Chapter 27
Teamwork Through Understanding
When we came out on the gigantic tree again, we marched down the branch where the footholds were etched in the trunk. They stretched only a little higher up and to the opposite side, where the branch led to another door.
With His Highness now taking the lead, I slowed, allowing Tog, with his spear now on his back, to go ahead in front of me so I could watch him. But he never once complained about those burns again. The only evidence I had that it still bothered him was how carefully he moved while climbing the bark, like he didn't want the rough surface meeting the worst of his burns. Once he was close enough to the other side, I followed.
His Majesty was already at the door, waiting for us to catch up. This time, when he swung the door open, the room was not up to the ceiling with sand. Instead, the floor was made of a thick brown stone inscribed with old runes and symbols I didn't even bother to try and read.
There was not much to see here. The only odd thing I saw was a pressure plate in the center of the room. It didn't look like it would be a trap, it was too obvious sitting in the middle of an empty room. The plate was a dark grey color, they didn't even bother to hide it in the brown floor.
While the other two examined the walls and runes, I headed for the plate on the floor. I called a warning for the others to stay aware and I activated the switch. After a click, the wall straight ahead rolled back, revealing narrow passages. But, of course, there's always a catch. As soon as the plate is released, the wall slides back into place.
"Someone has to stay here." His Highness spoke aloud.
And at once, Tog reacted, stepping towards the switch. "Then let it be me. After my injury, I'm the best one to leave behind."
"Fine," I replied. "But we're not leaving anyone behind. We'll be back for you."
The pathways were always twisting, narrow, and long, and after a while of squeezing between claustrophobic walls, we came upon a widened room. The first thing I saw was the ropes. Their scales were vibrant in color, standing out from all the brown. These were vicious snakes, and were often more hostile than not.
The next thing I noticed was the chest sitting in the far end of the room. This was the challenge? A room filled with ropes was hardly what I would call a challenge. But if my mind wasn't so distracted with the sight of the brightly colored robes and the thought of treasure at the end, I would have paid more attention to the bones lying on the floor.
Instead I ran in, slicing at all the snakes that came near. My companion, the prince, also launched himself in the battle. The ropes rushed in without hesitation, hissing and spitting, and I used my sword to sweep them back. But when more replaced them, I backed up. And that's when I heard His Highness yell for me to stay away from the bones on the floor.
But is was too late.
The next thing I knew, I heard rattling, and then bony arms reached over and squeezed around my neck! I was shocked, I didn't even realize that I dropped my sword until it was too late. Then, because I could no longer move or defend myself, the ropes took advantage and slithered up my body where they wrapped around me and also squeezed.
Thank the Goddesses the prince was right here with me, or I would have been killed right here. He leapt over, grabbing my sword, fighting, and chasing back the snakes in front of me before reaching the stalfos choking me. I couldn't see what was happening from my angle, but the stalfos let go of me, and the ropes quickly followed. I instantly fell over, gasping and trying to recover my senses. Past my head spinning from lack of air, I was only slightly aware of the prince battling the stalfos.
Come on, you have to get up on your feet and fight! I thought before pushing off the floor. I staggered for just a moment. His Majesty saw me and tossed my sword back, and despite my scattered senses, I caught it. Now with my sword leading, I charged straight ahead and bashed in the skull of the stalfos. The head cracked and the rest of the skeleton fell in a thousand pieces.
And then we cleaned up the ropes. With the two of us, we managed them quickly, and I went to retrieve whatever was in the chest. This time it wasn't money, but a key.
There was nothing else we could do here, so we left back out to the narrow passages. The turns were confusing, and it was hard to remember where we came from. I wondered how big this maze was? One thing's for sure, it was a lot bigger than I thought it was, because we took a wrong turn and ended up at a locked door in the middle of the path.
Unlocking it released more passages ahead. They looked and turned the same, and we even came across an alternate path. In this path, it led to what might have been some sort of storage room. It was wide, like the room with the ropes, but this time, there were no enemies that I could see. The only thing I saw were stacks and piles of pots and crates.
