Their destination lay a short way to the north. Carved with care into the side of a large mountain hollowed through means deigned unbelievable at the present. While Tya had a hint of old magic, and both Link and Zelda harbored the souls of their respective pasts, there was nothing quite so powerful that one may manage such a thing. Tya couldn't wait to see it.
The entryway stood tall over even Groose's height. The doors were made of stone, and in them was etched the vague silhouettes of spear wielding twin sentinels. There was only one way up, and that way was a range of stairs connected to a paved path.
It was gorgeous. At least, it was in Tya's imagination as well as Zelda's, though hers was likely more memory than fantasy.
In truth, when they arrived, the three following the Goddess' lead hadn't even known that it was their destination at all. The path was likely broken and grown over by decades, possibly centuries of dirt and vegetation. Trees hid the view of all but the mountain's tip, but even had it not, the way to the Gates was obscured by its placement nestled in a small valley.
Without Zelda's lead, they would have passed over it without a second thought. To her, though, it looked as obvious as ever. She turned as if the way had been marked by massive signs, leaving the trio at her back to momentarily pause. She had said nothing, and there was no change, she just went. They wondered if maybe they shouldn't follow for some reason, but were quick to decide against testing that theory as signaled by an in unison nod.
Zelda's footsteps paved the way, pressing down the shorter overgrowth in a way that was easy to track should they lag that far behind. The bushes and twigs snagged her travel wear with each step, snapping back as she unknowingly tore out of its grasp. Her pace had quickened, dark blue eyes turned upward toward the mountain the canopy wouldn't allow them to see from their position.
A part of Tya found herself needlessly appreciative of the fact that Zelda had had the sense to wear proper travel gear this time around. It wasn't important, but those small nicks and scratches were stinging little nuisances…
Such trivial thoughts were set aside when Zelda spoke up for the first time in a while. It had been a serene silence, one which she really hadn't even noticed had overcome them until it was broken.
"The stairs are broken," she said.
All three of them took a moment to look around.
"What stairs?" Tya asked. It was a stupid question, but it also wasn't. Of course Zelda had mentioned the long walkway upward, but there wasn't even a beginning to such a path before them. She guessed that 'broken' could very well mean 'not fucking here', but it seemed to be a pretty inaccurate way of saying it.
Zelda's head cocked back, not taking the time to really look at any of them, but making sure she was heard as she said "we will need to climb. I'm sure some of the way is still steady, but…" she trailed off, looking upward toward the steep incline they currently faced.
"Why do we not just look around and see if there's a more convenient way up?" Tya suggested.
"Because this is where the stairs start," Zelda answered like it should have been obvious. It very much was not.
"And if it's currently ruined, then perhaps time has opened another way for us."
With a huff, Zelda stated "if we don't go up right here, I'll lose the path."
Tya raised both hands as a means of surrender toward that. It wasn't exactly a harsh statement, but it was far more so than her friend's usual demeanor. Their trek had taken them a few days, and over each, she'd only grown more and more irritable. It was unlike her, but any time she was asked about it, the questions would be shut down no matter who they came from.
The silence had been tense at first, but the serenity of the forest seeked to calm at least Tya's nerves. The same couldn't be said for Link.
He didn't often bring all his tools along anymore. They took up too much space and the majority of them were far too heavy and situational to cart around endlessly. However there were a few staples that had become too useful to him to ever leave behind should he leave the village. His clawshots were among them.
"Is there-Is there anything to grab?" He asked as he unharnessed his pack and slid down one strap so he could pull it around to his front.
"Not sure," Tya answered. Rather than remaining useless, she began to circle the large piece of rock that now blocked their way. It was apparent the more she examined it that it must have been a part of a slide of some sort at one point or another, as it wasn't connected to the main mass. It was half embedded into the ground, and all around it was firmly packed dirt that supported various other smaller boulders. It was steep, but not so much that they couldn't keep some footing if only they could just get up to that part.
"We need something to stand on," she finally settled, looking back toward Link as he pulled out one part of the tool pair. "It's too high to have someone get up and then pull the others."
"Maybe we can climb," Zelda suggested through a sigh. "It's worth a try right? I'm sure there's some ridges in the rock that we can keep up on." With that said, she started to circle and examine it more closely, testing here and there on any jutting edges.
"I'm gonna loo-look around to see if I can find any- find anything to grab."
"If we can find a way up elsewhere, then we can have someone wait here to mark the way for you," Tya assured Zelda.
Had this been a task a single person could complete, it likely wouldn't have been so difficult. To prop themselves up on Groose and have him lift, they would have been able to reach the leveled part. Link would have been the best bet since he had the strength to pull himself up with ease. Something Tya still hadn't mastered even if she certainly had noticed changes in her own body and muscle tone. Changes in muscle meaning she actually had muscle rather than pudginess as she did back when she lived in Skyloft.
Regardless, Link would have been able to pull up no problem. The problem was that reaching over would be far too unbalanced to be safe, since there was too much space between to get all of the group up there.
Tya took a few steps back to better examine the scene over all. Link had gone off in one direction to search for a slope or anything to grab with his clawshot while Zelda remained fixed on trying to climb this particular part. Why she was so set on it, Tya had no idea, but she had mentioned previously that it was only accessible via the stairway built for it. While time very well could have paved a new way up, she understood that Zelda was driven mostly by memories she often had trouble holding on to. The slightest deterrence from such a thing had a tendency to make her forget.
Groose stood at Tya's side, head tilted one way while hers tilted the other both examining through different lenses. Hers, that of an avid puzzle-doer, and his, through that of a carpenter.
