CHAPTER 13

For a time, all that Aria could see around her was pitch darkness. It got to the point that she hoped there was air somewhere in the cave. The Zora scales prolonged the time that one could hold their breath, but she would still need to surface for a breath. Her thinking was interrupted when she saw a familiar glow above her. Turning her gaze upward, she saw a patch of bluish-green light–the same shade that she saw in the cave with her father.

Thya saw it too and swam towards it. In time, both their heads actually broke the surface. After taking several breaths of cool air, Aria commented in relief, "Good to know there's air in places. I was worried for a moment."

"As was I, Aria." Thya agreed, then reached up and took a handful of the moss. With a little effort, she had taken a handful of it off of the rocky concave. "I have the feeling we're going to need this. Take what you need."

Aria nodded, then mimicked her. The moss was fuzzy, as it had been in the tunnel she and her father traversed before. Once she picked out a handful-sized patch of it, she and Thya returned below the water's surface.

Link and the other siblings returned to visibility within the glow of the moss, wordlessly inquiring what had been discovered. Thya pointed upward, directing their gaze to the air pocket and the moss within it. With affirming nods, they ascended and returned with handfuls of glowing moss, then proceeded deeper within the cave.

Making wise use of his underwater speed, Marlo swam on ahead, scouting for any signs of danger as well as other air pockets that Aria and Link could make use of. It turned out to have been a smart move, as the pockets in particular were getting scarcer the further they went.

When Marlo next returned, however, he looked at a loss for words. The clicks he emitted were quicker, frequently and quickly changed in pitch, and from his frantic pointing and similarly-quick departure, he had to have found something–something important, at that.

From the enthused takeoffs of his siblings, Thya included, Aria knew something magnificent awaited her. After a somewhat-lengthy swim, a new light shone overhead. This was not a glowing moss. It shone brighter and more intensely. This got everyone's attention and, when her head broke through the water, her expectations were exceeded.

They had emerged, not into a small pocket of air within an equally-small dome of rock, they had found a vast, open cavern. The light turned out to be the sun, shining down from small holes in the roof, likely forming sinkholes above-ground, and illuminating the entire cave with grey stone, rich-blue water, and the green of mosses–glowing or not.

"I don't believe it…" Grupa said, swimming towards the rocky floor of the cave, eyes wide as he took everything in.

"I never thought I'd see this with my own eyes." Koifa said, voice brimming with awe.

"What is this place?" Aria asked. It was beautiful and was quite a venture to reach, but Aria's sense of curiosity could only extend so far. It was obviously of great importance to the Zoras, yet lost on a Hylian like her.

"This, Aria," Thya answered, "Is a sacred land to us Zora, lost to us for over a century–The Sacred Cenote."

As they joined Grupa, they found a gravelly slope that led to solid ground. The rocky floor was smooth and damp, but rose and fell almost in layers. Upon further inspection, Aria discovered that the stone columns were carved into the shapes of Zoras. Two in particular depicted a male Zora with a spear in hand, and a female Zora with a large conch that poured water into a pool down below.

"How has no one discovered this place?" Aria asked, equally curious as she was amazed.

"If I had to hazard a guess," Link said, to her surprise, "It's too deep inland and in hostile environments for Zoras to enter."

"What about Hylians like us?" Aria pressed.

"The land above probably isn't too safe to live on, or has too little to offer–crops and whatnot." He held out an arm, his gaze downward. Aria, along with everyone else, paused before looking where he was. The unmistakable crimson of malice formed pulsating patches along the ground, seeming to have infected the very moss and algae itself. "And malice has something to do with it too, I'd wager."

"It has reached this place?" Thya asked, incredulously, "No Zora has laid eyes on this place in over a century. How did it get here?"

"I think that's what Link discovered." Grupa piped up, "He noticed the rock was softer and different from the rest. Maybe someone found the Cenote, then sealed it up and let the malice just kinda seep in?"