I was stunned! Out of all my journeys through the palaces and dungeons alike, I've never seen a room that suggested a common use like this. Come to think of it, it made me wonder how many creatures here used these rooms for living areas. True, a lot of the monsters in these palaces were undead, but there were also a lot who weren't. And maybe a lot of the monsters we fought didn't even stay in these palaces for long. But it made me think, how many of these creatures slept, ate, or bathed in places like this? For many, this was their home. It would have to be, as many were defenders of the guardian and they knew where all the traps were.
While I was thinking this through, the prince left to investigate. But there was nothing more here. The pots came in many different shapes and sizes, and most of the crates were rotting away. In them, we couldn't find much use save for a handful of rupees. Most of the crates looked like they once carried tools, but now, they were filled with sand, and the old tools were rusted and broken.
With nothing more to do here, we went back to the tight maze. Many more minutes passed until we came to another door, but this one was more like a giant slab of stone blocking the way. The only thing that suggested it could be opened was the three pressure plates on the floor. They looked bigger and heavier than the one outside the maze.
"We're going to need more than just the two of us for this." Stated His Highness. And before I had the chance to reply, he read my thoughts and continued. "One of those pots back in the storage room might do the trick."
"Then let's bring one back and see."
He lead the way, and when we came back to the storage, we picked the heaviest pot we could find, then the both of us dragged it back to the slab. But even once we sat it on the plate, it still wasn't heavy enough to trigger it.
"That's odd, how can we get through?" Spoke the prince.
But I already knew the answer. "We need Tog. I think the pot is heavy enough to take his place, those plate are lighter than these."
He wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed. "I don't want to drag this all the way back, but I suppose if it means we can continue past that door, then fine."
The pot was indeed heavy enough to take Tog's place, and now, with him beside us, we came back to the slab. When all three plates pressed down, the door fell into a slot in the floor. There were no more passages however, but a dead end, where a lever with the same likeness to the one in the chamber where we fought the doomknocker was in the opposite wall.
I pulled it down, knowing what will happen when I do. And sure enough, the earthquake came back. I held onto the lever tightly, allowing it to be the only thing keeping me up. My companions, however, didn't have anything as solid to hang onto. They danced with the weight of the shaking and leaned up against the wall until, like before, the shaking just stopped.
Then, after recovering lost balance, we searched the maze more to see if we missed anything. But the search was rather uneventful, so we left and went back to the central room with the tree. And behold! One of the branches higher up snapped in the midst of the earthquake, with the end now leading to another door! Interesting, the first two branches were already broken when we found them, but that was because of the two levers we found earlier? Was this the whole point of the earthquakes? This concept is nothing like I've ever seen before.
"Look, we're so close to the top!" I exclaimed before reaching for the branch that led to the new door. The prince and Tog were still further down, climbing on the footholds.
I turned around, waiting for them to catch up, and it was then when I realized how close we were to the large door near the open sky. That just has to be where the guardian was waiting! And it was the last door we haven't explored yet, besides this one we're checking out next, of course.
When the others made it up the bough, we entered the door at the end and came into another empty chamber. That is, it looked just like the last one, but with no plate in the middle of the floor. But this time, something stood out. There was a loud sound like shifting sand, but I couldn't see the source. Then, I looked up. There was an entrance up the wall and near the ceiling to our left, maybe that's where the sound's coming from.
"Thank the Goddesses," His Highness exclaimed when he saw it. "I was thinking this looked too familiar."
"Does either one of you happen to carry rope?" I asked. But they shook their heads.
"And I usual do too, but this trip was a little more spontaneous." Tog cursed.
Well, this is going to be more difficult. I sighed, no matter, we'll make it work. I casted "Jump" and soared to the ledge, and I even managed a smooth landing this time.
The sound of sand was more deafening up here, and as I tiptoed to the other end of the ledge, I finally found the source. This was a large chamber, filled with quicksand, and just by speculation, I found out what we were supposed to do here. Across the quicksand was another ledge with a lever in the wall. Nothing bridged the gap other than a thin rope, stretching over the quicksand and connecting the ground I was on, to the other side.
