INSOMNIA
based on The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In these pre-dawn hours the windows glowed softly of indigo, the howling snow hidden safely away behind them. The logs in the fireplace glowered weakly, emanating with the barest wisp of warm air.
Link and Tatl watched over the old Goron where he lay by the fireside. The patches of ice covering his body slowly melted in the weak heat, dripping unceremoniously to the thick carpet where it stunk of damp.
Though unconscious, the Goron elder's body shuddered ceaselessly from the cold, never his whole body at once but instead a head, a finger, a leg at a time.
"Poor thing," said Tatl.
"Do you think he'll make it?" said Link.
"Yeah, he'll... well..." Tatl shrugged. "I'd say Gorons are a tough lot, but this guy is old. Look how weak he looks. And goodness knows how long he's been out in the cold."
"So he..."
"He'll be fine. Don't sweat it. It may be slow and painful but he'll recover."
Link nodded and returned to what he had been doing before: staring quietly at the Goron elder where he lay.
It was warmer here than outside, for whatever that was worth. An armchair dragged hastily against the broken front door kept it almost closed, so that the snow spraying in was nothing but a very fine mist that condensed before it had made it five feet inside, adding to a slowly spreading puddle on the floor.
"Is there anything else we can do?" said Link, not for the first time.
"There really isn't," said Tatl. She looked at him with a shrug. "We're going to be waiting for a while. If you want to go... I don't know, take a nap or polish your shield... I'm happy to hang around here."
"It's okay... I'll stay here with you."
"Of course you will," the faerie grumbled.
Silence.
-oOo-
Time passed and the days grew dark, but the house of cobwebs stood unchanged.
Wanderer had left the village, continuing on his travels, but he had not forgotten the house, nor had he forgotten the piteous creatures who hid inside. The curse of the golden spider lingered in the back of his mind, an uneasy thought he could not put behind him. It taunted him with every arachnid scuttling through the shadows, with every quiet hiss in a darkened room.
And every time he thought of it he knew, of course, that it was not his problem, that it needn't be his problem. Who knew how many other reckless young souls had entered the house of spiders only to discover its deformed owners; who knew who many other daring people there were to help break the curse. And it was not as if the curse was a true injustice; in the cursed father's own words he had been a cur of a man.
But that thought was always followed by the desperation and pain in the creature's face, his pleas for his children, the miserable moans of all who lived in the house. And Wanderer could not bear to look aside entirely, to simply forget.
You see, Wanderer had a gentle soul.
(a gentle soul?)
He was – he thought of himself – he was a person of empathy. His heart ached for every crippled soldier lying on the street; it leapt with bitter joy every time he saw children running freely in the mud at the castle gates.
He could not bear thinking about others' misfortune, their misery. A friend of his said he took their unhappiness and made it a part of him.
(ah, a do-gooder.)
May I keep going?
(please.)
In his travels Wanderer eventually came to an exotic kingdom, a beautiful place where every surface sparkled with all the colours of the rainbow. It seemed so very aloof from the rest of the world with all its earthy ills and misfortunes.
Before long Wanderer was granted an audience with the king of the domain. The king was a great man, both in deed and in stature. He said to Wanderer, "Our patron, the sacred beast of the lakes, has fallen very ill."
And Wanderer said, "I shall help."
To cure the sacred beast's illness, he had to offer himself to the beast as food and be swallowed whole. Only then, from inside, could he heal it, by finding the rot inside and taking to it with the blade. And this is what he did, presenting himself at the water's edge with some food in his hands, and the beast's mouth stretched open wide and was soon all around him.
And as Wanderer travelled deeper into the creature's belly, he heard a strange, scratching sort of noise echoing through the air.
The noise wasn't like any living creature he'd ever heard. Drawn to it, he followed the noise through the winding passages of the sacred beasts' innards, following the noise as it got louder.
Until suddenly he rounded a bend and found himself face to face with one of the curse-spiders for the very first time.