"Well, whatever they hid, we'll find it and reverse its damage." Marlo said, giving his spear a twirl before propping it on his shoulder, "And with a squad like you all backing me up, I'm certain I can succeed."

After a collective eye roll at Marlo's pompous statement, they set off into the depths of the Sacred Cenote, seeking anything that would let them progress further. When they approached a building-like structure towards the back of the cave, they met their first obstacle. The only way in, it seemed, was through a door barred by a heavyset, iron portcullis rusted by ages gone.

"There's got to be some way to open this." Koifa said, "Is there a mechanism to open it?"

"Yes." Link said, surprising everyone. He had seemingly disappeared and reappeared to peer through the gate. "It's on the other side."

"Is there any other way in?" Aria asked, then felt a hand clap her shoulder. She turned to see Grupa, grinning with a swelling sense of pride.

"Don't worry. I got this." he said, then approached the grid of iron barring their path. Putting a fist into each palm, he cracked his knuckles and did a quick roll of his arms and neck. Having stretched properly, he crouched, then latched his hands to the bottom.

What happened next amazed everyone. Grupa strained a bit, a hefty grunt escaping his grit teeth, then there came a monstrously-loud screech as the gate actually started to give way, lifting slowly but surely off the ground. It took him two more good pushes, but he managed to heft the mass of metal off the ground enough for someone to crouch under it, all while seeming to balance it on his shoulders.

"Go, now!" Grupa said, voice strained with effort, "This is really heavy!"

Nobody needed to be told a second time. Quick as they could, they ran under the iron mass, ducking to compensate for the steadily-shrinking gap. When they all had made it safely, Grupa shifted to the other side of the entryway, then let it go, causing it to slam into the ground with a loud and resounding "clang". Freed of his burden, he could only bend over and support himself on his knees, panting for breath.

"That… That was a workout…" he said between pants, then held up a hand as Aria approached out of genuine concern. "Lemme… Lemme rest up… Just a little."

It did not take long for Grupa to catch his breath and he was strong enough to walk again in roughly a minute's time. They slowed pace as they ventured deeper into the structure so he could keep up, watching where they put their feet so as to avoid trodding on a patch of malice. As they ventured deeper, this seemed to be a problem, for patches of it seemed to increase in number–size, even.

The next room that they encountered had holes dotting the whole floor, each one filled almost to the brim with water. In Aria's mind, it almost resembled the healing pools back at Zora's Domain, the big difference being the water's lack of pristineness.

They approached to investigate and, almost immediately, Aria recoiled. One of the pools was a deep violet color and bubbled like hot tar. For a moment, Aria believed it to be a pool of malice, but that changed when Koifa actually came to give it a look. To Aria's confusion, the Zora princess actually smiled.

"This isn't malice!" she said enthusiastically.

Uneasily, Aria asked, "Is…that a good thing?"

"Yes!" Koifa paused a second, then added, "Well, actually, 'no'. It's still toxic and not safe to swim in. But! I can actually do something about it. Observe…"

Koifa knelt down and scooped up a handful of the tainted water and, to Aria's further shock, she brought her hand to her mouth and sipped the water up. She winced only the slightest bit, supposedly at the taste, but it passed as soon as it came. She then clasped her hands together, eyes closed, almost like she was in prayer.

A few seconds of silence and Koifa knelt down and touched her palm to the water's surface. The water bubbled, as though being brought to a boil, then settled as the purplish color slowly faded into a more familiar blue.

"There. It should be safe to swim in." Koifa said with relief, "Check inside quickly. If there's a source of the poison, destroy it quickly, or it will return soon."

Suddenly, something swiftly flew through the air, passing Aria so closely that it actually ruffled her hair slightly. It collided with Grupa's shoulder, sending the Zora prince staggering sideways before crashing to the ground. As he lay there, clutching his shoulder and trying to get back to his feet, Aria turned only to be met with a splash of water in one of the pools.

Aria took out her bow and, much to her relief, the Zora Scale's magic kept it dry, as well as the arrow she quickly nocked on the bowstring. Before anyone could even ask, Grupa piped up with a reassuring "I'm okay! I've taken way worse than that!"

