Chapter 22

Error's Secret

Without explaining myself, I approached the elder's door as we were passing by it. Even though he was behind me, I knew His Majesty had stopped and was watching me curiously. "What are you doing? I thought you said we were going to an inn." He barked.

"I changed my mind." I replied. "The elders are powerful, and they had always helped in the past, maybe he'll be able to help us now." Before the prince could object further, I came up to the door and knocked.

Minutes passed, and I didn't hear any movement inside. Perhaps he already went to bed. "Come on, Link!" The prince called. "We can try again in the morning if we need to."

I didn't reply, but sighed inwardly, turned, and walked a few steps away. But then I heard the door open behind me. I turned yet again and saw a very tired man with bloodshot eyes and tangled brown hair and beard with gray poking his head from behind the door frame. "What do you want at this hour?" He said roughly, I could tell from his expression and tone that he wasn't happy.

"This was your idea." The prince reminded me, sharing a quick glance.

"I know," I whispered back. I looked forward at the elder still awaiting my answer, and I froze for just a second, not knowing where to begin. "Good evening. I know it's growing late, but may I ask to take a moment of your time?"

"What is this about?"

"I know it sounds odd, but we were wondering if you know anything about the Island Palace. You see-"

"The Island Palace!" He exclaimed, but still not moving from the door. "Everyone knows it's impossible to reach. My knowledge cannot change that."

"Yes, but perhaps you know another way? A way to reach the island without the use of a ship?"

"No," He barked, barely taking in the question. "And nothing you say can give me a means. Even if I had something to offer you, I'm too tired from lack of sleep to cast anything. Now, if you pardon me, I need to see to my ill granddaughter." He made a move like he was going back inside, but then he stopped to turn and grumble. "The poor girl is suffering a horrible illness that she may not recover completely from. Even my spells have done little for her."

"Please, Sir, wait!" I called, stopping him from going inside. "Give her this. It should take the sickness away." I reached into my pouch and brought out Tog's red water of life. I stepped closer to the door and handed it to him.

He stared at it in bewilderment before speaking. "Is this the red water of life? It's really rare, only talented witches can brew this." He mouth left agape, he turned his head and called in the house. "Martha! Come out here!"

The call was followed by approaching footsteps, and I heard a woman's voice from inside. In just a few moments, the elder moved to the side and a younger lady showed up beside him. She looked just as tired as he did, and she squinted, bringing her face to examine the contents in the bottle closer.

"Red water of life." The elder explained. "This is what we need. This will, without a doubt, save your little girl."

Before he even finished speaking, she grasped the bottle like it was a long lost love, and she hesitated for just a minute before she turned back and ran in the house.

Suddenly, the wise man's entire demeanor changed. He sighed and relaxed the tension in his body, he even gave a sincere smile to us. "What can we ever do to repay you?" He said like he had forgotten why we were here in the first place, but before I had the chance to answer, he continued. "Please, come inside." He stepped back and held the door open.

The inside of the house was clean and fresh. The organized space made the living area feel large and luxurious. The place looked newer in here than it did from the outside from the street, where it looked like the elder's home was the oldest in town. I heard the door shut behind us, and the elder came ahead of us and beckoned towards a circle of couches and armchairs.

I moved to exchange a look with my companion, but he was already sitting down. I shrugged, taking a chair next to him. Once the elder sat across from us, I spoke of my request again. "We came here because we were hoping you can help us reach the Island Palace."

The elder exclaimed. "Oh, that's right, you did say that." But he hesitated. "Why? Why do you need to reach the island?"

"Trust us," I answered. "It's very important."

But before I could go on, he spoke up. "The island isn't one for the faint heart, and it's definitely not a place for an explorer. It's dangerous."

"So you do know more about it." The prince remarked.

And again, the man hesitated. "Well, yes, but there's nothing I can do to help you reach it. That island is too powerful for a wizard's spell, the old king made sure of that."

"Will this change your mind?" I asked, bringing my hand up for him to see. The Triforce glowed in response, still seeping past the metal of the gloves. The elder gasped and stood up, reaching for my hand with shaking fingers.

"That can't be!" He cried. "I can't- I never thought I'd meet the chosen one in my lifetime! You're going to the palace to unite the Triforce whole again."

"That's right. Do you know how we can reach it?" I asked again.

He looked about the room like he was either not sure where he was, or he was making sure no one was around. He sat back down slowly. "I don't." He finally answered, but he spoke again quickly to beat back any comment made about it. "But I know someone who can. It is said that the old king trusted only a few people with that kind of knowledge, as he wanted to make sure only the chosen one will learn how to reach the island. These people passed down this information through their offspring."

"And you know one of these people." The prince finished.

The wise man nodded and lowered his voice. "They call him 'Error'. He's a man from Ruto, but you're in luck, he's been trapped here since that roadblock fell. And since then, he has been helping the crew remove it. You may still find him there, it's still a few short hours until dark."

"His name is Error?" I asked, baffled.

The elder nodded once more. "They say his great-great-grandfather made a foolish mistake that costed him his high rank from the king's side." He gave an ironic chuckle. "Reputation is everything when people know your family."

