moment alone.
"This gift was meant for you," Ilia said. "It was something I wanted to give you before you left on your journey. Please, Link, take it."
She handed the Horse Call to me, and I took it and put it in my pocket. I didn't really need it now, since Midna could warp us anywhere we needed to, but I don't see why we couldn't give Epona some exercise. Besides, it was also a gift from a friend, may as well put it to use.
"You don't need to worry about me any longer. Whenever you return… I'll be waiting for you."
My heart wrenched a bit, as I realized what this probably meant. Since my quest started, I'd changed a lot, and now my feelings toward Ilia were more of a close friendship, brother and sister even. I wasn't sure if I still felt the same way I did before.
"Link… Do you remember what I was saying about the rod of the heavens?" Ilia went on. "Well, actually… It was about the messenger to the heavens who held the rod. The nice woman who saved me told me about it. Apparently, in this woman's village, they've guarded something for the heavenly messenger for generations, so they await him. But they can't give this item away until the messenger arrives with the rod. That's why the lady couldn't leave her village, you see. Say, Link… Do you have any idea who this messenger to the heavens might be? Or even what the rod is?"
I nodded and smiled. "Yes, I heard about the whole thing through her. Don't worry about her, she's gonna be okay."
Looking relieved, Ilia nodded. "That's good Link. Thank you so much for your help."
I nodded to her and smiled. Then I thanked her and went down into the basement of the Sanctuary. Hopefully Shad would be able to shed some light on this Sky Writing book.
Shad was still in the basement when I got down there, so I went over to him and pulled out the book Impaz had given me.
"Shad, can you take a look at this?"
"What's this?" Shad took the book from me and turned to a page. "Ah! It's Sky Writing! Where in blazes did you get this? You don't suppose this could be the word that breaks the seal..."
He turned to the owl statue, and looked at a certain word in the book. "R-Right! Let's try it out!"
Holding out the book along with his own at arms length, Shad repeated a word in a strange language, which I guessed was the language of the Sky Writing.
I stared at the owl statue, expecting something to happen. But nothing did. Odd, was there something wrong with the word? Shad must have been thinking the same thing since he sighed in disappointment.
"...No reaction. So this is not the statue... Urgh..." He then turned to me and smiled ruefully. "...Link, thanks ever so. You have brought me one step closer to solving this puzzle. I shall give the book back to you." He handed the book back to me. "Now! I shall try this word out on other statues! I have made the rounds of these statues so many times that I have memorized their locations. I will place marks on your map so you can find them, in case you wish to track me down. Remember, every one of these marks is near an owl statue!" He took my map and marked a few places, then handed it back. "Now, if you'll excuse me!"
Shad bid me farewell and left the basement.
Owl statues? There were more of them out there? Come to think of it, I had seen a couple of them around in some places. I looked over the map, and then I heard a strange humming noise. I looked at the Dominion Rod hanging off my belt and held it up in amazement. It was no longer a rusty stick, it was just as it was back in the dungeon of the Temple of Time. But how?
Midna must've been thinking the same thing when she popped out of the shadows, staring at the rod. "The writing in the book was a spell that imbued the staff with magic! Now you can do to the other statues what you did before... So... He did say he would mark your map wherever there was a statue, didn't he? Then we should go check out those spots, right, Link?"
I nodded and took out my map to look it over and see where some marks were. "There's one in the desert we could start with." I said. "Let's go there."
"All right, off we go!" Midna said, and transformed me into a wolf so we could warp.
We warped off to Gerudo Desert, and while still a wolf, we made our way to where the mark had indicated where the Owl Statue was. It was located on top of a small pillar, I saw. It looked exactly like the one from the basement, but it had a hole in its chest that was likely to respond to the Dominion Rod.
I transformed back into a human and then took out the Dominion Rod, pointing it at the statue, firing the orb into the hole of the statue. Sure enough, the Owl Statue lit up and I guided it down off the pillar.
Now what?