Marlo looked to Aria, then hurriedly said, "Don't worry! I'll get it!"

And before Aria could even ask what "it" was, Marlo took a running dive into the pool where they had seen movement, disappearing beneath its surface. For a few tense seconds, nothing appeared save for the few bubbles that broke the surface.

Something suddenly burst through the water–something that Aria had never seen before. It was roughly human-sized in terms of mass and a bright red color, sliding across the ground almost like a liquid. Partly in surprise, Aria let loose the arrow, groaning inwardly as it missed, bouncing when its steel head hit the stone floor.

The creature made a run for another pool, but stopped just in time for Link's sword to fall short of it, hitting the floor with a clang. Just as it changed course, Marlo had sprung clean into the air and hurled his spear at it. Just as the creature was at the edge of the pool, it fell limp as a spear punched a hole straight through it.

Marlo landed, gracefully, on the ground, then went to inspect the creature. Curiously, Aria also approached, and then recoiled at what she saw.

It was both alien and disgusting–a mass of thin, slimy skin with a multitude of arms that looked like eels. Just beneath its bulbous head was a pair of bulging, yellow eyes, and a tube-like "mouth" (Aria had no idea if it even was one).

"Octorok." Marlo said, plucking his spear from its head, "Of course they'd lurk in a place like this."

"Are these things dangerous?" Aria asked, her mind still guilty about missing her shot on the creature.

"Well, they spit rocks at passersby, so at times, yes." Grupa answered as they rejoined the group, rolling his shoulder, "But their aim's usually kinda poor. That one just got lucky-Don't worry, I'll live. He just kinda grazed me, that's all."

"Nevertheless, I think I should tend to your injury all the same." Thya said, gathering water in her palm.

Grupa shrugged, then stood still for her to focus her healing magic. As her hands glowed with healing magic, Aria retrieved her arrow, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw it was still intact.

"You did it again, Aria."

Aria did not miss the judgmental tone in her father's voice, and when she turned to meet him, his expression was just as stern. She had grown accustomed to it.

"Your reflexes are sharp, but you shouldn't always act upon them," he told her.

"I'm sorry." Aria apologized, putting the arrow back in her quiver.

"You'd be wise to aim where your target will be," he advised, "not where they are." She nodded her understanding, then he turned his attention to Marlo.

"Quite the throw with that spear, I see." he told the prince, "Glad your claims aren't empty bravado."

"Well, let this be a lesson to you, Sir Link." Marlo said, propping up his spear and tossing back his head slightly, "There is a difference between a proud Zora and a-" To Link and Aria's surprise, he actually paused to take a brief breath, almost inwardly asking himself what he had been doing, then recollected himself and added, "A foolish one, that is. Now, I believe we have a few of these tunnels to search, do we not?"

He then turned and dove into the cavern the Octorok emerged from, disappearing with a splash. As Link and Aria stared after him, Thya finished tending to Grupa's injury, both standing and testing it gingerly.

"There." Thya said, satisfied with her work, "It turned out to be nothing serious, but do let me know if any soreness remains."

"Got it. Thank, sis." Grupa said, taking up his club again, "Let the search continue!"

"Everyone pick a tunnel to start with." Link said, regaining his soldierly air, "If you find something or meet a dead-end, return and wait for us."

As everyone started picking a tunnel, Aria saw Thya and decided to get clarity while she could. "Thya," she said, getting her attention, "Why did Marlo pause like that?"

"Oh." she said, Aria not missing the sorrow in her voice, "It's because that particular phrase used to be 'There is a difference between a proud Zora and a dead one'."

As Thya silently turned to make her way towards one particular tunnel, Aria stood in her own silence. She looked at the pool that Marlo disappeared into, a twinge of pity and sympathy lingering in her heart. He had notably changed mere hours after the death of his brother. Her thoughts inevitably fell on her father. How much had he changed, fifteen years after the death of her mother?