"Thank you," His Highness said as he stood up from the cushions. "Let's go see if we can make it in time to see him."

I followed his lead and made for the door. The wise man stood as well, but he walked past me to the other side of the room. "Chosen One, wait." He called, and I turned to see he was removing something from a shelf. It was a scroll, and he unraveled it to make sure it was the one he was thinking of. Then, he folded it back and held it to me. "Meeting you was a great honor, and I want to do everything I can to ensure your mission succeeds. This is the fairy spell. It's an odd spell, to be sure, but it may be useful if you can cast it. It'll turn you, and anyone you need to, into fairies. This will let you fly through tight spaces, but it takes practice." He allowed me to take it, and after a short moment of silence, his face dropped. "If you can't cast it, feel free to sell it and use the money for something else."

"Thanks, I'll see what I can do."

He smiled and I went back to the door where my companion lingered.


The roadblock was just a few miles outside of town, where the sides of the road met with towering cliffs, and the whole way, we kept a quick pace. The colors of the sky was growing softer, like the sun was beginning its night rest. We needed to make it there before too long.

Honestly, I was quite surprised that when we ded see the cliffs in the distance, I could still see the people like silhouettes working around where the boulder lay. I know the wise man said they will work until dark, but surely they wouldn't want to stay this late? By this point, once they cleaned and picked up their work, they'd be walking home in the night.

They nearer we came to the worksite, the more I heard them talk and yell among each other. Most of them were swinging pickaxes at the giant rock, but there were a lot of other workers picking up the chunks that were coming off, placing them in wagons, and wheeling them off to a large pile of rubble off the road.

There were many people here! Maybe about a hundred men came out here to work on this project. Now comes the challenge; which one is Error? Best if we ask. As we came up to the rock pile first, I stopped one of the men with a wagon approaching the pile. "Excuse me, Sir. Do you know a man named Error? Is he here?"

The man lifted a rock and threw it bouncing on top the others before standing straight. He looked at me and wiped off his brow. He nodded and pointed back by the roadblock. "He's chipping away with a pickaxe. Look for a big guy with black hair and a purple shirt."

I thanked him and he returned to throwing rocks off the wagon. The prince followed closely behind me as I led through over to the giant boulder. It was a large roadblock indeed. The hight of the rock reached most of the way to the top of the cliffs. It would have taken many moblins to roll this down in the first place. Not only was this group smart, but their power was frightening because they knew how to work together. This group should not be underestimated.

There were many men lined up here, pushing their backs in with every swing. Each and every swing resounded into a clink and a break into rock. I scanned all the workers until I saw one of them with the matching description for Error. He was swinging at the far right of the rock. I gestured to my companion to Error's location.

We picked up the pace. The worksite, especially here, smelled rancid of sweaty bodies, and the evidence was everywhere, coating and dripping off the workers' skin and clothes. Error looked like he was working no less. His hair was drenched and sticking against his head. Drips slid down and fell onto the loose purple shirt he was wearing. He was so focused in his swings that he didn't even look at us when we stood next to him. "Are you Error?" I asked.

He gave a flitting glance and a final swing before facing us. Then he leaned his pick against the rock and spoke. "Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Can we please speak with you in private?"

"Sure, but make it quick. I'm just about to finish my work for the night." He replied and followed us away from the road and out of earshot.

"I'll get right to the point." I started. "We need to know what the secret is to reach the Island Palace."

But I wasn't surprised when he denied it. "The Island Palace?" He laughed. "That's what this is about? You interrupt my work to ask about the island that nobody can reach?"

"Give it up, Error!" The prince spoke up. "The elder told us to find you out here. He said you know how to reach the place!"

Error's face narrowed with disgust. "He told you? How dare he! The elders are sworn not to speak of those secrets."

"Stay calm," I pleaded. Keeping my hands low, I brought my left towards Error so he can see the glowing Triforce. Error froze when he saw it, his jaw hanging open. He swayed, but was speechless. This continued for a few minutes until he became blank like he was ready to faint.

Finally, his mouth caught up with him. "Ch-chosen One! By the Goddesses!" He exhaled a long breath. "You're him, that's why the elder led you here. In that case, I'll be honored to tell you how to reach the palace. The secret lies in the graveyard, in an unmarked grave south of King's Tomb."

"A grave?" His Highness asked. "How can we reach the island with the use of a grave?"

Error shrugged. "I don't know all of the details. The secret has been passed down for so long, I don't know what you'll find there. I just know you need to find that unmarked tombstone, and push it."

"Then we need to get moving if we want to make it before the sun disappears. Thank you." I stated.

He nodded and moved to shake my hand, unashamed like he forgot how sweaty he was. "Glad I can help you, Chosen One. Good luck!"

I grasped his hand firmly, and then we turned seperate ways. Once the site was shrinking behind us, the prince glanced back over his shoulder and scoffed, shaking his head.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Honor!" The prince cried. "These people don't know what it is to have honor! If only these people knew you like I did."

I couldn't help but laugh. "If only they knew who you really are! That's the real irony."

He returned the laugh. "Exactly."