What's more, there was a second rope. It was tied expertly in the middle of the first rope, and veered off to yet another piece of floor. This platform was right next to the other one, but a thick wall came between them, making the second rope the only way to reach it. I saw a switch was on the floor. Of course, both of these platforms were closed off by heavy iron cages sitting on top of them. And upon closer inspection, I also spotted another switch in the outside wall of this platform, it was just outside the cage and in front of the end of the tightrope.
This room was simple, it didn't take a lot of thought to know that someone had to press the switch to lift the first cage, and then press that one to lift the other cage. What wasn't simple however, was the danger. After all this time as an adventurer, I'd always thought I wouldn't feel fear towards danger, and for the longest time, I thought that this was true. I was always risking my life over little things and running head first without thinking of the consequences. But I think I was just burying the fear under my reputation as a hero. I think I had it the whole time.
Or, at least, I had it now.
What changed, you might ask. Before, at the beginning of this quest, I would have died before I would admit it. But throughout this, I learned from my companion, the prince of Hyrule. He flashed the hero title often in front of my face, it sounded like he was teasing at first, but I think he truly meant every word. I tried too hard to look like a hero, and I soaked every drop of attention I could draw. I never wanted to be that way. In the end, I'm glad I had his help.
"What do you see?" He called. I barely even heard his voice above the sand.
I turned back to him. He and Tog were standing near the wall, looking up at me expectedly, especially the prince, like he was holding his breath. All of a sudden, I remembered the time I left him behind in that cave. Is that what he was thinking of?
I couldn't blame him, I was wrong to do that. We were a team, and I'm going to try my hardest to play my part. "I'm going to need your help." I called to them, then crouching down and offering my hand. Tog would have been able to reach it if he was more of the prince's height. But His Highness stepped in, kneeling down to lift the moblin up on his shoulders. But Tog was only shorter, in figure however, he was bigger than the prince was, though I was impressed by his effort. He lifted Tog on shaking shoulders that were too slender for this sort of task, and yet, he proved stronger than he looked. Tog was lifted just high enough for me to reach him, and then I learned myself just how heavy this moblin really was.
Once he was up, it was the prince's turn to follow. He waited for me to lower my hand again, then he jumped up and grabbed on. Tog helped me to pull him up, and he brushed himself off and gave me a grateful nod, like he saw the memory in my mind.
"Anyone has a plan?" Tog asked, nearly yelling to speak above the sand. "I see what we have to do, but I'm not sure if we should do it."
"There's no way that tightrope is safe either," The prince agreed. "Having been here for thousands of years. I'm surprised it's still up there."
I wanted to cast "fairy" and just fly over there, but of course, the palace wasn't that simple. Those cages were thick, and the openings were small, most likely too small even for fairies to fly through. "I don't think we have a choice. I think we need to cross the rope."
Cursing, the prince stepped forward, and was stopped by Tog. "I'm assuming the two of you are going to take care of this. What do you want me to do?"
"Stay here," I answered. "I know that'll be hard, but maybe it's for the best. You're still injured, and we'll be fine." I hope, I added silently.
"But it's been better." Tog protested. "It haven't been burning as much." At first, he seemed irritated, but then his gaze fell to the floor and he nodded. "Very well. I'll stay here."
That was a hard place to leave him in, but there was nothing more to help with. I know I wouldn't have backed down without a fight if that was me.
I turned back to His Highness. "You go first, head for the switch on the outside of the second cage, and I'll wait at the other one for it to open, if it can indeed open that simply. Once I make it in though, prepare for another quake." Then, after wishing him safety and luck, he stepped towards the tightrope again and hesitated. Then, he exhaled all the trapped air he was holding in his lungs and took the first step. He was a figure of nobility with grace and balance, walking the rope like he's been doing it all his life. I only wished I felt as confident as he looked.