Now, the spiders-of-the-curse were the size of the smaller Skulltulas, the ones that cling to walls in dark, damp places. Their bodies were maybe... a foot long by half a foot wide, but their long legs reached out much further than that. And where Skulltulas had skull-shaped carapaces on their backs, the spiders-of-the-curse had solid gold ones.
(gold the colour, or gold...?)
Gold the metal. I didn't... think Wanderer noticed this the first time he saw one of them. But it was really gold – it made a ringing noise when he struck it, it sparkled the same way in torchlight, it... it was definitely gold.
Now, Wanderer realised at once what the creature was. The words of the cursed man in the abandoned house echoed in his ears: "The power of the curse resides in these spiders. If they are all destroyed, so too is the curse."
And so he drew his sword, a small but strong blade, and took slow steps towards the curse spider, squelchy disgusting steps across the floor of the sacred beast's belly. And unlike a real monster, the golden spider neither scattered away nor turned to face him aggressively. It just remained where it was, swivelling left and right, making that same noise.
It was completely mindless.
(like clockwork?)
Like clockwork. He could tell by the pricking of his hairs that this was not a living thing; that it had no soul to destroy, only some parcel of dark magic and stolen greed.
And he remembered the cursed family, and the children who had done no harm, who deserved happiness even if their father did not.
And without hesitation Wanderer brought his sword down on it and it exploded in a shower of gold dust.
Gold dust, everywhere, like a cloud. He could taste it on his tongue, though he didn't know what it was that first time. It was too dark and what he saw looked like ashes, glittering ashes, something disgusting and foul and full of dark magic. And even as he brought his arm up to brush it off, the dust faded away. Like it had turned into air.
And there was a tiny noise from where the spider had been, like a sigh of relief. And... yes? What is it?
(oh, no, it's nothing.)
Nothing?
(i mean, well, i find it interesting. the symbolism, i mean. the courageous hero walking into the belly of the beast to confront the evil within. i've heard a few stories in that vein but the version you're telling, well, it's very explicit about it, isn't it?, i mean, like, it seems like a pretty obvious metaphor for the the hero confronting his own darkness, the rot inside his own blood and guts. the golden spider i'm not so sure about, but maybe that's like a warning for the rich? money corrupts?)
No, it's not like that at all. It's not a metaphor. He has to go into the giant fish and kill the parasite inside.
(if you say so, kid.)
He didn't have time to stop and contemplate as the beast was still ill. And now in the silence he could hear muted noises in the distance, almost like a young girl sobbing.
(wait, giant fish? i was thinking turtle.)
-oOo-
The Goron elder's return to consciousness was heralded by a violent coughing fit, half melted snow spluttering everywhere. His eyes tracked blearily around the room, taking it all in one thing at a time: the ceiling, the fireplace, the two strangers watching him from nearby.
"Where...?" he croaked, and broke into coughs once again.
"It's okay." Link was out of his chair at once, kneeling by the elder's side. "You're inside now. We're in a house in the village, the human village."
"In... inside?" The Goron's eyes were entirely on Link now, glassy and grey.
"You were out in the cold, do you remember? You were freezing badly when we found you."
"No... I must... my people, I must keep... going..."
The elder tried to sit up, his neck and stomach muscles visibly trembling with the effort, but soon unwound back onto the ground.
"Woah, there," said Tatl, alighting on the Goron's bony chest. "You've got to stay still for now, big guy. We have no idea what damage the cold has done to you."
"We don't?" said Link, looking at Tatl. "You said..."
She rolled her eyes. "I said what you wanted to hear. This guy is – look, I am not a healer, I do not have the slightest idea how to treat Gorons, I have no idea what else might be wrong to him besides a couple of frozen fingers – I mean, he was out there for..." She turned back to the elder. "How long were you out there?"
The elder blinked slowly. "I... our village was in trouble, I went to... it is my duty as elder to make sure they..." He once again raised his head from the ground, trembling with the effort, then sank. "Please... whoever you are, help me up..."
Link paused: there was no way the old Goron was fit to leave in his current state. His eyes fell on the chair he had been in a moment earlier.
"You need to sit down," he said, kneeling down and placing his hands beneath the elder's shoulders. With tremendous effort, he hauled the elder from the ground, the elder's muscles helping what little they could.