By the time we reached the graveyard again, the sun had long set, leaving only a few dying colors behind. The night was cool and comfortable, and the sky clear. I had considered going to find an inn again, but the two of us were stoked and excited to find a lead to the island. Besides, there was still a tiny bit of light left. But there was one thing we weren't counting on.

We started from King's Tomb. The graveyard looked so different in the night, with the smooth materials darker and less colorful. There was no sun to be caught in the graves' reflections. But as we turned to the graves south of the king's, I saw something interesting. I noticed the flowers that were left here at the base were nothing more than pink and yellow petals sprinkled on the ground. Who would have done this? Who would take flowers left on a grave and rip them apart like that?

His Majesty noticed it too. "We must be careful." He said quietly, shaking his head. "Something tells me we aren't the only ones here."

"I agree, we need to keep our eyes open." I replied. "Meanwhile, we don't know which tomb we need to push. You try these here, and I'll go further down." I finished by pointing at the relative graves. He nodded, and I left his side to take my place.

I didn't even know how to start. Best just to go down the rows, I decided. I bent down, grasped the sides of the first tomb, and pushed all my weight into it. But it didn't even budge. I sighed, standing up again. This is going to take us a while. I turned my attention to the next one, and gave it a push. But this one didn't move either.

I straightened again, already feeling tired. With all of this shoving and bending over, I'll be sore in no time! But just before I turned to the third one, I thought I heard a voice behind me. Whatever it was whispered and laughed behind my back! I spun around, but nothing was there.

I shrugged and turned again to the tombs. But I felt like I was being spied upon. A few more graves, and I heard the voices return. Again I spun around, and again, nothing was there. Giving a huff, I turned back.

And was face to face with a giant eye.

The next thing I knew, I was stumbling backwards until my heel crashed into a tomb behind me. I couldn't stop from tripping back and falling, landing sprawled in an awkward position on the cold earth.

This beast was a moa, a different type of ghost that took on the form of a giant eye with incredibly long eyelashes. Dispite having only an eye, it had a high pitched voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. And it gave its squieking laugh as it glared down at me before sailing off in the air. Its long green, wispy tail leading behind it.

I sat up and used the tomb nearest to me to help me to my feet. As I came back up, I saw the moa was soaring for His Majesty. "Watch out!" I yelled.

He glanced my way and ducked, the moa flying above his head. I saw him unsheath his sword and wait for the ghost to come racing back down again. It was then when I raced to join his side. But more moas were slowly appearing. Soon, the sky was filled with many mischievous flyers, tails of green, blue, and red whipping about behind them.

The few nearest to me at the time soared down and lingered in my way, screaming and laughing. By this point, I was fed up with them! I brought my sword out and shot at the nearest ones. All the light giggling turned to serious screams and they scattered.

But they weren't done, and now they were angry.

Two rocketed straight to me, the long eyelashes being pulled by the wind. I waited for the last possible second before bringing my shield out in front of me. Both of the eyes crashed against it, blinking away the impact. I pulled the shield back and slashed at the still stunned ghosts in front of it. They screeched and disappeared in a color of smoke that matched the color of their tails.

I glanced back up at my companion, but he was holding himself fine. The ghosts whirled around him, but he was focused. He slashed at every single one that tried to fly into him. It was good that he stood his ground, because more of the ghosts were flying towards me.

They were tricky, but weak. And their only method of attack was to fly into their opponent. Really, as long as I paid attention to all of them around me, they couldn't even come close. One strike from my sword made them disappear, and quickly into the battle, the moas that didn't flee were defeated.

Now the only ones remaining faught with His Highness, the prince. Again, I began trotting to join his side and help. But when I was just a few feet away, he struck and finished with the last one. "Are you all right?" He asked when I slowed down. I nodded, and he looked up into the sky. "Do moas usually appear here at night?"

"Never. At least when I'm here, it's usually pretty peaceful, even at night."

"Well, now it's no longer a safe place for the townsfolk. Why are they just starting to appear now?"

I shrugged. "Probably for the same reason all the other monsters are showing up. They're trying to catch me."

"Hopefully when we find the Triforce, all this will stop, or I'll have some serious issues to resolve. Anyway, we should find that grave and fast before more of those things show up."

"Right." I agreed, leaving his side again at once and returning to the graves I was searching earlier. I quickly went back to shoving the tombs one by one down the rows.

The moas never returned while we were there, but nonetheless, I worked quickly, not taking a moment to breathe in between each and every shove. So when I finally found a tomb that slid back when I pushed it, I was still bracing all my muscles against it, thinking it'll hold. I fell forward and nearly collided my face with the stone tomb. I looked down, barely catching myself, and barely avoiding a fall down into the dark pit that was underneath the tomb.

I cried aloud. "I found it!"

"You did?" The prince called back, rushing to me. "What is it?"

"A passage of some sort. I wonder where it leads?"

He stared down at it, but it was deep and impossible to see anything down it. "I don't know, but I'm glad we finally found something to help us."

My heart started to pound at those words. Finally, we were going to the palace to defeat the next guardian! We were one more step closer to saving Zelda.