Midna popped out of the shadows and floated over to the statue, inspecting it. She came to the spot where it once stood and gasped.
"Link! Look at this! There's something written underneath where the statue was standing! I think it's Sky Writing..."
Puzzled, I climbed onto the pillars and skipped over them to look at the spot. Sure enough, glowing on the spot was a Sky Writing character. I took the book out, and the character seemed to glow and appear right on the page.
"Unbelievable...it's beginning a whole new word..." Midna remarked. "Come on Link, let's go find those other owl statues! They must have the rest of the word."
I nodded, and then we warped to the next location, which was in South Faron Woods.
It was hard to get to, since the location was near Coro's house, past a couple of boulders blocking the way. But thanks to my bomb arrows, we got through and came to the statue, which contained the next character.
Afterward, we then warped to Castle Town, near the entrance, and went to an Owl Statue that was at the lookout point overlooking Lake Hylia where we had been with Telma and Ilia when we escorted them and Prince Ralis to Kakariko Village. We moved the Owl Statue and then took the next letter.
We then made our way toward the Great Bridge of Hylia, to where the next Owl Statue was. It was on a ledge, almost hard to have been able to find. But we managed to get the character and move on to the next location.
The next statue was at the Bridge of Eldin, so we warped there and found the statue on a ledge next to the arc of the bridge. We collected the character and continued on our way to the next statue.
Then we warped to Kakariko Gorge, and went over to the next statue, which was wedged along a nook in the cliffside. I moved it aside and then collected the final character.
Sure enough, the missing characters had created a different word! Shad would definitely be pleased with this. Maybe it would bring us closer to finding a way into the heavens.
We warped back to Kakariko Village and went into the sanctuary's basement. Sure enough, Shad was back down there, looking at the owl statue. Now I knew what we had to do, we had to move that statue out of the way. But since it didn't have a hole in its chest, we were unable to.
I took out the Sky Writing book and handed it to Shad.
"Is this the book from last time?" Shad asked, taking it from me, reading the page. "...Hm? Are there more letters in the word than the last time I looked at this? How did you investigate the... Link, this is amazing! Amazing! Now THIS must be the word we need! Let's try it immediately!"
Shad held the book out at arms length, chanting in the strange Sky language. I stared at the statue, and sure enough, the strange symbol on its chest glowed green and then it dissipated, leaving a hole. Now it looked like the other ones.
"Ah!" Shad gasped. "It has taken on the same shape as the other statues... What can this mean? And I thought we had solved the last of the riddles... Blast! How confounding! I must apologize, Link. I need to cool off a tad before I mull the problem further..."
Disappointed and defeated, Shad slowly left the room. I felt bad for the poor guy. He didn't even know that we actually did solve the last riddle. At least, I hope we did. Only one way to find out.
I took out the Dominion Rod and fired the orb at the statue, then moved it out of the way. Sure enough, it was blocking a doorway. A staircase leading down into another room.
Descending the stairs, I came into the room and gasped in amazement.
Inside the room, was a cannon. It was broken apart and lying around in different parts, but it was still intact. Wow! Won't Shad be surprised when he sees this!
I was about to turn back and go get him, but then I heard someone enter the room behind me.
"Link?!" Came Shad's voice. I turned around and he came toward me. "How in blazes did you move that statue?! And...what's this..." That's when he noticed the cannon for the first time. He walked toward it, staring up at it in amazement. "Amazing! Spectacular! This must be the legendary Sky Cannon I read about in my father's notes! I knew that my intuition was onto something when it led me here! ...But how can one use this to get to the City in the Sky?"
The City in the Sky? Is that what this cannon was for? That was probably where the mirror shard was! We had to get this cannon out to a safe place and use it to launch to the sky, I guessed.
But how would we get it out? It was far too heavy for anyone to carry, and even if we were able to, it would take forever.
Of course! Midna! She could warp it out!
I went closer to the cannon and Midna popped out of the shadows, floating over it.
"A cannon, huh? What do you plan to do with this, Link?"
