CHAPTER 14

"You're certain you saw him around there?"

"Absolutely." Marlo said, gesturing to a spot of ocean with his spear, "After what happened, I could never forget."

"He said he left us a trail." Grupa butted in, "What're we looking for?"

"Did you notice anything?" Link asked their group, now gathered at a spot of seashore.

"About what?" Koifa asked, tilting her head.

"Rifsha." he answered, seemingly unfazed, "Did you notice anything peculiar about him?"

Aria had the distinct feeling that, had Beytho been here minutes ago, she would have made some offhand remark about "him being dead". When she looked between the siblings and thought back on Rifsha's dying form, something struck her.

"He was bare." Aria said aloud, seemingly without thinking, her volume and pace increasing as it became clearer to her. "Look at you all, you're wearing jewels, armbands, Marlo and Grupa have weapons…"

Link actually turned back to his daughter with some surprise, but managed a smile. "Exactly." he said with an encouraging nod, "That is the trail he left us." He turned to the Zoras. "Would you recognize these items if you saw them?"

"Absolutely!" Marlo piped up.

Link pointed back out to the waters. "We'll start here. Everyone fan out and look. If you find something, give a signal. We'll find you." He then strode over to Aria before turning back to the Zoras. He then spoke with all the confidence and strength of the military man he said he was. "Two of you will have to carry us, as we're not as swift swimmers as you, nor can we communicate underwater like you. Aria, you go with Thya. Grupa, I'm going with you."

Both Zoras nodded their approval. "If ya see something or need some more air, just hit us on the shoulder." Grupa instructed.

"Our plans are in order. We've no more time to lose. Let's move out!"

Everyone strode to the beach, Link and Aria making sure their Zora Scales were securely fastened around their necks as their feet touched the water. When the water around them was waist-deep, Thya took Aria by the hand, instructed her to take a breath, then all of them submerged.

Being underwater was a whole different experience for Aria. The pools she had bathed and practiced swimming in were small and self-contained environments. Now, she was traversing the waters of the actual ocean–a far larger and far wilder environment. Luckily for her, Thya was there to guide her. Once they were in deep enough waters and far enough from the shore, she swam up under her and took her other hand, instructing her to hold on to her shoulders. Aria did as instructed and, once she had a secure grip, Thya took off through the waters.

Underwater travel was an experience to behold. She could not see particularly far, only about ten or fifteen feet in front of her. Every few seconds, something new seemed to come up, whether it was the landscape or passing life. Seeing the sun shimmering from below, looking down at the sand to see rocks or clumps of weeds, or seeing a school of fish pass them by, it seemed something alien was in any direction she looked.

They stayed close to the bottom, two sets of eyes scouring the sandy bottom below for signs of Rifsha's "trail". Aria had just remembered that a "signal" would be given and had just wondered what it could be when something reached her ears. It was a series of clicks-a series that was so quick in succession it almost felt like one long note, but it also rose and lowered in pitch, almost seeming to form spoken language.

Thya heard it too, for she turned sharply and swam quickly towards the source. To her surprise, Marlo came into sight, and the clicking noise seemed to come from him, his mouth open as though calling with significant volume. Grupa arrived next, Link riding on his back much like she was with Thya, and Koifa approached opposite them.

Marlo gestured to the sandy floor with a finger and, sure enough, there was a trinket resting down below-a crescent of silver lined with ornate sapphires that glinted in the sunlight. Koifa picked the object up, then pointed upward. They must have wanted to talk and have Aria and Link be a part of it.

All of their heads broke the surface of the water, Aria and Link gasping and filling their lungs with the cool air. Once above the waves, Koifa confirmed just what it was.

"This is his headpiece for certain." she said, holding it up for clarity, "I'm almost ashamed for not noticing its absence…"

"Don't be." Thya said, catching her attention, "We did not notice either, given the...predicament we were in. We will not blame you, sister."

"All right." Link said, taking charge once again, "Begin the search anew from this point. Koifa, stay here. We'll call you when we find something."

They all dove back beneath the waves, the search back underway and a pattern quick to form. Whenever they found something, they would rendezvous at that point and begin a new search. Koifa would hold onto the treasures, keeping them in a pouch she had brought with her.

"We need them for…" she said, pausing before forcing the next words out, "For his ceremony. He should look his best when we bid him our good-byes."

Amid their search, they found bracelets and anklets, a waistguard, and a necklace adorned with sapphires. Fortunately for them, the trinkets became closer and closer with each find. Where one was twenty meters out, another was fifteen. They had to be getting close.