"I'm Tatl," said Tatl. "This is Link. We're... okay, we don't really have jobs, but we..."
"Steady," said Link, helping the elder into the chair, whose luxurious red cushions sagged to accommodate the Goron's weight.
The elder spoke shakily but inexorably. "It's this cold snap brought on by... disturbances, Snowhead... crippled our village... frozen it in an icy grip..."
"So we heard," said Tatl gently. "The trade routes were snowed in, weren't they? It's the lack of goods and supplies that is leading to the depopulation of your village."
The elder nodded weakly, and Link was struck by how feeble the Goron looked compared to others of his kind.
"Gorons are not demanding people... don't... don't need much to be happy... food, warmth, shelter... but right now... don't even have that..."
"We'll help," said Link. "We're going to Snowhead."
"No!" said the elder, looking aghast. "This is our problem. We shall not rely on the strength of st... of strangers..."
He broke into a fit of loud, spluttering coughs.
"You're in no state to do anything," said Link gently. "If you go out there you'll only get yourself frozen to death."
"You were nearly dead when we found you," Tatl added. "Lucky we did, huh?"
"But you... you can't... Snowhead is too dangerous for..." Frustrated with his quivering lungs, the elder shook his head violently to convey the message. "You... must not... must be... Goron..."
Link exchanged a glance with Tatl.
"Okay," she said, directing her full attention to the elder, and putting on her most honeylike voice. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to get some of your Goron buddies to come here and help you, okay? Then if you want you can send them off to Snowhead yourself."
Link raised his eyebrows. The faerie had struck him as too antagonistic to calm anyone down (that was far more a Navi thing), but the elder seemed to be placated by her words.
"You... you will send them here?"
"Yes," said Link quickly. Never let a good thing go to waste. "We'll bring them right here."
The elder nodded. "I... I will wait. I understand."
Link stepped away from the Goron slowly. "We'll go get them now, okay?"
"I don't know what you were thinking," said Tatl with friendly bemusement. "Going out into the mountains alone. It's miserable out there right now."
The elder looked away.
After a minute's pause, Link nodded to the Goron. "Okay. Well... goodbye for now."
Not knowing what else to say he turned and started to leave the room.
The Goron elder's voice called out from behind him.
"Above all..."
Halfway through the doorway, Link paused and turned. The elder's eyes met Link's calmly, looking dignified despite his awkward posture on the chair.
"Above all it's the image of my own poor son," he said, his voice steady now. "Crying continually because of this biting cold, this lack of food, this whole miserable mess."
Link remembered the infant Goron's wailing all too well. "He's still alive, if that's what..."
"Of course, of course." The elder waved him off. "He'll make it, I've seen to it that he gets first share of... but that's not what I meant. My son is miserable. Do you have children?"
"What? No, I–"
"Then you can't possibly understand. It's one thing to see your brothers in pain, but your son..." The elder stared off into the distance. "Just as it is my... my duty as tribe elder to keep my people safe, it is my duty as a father to make sure my son is happy. And as much as anything that is why... that is why I went out to stop the winds coming from Snowhead. That is why you cannot expect me to stay here and do nothing as the land gets colder with every passing minute."
"You won't be doing nothing," said Link in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "We're just going to get help – the other Gorons. Your people, your brothers. Once they're here to make sure... uh, to look after you, then you can keep going. It will only be a few hours." He looked the Goron in the eye, trying to judge his response. "Please. It's for your village too. If you die out there in the cold, there's nobody left to protect them."
The elder set his lips. "Then I shall wait."
-oOo-
"'Do you have children?'," repeated Tatl.
"That Goron was having a genuine heartfelt moment, and-"
"You're ten. Is he blind?"
"-and you're doing nothing but belittling him! Don't you have an ounce of sympathy for him?"
"Well, yeah, a couple of ounces, but..."
-oOo-
Goron Village
The Northern Mountains
They returned to the shrine, the one occupied building in the Goron village, where they talked to the guard outside. He didn't seem to recognise them, so he probably wasn't one of the Gorons they'd talked to before, but Link wasn't absolutely certain. The rock people all looked so similar to him.