"We should warp it out of here somewhere." I said to her, making sure Shad couldn't hear me.
"...Except that guy's still watching us..." Midna said, pointing to Shad, who was mulling over his notes.
Oh, right. If Shad saw us warping the cannon out of here and then us right after it, he would definitely be scared stiff or would get us into trouble.
Although I did feel bad for him, asking him to leave and all. He did help us get here, without him we would've been stuck for sure.
"Shad, could you step outside for a minute?" I asked him.
"...Ahh!" Shad said in understanding. "Perhaps...I am in your way? Well, forgive me for not realizing! I should just disappear at times like this, really. So... Let me know the results some other time, Link."
"It's nothing personal." I assured him. "I just need to...think things through."
Shad nodded and then headed to the doorway, then turned back. "...Ah yes! Let me give you one last piece of advice... That seems to be broken, so you'd do well to show it to a cannon expert first, I should say! Farewell!"
I thanked Shad for his help and then he left.
Midna popped out of the shadows, looking after Shad. "...I wonder if I put him off?" She looked back at the cannon. "He's right though, it does look like it's broken. What should we do, Link?"
I thought for a moment, wondering who could help fix the cannon on such short notice.
That's when I remembered. Fyer! He operated a cannon at Lake Hylia, so surely he would be able to fix a cannon and get it working again.
"Let's warp it to Lake Hylia." I told Midna. "Fyer should know how to fix the cannon."
Midna nodded and then coated the cannon with her twilight magic. She grunted and lifted her arms up to lift the cannon into the air. It dissolved into twilight squares and disappeared through the hole in the ceiling. Then we followed suit, warping to Lake Hylia.
We came to Lake Hylia, and the cannon was now laying there in its pathetic heap of broken parts. I transformed into a human and made my way down the bridges and crossings over to where Fyer was.
"Hey, buddy!" Fyer greeted. He then noticed the cannon over where we'd left it. I guess it was was more conspicuous than I thought. "So... Uh, is that yours? Heh heh... Hey, buddy, I never thought you'd get so hooked on the fascination that you'd try to build your own cannon! So...are you gonna give me the tour or what? Looks like you have a serious rig over there..."
I nodded and we went over to where the cannon was. Fyer studied it for a moment.
"Whoa! It's kind of...retro, huh? And there's no ignition device, so you can't even use it. Listen buddy, I might be able to fix it for you... I mean, maybe... That is, if you can pay me 300 rupees...in advance. Whaddya say?"
300 rupees?! Well, I suppose it would be a pretty big job and would take a while. Oh well, we had to get up there and I saw the only way through was to get this thing repaired. So I nodded and then paid him the money.
"Heh heh... I knew you'd see the light, buddy." Fyer chuckled. "Now I'll just be a sec!"
It took him three days to repair it. Three days! So to pass the time during the few days, we went looking for some golden bugs, checked on the kids in Kakariko Village, hunted for some poes, went fishing, and occasionally came to the lake to see Fyer's progress.
Finally, on the morning after the third day, we came back and Fyer had fixed the cannon. It stood good as new, right where we had warped it to. It was also on legs, facing upward.
"Here we go, buddy." Said Fyer, gesturing to the repaired cannon. "All working as it should...I think. It may look like junk, but this thing's got some powerful innards! You're going to be knocking on the door to the heavens! Seriously, bud... It might be rough! So... I'm sorry for soaking you for the dough. I'll leave you alone then. Heh heh... Well, you just have all the fun you want, OK, buddy?"
I thanked Fyer for his help and he went off back to his station. Once he was out of sight, I studied the cannon and looked for a way to get inside it.
Then I noticed, at the other end of it, was a clawshot medallion. Maybe that would work! So I took out my clawshot and fired it in, hooking onto the medallion and taking us inside.
I then heard squeaking and the ruffling of feathers behind me, and Ooccoo and her son hopped into the cannon with us!
The cannon then MOVED, pointing right up to the sky, and before I knew it, we were all blasted out of the cannon and flying right up into the sky!