It was Thya who found the next treasure–a glint of blue and silver. When they got close enough to have a proper look, Thya opened her mouth. Rather than the clicks that Marlo had produced before - and Grupa proved was capable of creating, too - Thya emitted a long and echoing note, like the peak of a song. The call having been sent, she reached down and picked up the object. It was a sword, longer and slimmer than the one Link carried, and glinted a lighter shade of silver, its hilt a rich blue color.

As they awaited the return of Link and the royal siblings, something caught Aria's attention from the corner of her eye. She tapped Thya on the shoulder, then pointed in the general direction once she had the Zora princess's attention. Thya turned to look, her large emerald eyes squinting in focus, as though she might have seen what Aria had.

For a tense few seconds, it seemed that it had been their mind playing tricks on them. Perhaps some random piece of debris had just floated through the water? A school of fish passed them by?

Then something shot from the gloom so fast that Thya could only raise the sword to defend. Two rows of sharp teeth clamped down on the flat of the blade, the owner of those teeth actually strong enough to push them both through the water, frequently changing direction so as to create a dizzying and disorienting experience.

On ground, Aria could at least go either up or down, off her feet or on them. Under the water, she could move in virtually any direction and she was starting to become dizzy from the chaotic motions. From what she could see, Thya was doing her best to both hold on to Aria's wrist, keeping her close while at the same time trying to keep their attacker at bay. Other than that, it was blurs of blue water, Thya's orange scales, and their grayish attacker.

As swiftly as it had begun, however, it was over. Something else had intervened. Their attacker stopped and was flung away. Only now did Aria find a chance to get a look at it. It resembled a large fish, given its spindle-shaped body, but Aria noticed its triangular fins, including one on its back, and a broad, crescent-shaped tailfin. What stood out to her most, however, was its open maw lined with jagged, bladelike teeth, the same maw snapping repeatedly as it tried to free itself.

As for the intervener that saved her and Thya, it was Marlo. He had impaled the beast right through its tail with his spear, the beast in question thrashing to and fro, teeth gnashing. It was putting up quite the fight, too, for it was dragging Marlo around, forcing him to try and maintain a hold on his spear. As he struggled to fight it back, Aria saw something around its eye: something she remembered all too vividly.

The deep crimson color, the exposed muscle, the unblinking eye…

Then there came another rescuer. Grupa had joined the fray, his giant conch-shell club in hand. With a roar, he swung down hard at the beast's face, moving with strength and speed that surprised Aria, even more so given that they were all underwater. The shell smashed into the creature's head, snapping it straight down and bringing its fighting to a sudden, chilling stop.

Grupa did not stop, however, and continued to wail on the creature, striking it repeatedly with his club until the water around him began to run red with blood. He had gone into such a violent state that Marlo actually dislodged his spear and seized him around the wrist, only succeeding in slowing him down. Two more figures emerged from the gloom, Link and Koifa, and they both proceeded to aid Marlo in his attempts to restrain his brother.

As Thya took Aria by the hand and led her up to the surface, she cast a last look back at the others. The last image she saw of them before breaching into cold air was Grupa trying to keep beating the dead beast, Marlo and Koifa grappling with each of his arms while Link wrapped his arms around his thick neck.

"Are you okay?" Thya asked as Aria took a deep breath to fill her lungs.

"Yeah." Aria panted, "What… What was that thing?"

"A shark," she answered, "One infested with malice, as I'm guessing you saw."

"Was…Was that what attacked your brother?"

"It had to have been." Thya mourned, "No other beast in the seas would leave a wound like that. And in that kind of state, it makes sense that I could not heal Rifsha's wound properly…"

Before Thya could go on, four more heads breached the water as Link and the others joined them. Grupa approached them, head hung and his greenish visage flushed from shame. It was as though he could feel Marlo's judgmental gaze upon his back.

"S-Sorry you had to see that…" he said, sounding every bit ashamed as he looked, "I saw you had our brother's sword, saw that shark, and thought…" He trailed off, then averted his gaze, teeth grit. "I'd never felt like that… I wanted… I wanted it to know what pain he caused us and-"

"Stop." Aria said, holding up her hand. He actually turned to look at her, almost unsure of what he had heard. "We're all fine since you and Marlo showed up. And, given what that shark likely did, I guess I can't blame you for your actions." She released Thya to swim over to him, putting a hand on the prince's shoulder. "It's dead now. It can't hurt anyone again. Just try to keep a clearer mind next time, okay?"

A slight smile returned to Grupa's face, his gratitude becoming visible. "I'll do my best."

"I know you will." Aria said with a smile. "Now, about what we found…"

Thya joined the group and held up the sword before offering it to Grupa. "I think you should hold onto this, until we can return it to him." she told him softly, "He'd have wanted it."