The guard listened attentively as Link and Tatl explained the situation with the elder.
"I'll talk to the others," the Goron said once they were done. "We'll send a party to bring him back here. He is in the human village, you say?... The elder left a week ago, I can't believe he only got that far." He shook his head. "I think it was a mistake for him to go alone in the cold. The elder is not as strong as he used to be."
"He was frozen solid when we found him," said Tatl. "Good thing we found him when we did."
"Yes, indeed," said the Goron. "I am sure I speak for all my brothers when I say that we are all very grateful for what you have done."
"Can I ask you a favour?" said Link.
The Goron blinked. "A favour?"
"We're going to Snowhead soon to deal with... whatever it is that's causing the blizzard. I was wondering if..."
"Snowhead?" The Goron looked him up and down slowly. "It is a treacherous place at the best of times. Why would you want to go there?"
"I... someone asked me to."
"Someone?"
Link hesitated, wondering if it was a bad idea to go on.
"Darmani's ghost," he said a second later.
The Goron gasped. "So it is true!" he said.
"What's true?" said Tatl.
"My brothers said a human boy had gone to ease Darmani's spirit, to spare us from his anger. I thought it might be a hallucination, but... you are real!"
He made to clap Link on the shoulders and Link took an involuntary step back. "Yes, we're real," he said.
"Did you fight Darmani? Was his spirit angry? Did he remember us?" The Goron paused in his excitement. "But you say he sent you to Snowhead. Strange news indeed, brother."
"Yes." Link gave a little shrug. "Do you know anything about how to get to Snowhead? Only all we know about it is how hard it is for us to get there."
"Hard for you," corrected Tatl. "I can fly."
"Of course!" said the Goron at once. "If Darmani wanted you to, I and my brothers would be happy to help. Come inside..."
With seeming disregard for his post, he opened the shrine gate and led them inside, closing the door behind him. Link was prepared this time for the ear-piercing ceaseless wailing emanating from the farthest reaches of the shrine, but that did nothing to alleviate the twinge of pain at his eardrums as he ducked his head and followed the Goron sentry through the shrine as he summoned his brothers and shouted over the din to explain what Link and Tatl were doing here.
Once word got out what was going on, the other Gorons were more than accommodating to the newcomers. Soon enough half dozen of them were gathered with Link and Tatl at the top level of the shrine.
"Is the elder all right?" one asked them.
"He'll be okay if you get your butts down there," said Tatl. "I think the cold has gotten to his head. Would you believe he asked this kid here whether he had..."
"Here," said one Goron, emerging from a small store room with several sheets of fabric in his hands. "Maps," he clarified, seeing Link's quizzical look. He set the fabric down on the ground, where the thick inky brushstrokes across them became apparent.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIH UUUUUNNNNNNIIIIIIIHHHHHHHH
The horrible wailing that was the elder's son was coming directly from the next room; it took all Link's willpower to shut it out and concentrate on what the Gorons were saying.
"First. This map," one Goron said, indicating. "This is the human village. Which house is the elder in?"
Link paused, picturing the lay of the village in his head, and pointed. "That there. There may still be smoke in the chimney. He's just inside the door, you can't miss him."
"All right." The Goron smeared an 'X' onto the map with one inky finger, and immediately another Goron had swept it up in his arms and was hurrying down the stairs with it. Link paused, marvelling at the efficiency. The Gorons almost seemed to have a new sense of drive.
"We'll send a party after him," a different Goron said to Link. "It will take a little time to organise; our numbers are few, we need as many on hand as possible to maintain the fires and keep the children safe..."
"Now. Snowhead." Another Goron, spreading open another map. "This map is over a hundred years old, but the path from the human village to Snowhead is much the same. It..."
WAAAAAAA... HUNH, UGH... U-WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH D- DA- DAAAAAAAAADDDDY DAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDY
In unison, the Gorons all shrugged apologetically. "Sorry. That's the elder's son... the crying is heartbreaking, he's been so much worse ever since his father left..."