He hadn't brought the appropriate tools to build anything truly appropriate and sturdy for this. But they also didn't exactly need something that would last. They just needed something for this moment. The distance was far enough to jump down without injuring themselves if they'd just manage to get up there, so a way down wasn't necessary. As such, Groose turned on his heel, heading off to see if he could forage for anything he could possibly throw together as a way to give them a good boost.
It clicked.
Tya perked upright, an unintentional "wait" leaving her as she did. All three companions paused to look at her.
"Groose," she turned back toward the redhead. "Could you find me something quite sturdy that could support even your weight? Something long and thick?"
He paused for a moment to think of what that might entail before giving a nod in confirmation to start off and do just that.
"Have you found any spots with better footing, Zel?" She called, leaning needlessly to look toward her friend the short distance down.
"It's looking a little more lumpy over here," she called back. "No good footholds though."
Even shallow ones would do so long as they had an anchor. "Link," Tya waved for him to return to her. He shuffled back with purpose, fingers poking idly at the firm metal claws at the end of his tool. His head tilted with inquiry as he looked at her.
"If Groose can find something substantial," she started, motioning once more for him to follow as she moved to join Zelda. "Then we boost you up to the top where you can try and find a place to fix the anchor into place. With the clawshots, you need only wrap it or extend it, whatever, and we could easily use it to keep our footing whilst we climb up."
He considered it as she spoke, looking up the mass as they approached the side Zelda had been looking at. While there wasn't anything to grab onto, there were plenty of places that, had they the stability through the rope, they could keep themselves from sliding down. And even if that wasn't exactly a possibility, then they could just as easily be helped along and pulled up.
"It should be easier from there," Zelda pointed upward. With this obstacle as the closest, Tya hadn't really thought to look farther ahead, only tried to solve the problem at hand. It was true though, that the walkway seemed to mellow to a more bearable slope after this part. Whatever stairs had been there were still not visible, but the valley in which they'd been carved wasn't fully filled in by decades of nature.
What they had left to do, was to wait for Groose to return. Zelda continued to look around, hoping to find something as a plan B should Tya's fail, but Tya felt confident enough in this that they'd manage. The only thing she could think of as a snag was the possibility of there being no real place for the anchor. But even that seemed like it could possibly have an easy fix. The clawshot's reach was relatively far. Part of her had even thought to cut out the middle-man of finding said anchor and shooting the grapple over the rock to bury in the ground on the other side. The claws however were not large enough to dig in to an extent that the moist greenery would hold with the weight of a person, and while its reach was pretty good, there weren't any trees nearby enough that they could grasp onto and climb.
It took only a short time for Groose to return with a few things he figured would hold him. If it could bear his weight, it could easily handle the smaller trio, and even if it couldn't hold his, so long as it got them up, they could hold it for Groose so he could climb.
"Alright," Tya moved to the side Zelda had noted as 'lumpy'. "Groose, can you boost Link up?"
With a nod, he set aside the pieces he'd found and did just that. Link being the second tallest of the bunch also made him the best option, though he did still have to stand on Groose's shoulders to get up. Plopping onto the rock, he looked around, then down over the edge. Clawshot still in hand, he shot it out to grab his pack off the ground. Needless gesture, but it pulled his equipment up with ease, and as it released, he caught it mid air with one hand. Securing it again, he adjusted to lean over the edge, laying on his stomach to avoid slipping while Groose passed up the sturdy branches. They were heavy, but anything required to hold the hulking mass of muscle needed to be. He'd only gotten larger with his building efforts among the settlement. As the two men worked to set up the anchor, Tya was left to wonder if being so muscular ever got in the way.
Having breasts sure did, and they were only one part of the body. How would one function with so much on their arms?
Completely useless thoughts that mattered little in the success brought by her plan. She was the first to ascend mostly as a test. Aside from Groose, she and Link were the second heaviest of the group, Link still out of muscle and Tya because, while she'd lost weight with the new routine of constant movement, she did still have a little meat on her. Moreso than Zelda by far since the woman was naturally thin.
It held her fine, and did the same for Zelda. Careful not to let Groose fall they all watched carefully, but it ultimately allowed him to climb up too, and once they were all over the biggest obstacle, Zel took the lead again.
It was a climb, certainly a strain on the legs- a nice hike, and at the height they eventually got to, turning back to look over the forest was a beautiful sight. What was even more magnificent though, was the doors themselves.
Nestled as they were, time hadn't had much chance to touch them. It was a surprise to see that any of the slides that fell on the stairs hadn't managed to block off the entrance at all. There was debris here and there, but none so detrimental to their trek as the first. The hinges on the door were another thing entirely, but Groose got those loose, even noting that they seemed relatively untouched by time. He and Link struggled to pull open the age-old doors.
A gust of cold, thick wind flowed out like a breath the mountain had been holding for centuries. The scent of dirt and must hit all but Tya. Zelda coughed as she tried to wave away the dust that showered them.
More concerning than the stale air in Tya's mind was the sudden feeling that overcame her upon peering into the complete darkness within.
It was easy to tell the interior was devoid of life even without stepping in. But something about the aura of the place said there was still activity, and whatever still lurked within harbored enough emotion that even they could feel it.
Dread and Hatred.
It made her stomach churn.
"What is this place, Zel?" Tya asked once more, her voice softening to something far more wary than demanding.
The fellow blonde gazed inward. Tears brimmed her eyes as she stared into the void of nothingness, and for the longest moment, she gave no response. The air stilled in the silence that awaited her response.
Link and Groose stepped back, eyes on her, and without a word, she stepped forward and took hold of Link's hand. Her eyes never moved from the void before them, even as she slipped her fingers between his and squeezed it.
She swallowed a lump in her throat, steadying her breath with a stable inhale. Her voice soft, shaking with her distress, she answered "it's a prison."