Grupa took it in his hand, wordlessly thanking his sister as he clipped it to his waist next to his club. "I'll stay here and strip down that shark. Don't want anything getting infected by it. Go on without me. I'll catch up."

The rest of the party nodded their approval and, after both Aria and Link took a deep breath, they submerged once again. The search continued with relative silence for several minutes, Aria and her father having to surface every so often even with the Zora Scales aiding them. There didn't appear to be any more jewels, ornaments, or clothing left. Aria felt that the trail had gone cold, and could see in Thya's eyes that she was beginning to feel something similar.

Just as they were about to call for a rendezvous, another long and echoing note sounded through the water, catching their attention. Thya took off with Aria in tow, finding Koifa to be the source of the noise.

When the other three joined them, Koifa gestured to a rock to her side. It had a long, white line down its side. It had to be fresh, for if it had been an old scar on the rock's face, it would have dulled in color and shape. An idea struck Grupa and, swimming over, he took his late brother's sword and held the edge adjacent to the scar. Aria was no expert, but she could see it was a very close fit. This had to be Rifsha's original plan–to carve a trail on any rocks he could find. He had not counted on the shark attack and had to resort to leaving his belongings behind instead.

With a new tactic in mind, they set off once again, checking any surface for scars, whether it was a rock, the wood remains of a boat, or a small outcropping of substance that Thya called "coral" when they surfaced for air.

The trail took them deeper and further into the ocean until they reached a wall of solid rock. Right in front of that wall, rather than a single scar, was three scars that formed an arrow-shape. It was pointing directly ahead, but upon looking in its direction, they were met with a wall of rock that was seemingly immovable.

As they breached the surface, they saw that the wall reached high above, forming a sheer cliff that towered over them. Every fear of the trail running cold

"Now what do we do?" Marlo asked, somewhere between confused and almost insulted, "We followed all the signs Rifsha left us, and it took us to a dead end."

"That's not like him." Grupa butted in, "He wouldn't lead us here unless it was something important! Or do you not trust him, brother?"

"We do trust him, Grupa." Koifa interjected, "It's just puzzling that he'd leave a trail that leads this far out to sea and…"

As the Zora siblings discussed their options, Aria could not help but notice her father had been looking at the wall, then down below the waves. He turned to Aria, hurriedly said, "I'm going to check something out. It won't take long." and then proceeded to dive under the waves and swim towards the wall.

For the next few minutes, Aria treaded water, only half-listening to the theorizing and near-arguing that the Zora siblings were having. She caught only part of their conversations, including…

"Maybe he scaled the walls? Perhaps the place he found is up on top of that cliff?"

"He DID always have a knack for high-diving. Not quite as much as I, though…"

"How fast could he have climbed if he did? Given how long it took us and the time he spent out at sea, it doesn't all add up…"

Suddenly, Link's head breached the water's surface and, after catching his breath, he turned to face Aria and the others, stuck his fingers in his mouth and, to Aria's complete shock, emitted a very loud and very high-pitched whistle. After they collectively flinched, they turned to show he had their attention.

"Over here!" he called, waving them over, "I found something!"

They plunged back beneath the waves again and found him inspecting a part of the wall, running his hands along its surface and occasionally tapping it with his knuckles. He gestured towards Grupa then beckoned him to approach. Grupa did so, but followed Link's example, running his hands along the surface.

Whatever Link had found, Grupa seemed to pick up if his expression was anything to go by. He started out confused, but comprehension spread on his face as he felt something on the wall. Link gestured to Grupa's club and, once the Zora took it in hand, Link tapped the wall with his fist a few more times, then pointed at a spot on it. Grupa nodded his understanding and Link hurriedly swam away as the bulky Zora wound up and swung with his club.

At first, nothing happened and Aria was beginning to believe that her father may have imagined something. Then Grupa wound up and swung at the wall again. This time, something unexpected happened. Cracks appeared in the wall on that strike alone. A brief pause came as all present went slack-jawed at the sight. Even Grupa looked surprised at what was being accomplished, but it was short lived as a smile spread across his face and he took his club up once again.

He struck once more. The cracks spread further and deepened.

He struck again. They extended even more.

Again. Small pieces of rock were starting to fall free of the wall.

Again. The foundations of the wall were starting to weaken.

With just one more good hit…

Grupa struck again, seeming to give it all that he had, and the wall finally crumbled. A vast pile of stone, jagged from the damage Grupa inflicted on it, formed to show a tunnel of sorts extending into the rock wall, so deep that the blue of the ocean faded into pitch-black.

This was it.

This was what Rifsha had led them to. It had to be. Eager to find some clue as to how to combat the evil infesting the land, and wanting to make sure Rifsha did not die in vain, they all swam into the cavern's depths, ready to brave whatever dangers awaited them.