"That must suck," said Tatl without any real feeling. "He'll get used to it eventually."
"That's what we thought a week ago," the Goron replied glumly.
Another map was produced, this one only about the size of an open book. "This is a map of the lower floors of Snowhead. Darmani goes... he used to go there every second summer to check on it."
"Check on it?" said Link, folding the map up. "What was there to check on?"
"Darmani said there was a spirit that lived at the foot of the Snowhead citadel, a benevolent guardian spirit that watched over our young."
"Ah, yup," said Tatl knowingly. "One of the four giants."
"Giants?" The Goron looked puzzled. "What giants do you speak of?"
"Come on, the four giants," said Tatl. "Everyone knows the four giants! Even this kid here only arrived in Termina, well, yesterday, and he knows about the four giants."
"Perhaps this is some Clock Town custom?" said the Goron. "Darmani certainly never spoke of it. He referred to the guardian spirit as a great unseeable Goron–"
"That's just nonsense. Invisible Gorons? No, it's one of the four giants. We saw one, isn't that right, Link? At Woodfall down in the south..."
A loud rumbling announced the arrival of a new Goron, rolling at high speeds up the ramp with his limbs tucked tight into his chest. He came to an abrupt stop just feet away from the assembled people, unfolding himself upright.
"Brothers! There's been a snow-in at the north storehouse. The food there might..."
The Goron who had brought Link in turned to him now. "We cannot spare any people right now, not least for a trip to Snowhead. Few Gorons are brave enough to risk the journey there. If Darmani's ghost told you to go there he must have thought you had the strength to survive the journey."
Link nodded, feeling an odd sense of relief at this. "Okay. We can go it alone. Thanks for your help."
The Gorons stared at him with identical worried looks.
"You're not... going there now, are you?" said one.
"Is that a bad idea?" said Link.
Hunh... WAAAAAAAAAAAAH I'M COOOOOOOOLD... DAAAAAAADDY HIUNH WAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIUUUUUUUUH
The Gorons exchanged grimaces.
"You shouldn't," said the first Goron. "The path there is exposed to the wind, and a strong gust would easily blow you off the mountain."
"Like Darmani," muttered Tatl. Link was thinking the same.
"We have been watching the clouds closely. The wind will be very bad for the next week. It's coming from the south to the west, from the ocean. I hear there are bad storms there now."
Link exhaled slowly. "We need to go there soon. The moon is going to... well..."
"Squash us all like flies," said Tatl tactfully.
"Very well." The Goron nodded. "Then at least wait until tomorrow. The next twenty-four hours will be the worst of it. Give it until tomorrow morning before you set out. After that... well, let us hope you are worthy of Darmani's trust."
"I won't let him down."
"It's not your heart we doubt; it is your body. This is a job for a warrior of Darmani's strength, not... well, a human. Be careful."
Link nodded. "We will."
"No he won't," muttered Tatl.
Bidding him a respectful farewell, the Gorons left to attend to their own emergencies, and Link and Tatl were left alone at the top of the shrine, staring down at the miserable old and young ones huddling together below.
HENH UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH H-HUNH HYU UUUUIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
"So," said Tatl. "We have a day until the weather clears. What do you want to do?"
Link paused, considering.
Darmani's final instructions to him replayed themselves in his head:
Be prepared for a fight. Arm yourself to the teeth.
"Let's..." He hesitated. "We can't do much here for now. Let's stock up on supplies."
Tatl turned her head toward him slowly.
"Does this involve going somewhere warmer?" she said cautiously.
"Definitely."
"Then hell yes."
CYCLE 2: HYSTERIA
DAWN of the SECOND DAY
A/N: I love you guys. (Guys and girls? I really feel like "guys" is becoming gender-neutral, but hey, maybe that's just me. You could totally debate this in the review you leave me.)
That's right. I'm just going to assume you're reviewing.
Power of positive thinking.
Fanfic writing is so much more fun than working :)
Tactful Tatl tacitly tut-tuts tactile Tektites. Terrific.
-tiki