Why did he have to end up with the kid?
The Captain grumbled to himself as he stared at the bars that were now separating the group. The puzzle seemed easy enough: ten floor switches, ten Heroes. But now the group was separated into pairs: the Smith and Ranch Hand were together, as were Time and Wind, Sky and the Champion, and the Traveler and Veteran. On the upside, each pair now had an open door to delve further into this place.
"I was afraid of this," the boy muttered. "Though I guess this was probably the only way to get the doors open."
"How could you have possibly known this would happen?" asked the Captain incredulously.
"Math." The boy was hugging himself, but his tone was surprisingly even. "Ten switches, five doors. That makes two switches per door. Plus the lines in the floor." He pointed to where the bars popped up. "But none of the doors opened until every switch was pressed, so I guess this was the only way forward."
"We can meet back up later," the Veteran called. "The sooner we get through this place the better."
In silent agreement, everyone turned and walked through their respective doors.
The Captain frowned as he stepped beyond the doorway. Ahead of him was a short hallway with branching paths at the end. "Oh don't tell me… Hey kid—" He turned, but the boy wasn't there. "Kid‽"
"Up here."
The Captain frowned at him. "Isn't that cheating?"
The boy cocked his head from the top of the wall. "Is using the terrain to sneak up on your enemies cheating?"
The Captain huffed. "Fair point."
"Besides," the boy continued, "if whoever built this maze didn't want you to get on top of the walls they should have lowered the ceiling."
"So? What do you see up there?"
The boy's eyes darted around. "It's… way more complicated than it looks." He took several steps forward. "There's lots of buttons, and lines… I think the buttons move sections of wall arou—" His eyes shot open as he suddenly scrambled backwards and dropped down, lying prone on top of the wall. He whimpered something.
"What? What is it?"
"Monsters," the boy squeaked.
The Captain pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tell you what: how about you guide me from up there, and I'll fight the monsters off down here?"
The boy nodded. Slowly he got to his knees. "Wait, what's that say?" He pointed to the bit of wall right in between where the pathway branched.
The Captain looked over the stone etching. "Nothing, it's just pictures."
The boy climbed down and stepped up to the image. "It's not random," he said quietly. "I think this is a clue… Wait here, I'm going to check something." He pulled his hood over his head and scaled the wall.
"Be careful!" the Captain called as the boy scampered off, leaping deftly from wall to wall. He hated everything about this. He began to pace. His ears were on full alert to any sounds of distress. How long was he supposed to wait exactly?
No harm in exploring a little, he thought. May as well clear out some of these monsters. As long as he didn't touch any of the buttons he figured he should be fine.
He charged down one path, soon encountering and dispatching several standard-variety monsters: keese, chu-chus, bokoblins and the like. One bokoblin bolted away from him in terror, and he pursued it.
He heard something large move behind him. He turned just in time to see a wall block off the pathway. When he turned back, the bokoblin he'd been chasing pressed what looked like a large button on the wall. Another section of wall quickly closed off the path between them.
The Captain looked around frantically. There were no buttons for him to press.
He was trapped.
He swore out loud. Now what was he supposed to do?
He paced with his sword drawn. There wasn't enough room to safely try bombs, and even then the walls looked too sturdy for that to be effective. Defeated and angry, he plopped in a corner. Now he had no choice but to wait. "Goddesses protect him," he whispered.
A few minutes later he heard a familiar voice. "Captain?"
"Over here kid!"
A moment later he saw the young Hero peering down into his prison. "I told you to wait for me!"
"Well well, look who found his courage." He was not in a mood to be scolded by a child. "You gonna get me out of here?"
The boy glared at him from under his hood, green eyes piercing and fists clenched. "I can't help you if you're not going to trust me." His voice was trembling.
"You think you're intimidating?" the Captain scoffed.
Hurt flashed in the boys eyes. Without another word he turned and walked off.
"Whoa—hey! Hey!" The Captain jumped up. "Get back here! You need my help!"
No response.
Panic gripped him. He kicked the wall, swearing again. Soon he heard a familiar sound, and could only guess that the kid was activating buttons and moving walls elsewhere in the maze. The panic refused to settle. What if the kid was seriously hurt? He wasn't sure he'd be able to forgive himself, to say nothing of the lecture he'd get from at least the Champion and Veteran.
He stared at the walls. How hard could it be? He gave himself a running start, but his fingers and boots couldn't find anywhere to grip. He slipped and landed flat on his butt. He took a deep breath. This wasn't helping. He needed to calm down.
He listened. He could still hear walls moving, which meant the kid was alright. He didn't think the kid would leave him behind completely. It wasn't in a Hero's nature to do so.
Then again, it wasn't in a Hero's nature to be so darned cowardly, either.
The Captain draped his arms over his knees. He and the Old Man seemed to be the only ones who had any sense on the matter. So what if the kid could hold the Master Sword? That didn't mean he could wield it. It was a Hero's duty to defend the defenseless, and you couldn't do that if you were defenseless yourself. Yet everyone else in the group seemed fine with having a terrified child traveling with them into hordes of combat-ready monsters on the daily.
One of the walls moved. The Captain jumped to his feet, scanning the tops of the walls until he caught a glimpse of the boy.
"The exit's this way." The boy started walking, refusing to look at him.
The Captain followed the little boy through the shifting corridors, silent save for the dying screams of the monsters in his way. At last they came to a standard door in a wall that went clear up to the ceiling. The Captain opened the door as the boy climbed down to join him. They stepped through the doorway, the Captain at least glad to leave the aggravating maze behind them.
Once they were through, the door slammed shut. No lights illuminated the area.
They were in complete darkness.