I sighed inwardly and centered my foot in the, hopefully, strong middle of the rope. Again, they must have preserved this rope, because it felt like it was still tough and fresh after all these years. At least I can stop worrying about it snapping once we make it out to the middle. Once I held the balance on one foot, I brought the other one in front of me.
His Highness was already nearing the center where the second rope was tied. I followed him, trying to look ahead of the rope and tune out the quicksand under it. I was afraid if I were to look down at it, I'd grow dizzy and fall, but I kept my course, for now anyway.
Soon after that, the prince was branching off on the other rope, and I stayed going straight on mine. He reached the button first, and in my peripheral vision, he pressed it and the cage was lifted up to the ceiling. Then, His Highness disappeared around the corner. And when I was just a few feet away from my destination, this cage also lifted up and retreated after the other one. Over the roar of sand, I heard the metal cage rattling against the chain that was pulling it up.
I stepped off the rope and onto solid ground, where the lever was. I grasped it and yelled another warning to the prince on the other side of the wall, although I'm unsure if he even heard me. I gave him a few more seconds, then I pulled the lever.
This was the worst place for an earthquake. I held onto that lever so hard, my hands were numb for days, and I had more room and more to grab onto than what His Highness had. Images of him rolling off the platform without me hearing the sand cover his screams kept running through my mind. It killed me thinking that I wouldn't even know if he's okay or not until we meet on the rope again. I wondered if Tog could see him. With the quake beginning to subside, I glanced across the quicksand and saw a blue tinted figure bouncing with the waves, but I couldn't make out his expression, so I couldn't guess what he was thinking.
When it was safe to move again, I gave it another minute or two, then headed back to the rope. I was still dizzy from the shaking though, but I couldn't wait here forever either. I turned my head, and saw the prince was also walking on his rope again. Thank the Goddesses he survived! Now all we had to do was travel back to Tog safely. Once my head was relatively clear, I situated my feet on the rope.
We made it to the center. The prince was already a few feet in front of me, and so he went ahead. When he did, I slowed down, not just to give him a little more space, but because the room was still shaking in my perspective, trying to balance on a cord did not help that feeling.
Then, I did the worst thing a person on a tightrope could do, I looked down. It was just for a moment, but it was long enough for me to lose my balance. My foot slipped, but I was able to grab the rope as I was falling. The quicksand below my feet just continued to funnel and turn, but I felt like I was just inches away from it. Even though the rope remained strong and didn't seem bothered about my weight, I felt like I was holding onto nothing, that I was just hovering onto twine.
Shortly after that though, I saw the prince look back. His eyes widened with fear, and I saw him call to me, but I couldn't hear it. With that royal grace, he swung his leading foot back around and started towards me. And when he came close enough, he extended his hand. I hesitated, feeling worried that if I were to take it, I'd just bring him down with me. But he never retracted his offer, and he still seemed as confident as ever.
I took his hand, and he pulled straight up, never once losing his balance as far as I could tell. I brought up my knee back on the rope, and he helped me stand back up. Before he turned back around, he either told me to be more careful and don't look down, or to be watchful of the weather or it'll kick you down. Then he spun around again and I followed close behind him.
Tog stood breathless, he didn't even greet us when we came back on solid ground. I stumbled, half shocked and half relieved to be back on a wider, safer floor. I would have died, if it wasn't for my companion. All this time, I was so blind thinking I didn't need anyone to help me. Now I'm grateful for trustworthy friends by my side.
We didn't bother saying anything about it until we left the overwhelming sound of shifting sand behind and headed back to the tree bough. "I would have fell if you weren't there to help me." I said to the prince, he regarded me curiously. "I was wrong for treating you badly when you joined me on this quest. Thank you for saving me back there for the hundredth time."
He gave me a friendly nod, but it was Tog who spoke. "Look, the lever fell the branch leading to the double doors! I think we made it to the guardian." He was right, that door was now accessible, and we were just a few levels below it. My heart began to race with anticipation. Who will it be this time? What will we encounter on our way to the next one? One thing's for sure, I was tired of this place.
