I am pi2. This you know.
Disclaimer: I own no familiar characters. This you know.
Chapter 4
Rauru began. "The next temple you will be going to is in the mountains. The Fire and Snowhead temples have combined. Death Mountain and Snowhead have merged as well, forming Death's Head Mountain."
"Not a nice name." Muttered Skull Kid.
Rauru continued. "The Snowhead Temple was built a thousand years ago by the ancestor of Darmani the Third."
"So Darmani is the next Sage?" asked Tael.
Rauru nodded. "The Temple was built to honor the god of the Terminan Gorons, the dragoness Serpentine. As for the Fire Temple and its dragon, well, that's a sad story." He frowned. "The temple was built a thousand years ago by Darunia's ancestor, Darmani. Keep in mind this is Darmani from Hyrule, not from Termina."
"I got that." Said Skull Kid.
"Just making sure. Anyway, Darmani created the guardian of the temple, the dragon Volvagia, from the lava and rocks at the heart of Death Mountain."
Skull Kid frowned. "Wait, I thought Volvagia was the dragon Link killed in that erased timeline."
Rauru sighed. "That is the sad part of the story. Six hundred years ago, just before the poachers showed up, Volvagia was happy. He had a mate, a lovely red dragoness, and a whole nest of eggs. He had to leave on urgent business for a few days, and when he returned, he found his mate dead. All but one of his eggs was smashed. He went insane when he discovered that all his fellow dragons had been killed, both guardian and normal, except for Aeolus. He hunted down the poachers himself, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind him. He killed the poachers and returned to Death Mountain. But you must remember that he was quite crazy by now. His proud, dragon form lost cohesion and he became more like a serpent. He burrowed into Goron City and launched an attack that killed half of the population before returning to his lair in the Fire Temple. The Gorons turned to their leader, Darunia the First, Big Brother and Hero of the Gorons, not to mention the current Sage of Fire.
It was his duty to slay the guardian dragon. He went to the Goron forges and had them make the strongest hammer they could possibly forge. That hammer was the Megaton Hammer. Darunia went to the Fire Temple, ready to battle the dragon." Rauru paused. "Here is another reason why this part is sad. You see, since Darunia was Sage of Fire and Volvagia was temple guardian, they were actually best of friends. But now that the dragon had gone berserk, Darunia would have to kill his best friend. In an awesome battle, Darunia defeated Volvagia, smashing his head in with the Megaton Hammer. Volvagia is still dead. Now, the reason Link killed Volvagia in the erased timeline is that Ganondorf had partially resurrected the dragon, binding it to his will. But now that that future was erased, the dragon has stayed dead. But he will need to be reborn if the demon is to be banished back to Hell. You have heard the story, Skull Kid. Are you ready to save the Sages of Fire and Ice?"
Skull Kid nodded. "Of course I'll do it. It's my job, isn't it?"
Rauru smiled. "It is. Now, to get to Death's Head, you must leave the forest and head north to Kakariko Village. Just keep heading in the direction of the big flat-topped mountain with a big, swirling red cloud of energy over it." He raised his hands.
There was a flash of light, and Skull Kid was back in Forestfall, outside the temple. He was pleased to see that the water was back to normal. He turned to his partner. "Hey Tael, want to go for a swim?"
"Sure." Said Tael.
"Then follow me!" Skull Kid jumped off the altar, diving into the water, he swam for the exit to Forestfall.
"Wait up!" yelled Tael, flying after Skull Kid. Skull Kid reached the exit, pulled himself up, and climbed down the ladder leading to the outside. Once there, he jumped off the ledge, diving into the water once more. He came out on the bank and shook himself off.
"Ah, that felt good!" he said.
Tael caught up with him. "Skull Kid, you scared me half to death! Twice! Please don't do anymore stunts like that."
Skull Kid grinned up at his fairy. "I can't promise I will, but thanks for being considerate."
Tael sighed and flew onto Skull Kid's hat. "Sorry, I just got a little worried. By the way, that was really cool how you stopped Odolwa by sending his own bugs at him! I had no idea his mask could do that."
Skull Kid frowned. "Neither did I, Tael. Neither did I." They said nothing as they worked their way back to the village. They passed several Snappers, but instead of attacking, they stared at them dopily. They got lost a few times, but finally reached the village after sundown. There was a celebration under way. The water was no longer poisonous, showing that the forest was back to normal. From his vantage point at the Lost Woods tunnel, Skull Kid could see that the Stalfos and the other forest monsters had made up with the Kokiri and the Scrubs, and were about to start a party. Skull Kid smiled and lay down on the grass.
Tael flew over his head. "Skull Kid, aren't we going to the party?"
Skull Kid shook his head. "No, Tael, I think we should get a good, long rest. That was a tough battle. We'll need all the strength we can get for tomorrow.
"But it's only seven o' clock." Skull Kid shrugged. "What about the messages we were supposed to give to Mido and Deku?"
"Tael, I'm sorry, but I'm really tired. If you can wait, we'll tell them tomorrow morning. If not, tell them yourself. I'm going to sleep now." He rolled over and started snoring.
Tael sighed. "How do you do that? You always seem to fall asleep at will, while it takes me hours." He decided to deliver the messages now, so flew down to the village. The party was almost ready to begin.
Tael asked around for Mido. Everyone thought Tael was just another guardian fairy running an errand, and directed Tael to Mido's house, which he was still sharing with the two Deku sisters. Tael found Mido in his kitchen with his guardian fairy, Naro. They were putting the finishing touches on a big cake. They looked busy, but Tael knew he had to deliver the message. Tael cleared his throat. Mido looked up. "Yes, what is it?" he asked.
"Mido, I have a message for you from Saria."
That got his attention. "What is it?" he asked.
"She has considered your proposal, and the answer is yes."
Mido stared at Tael in shock, before fainting. "Yay! I can date Patch now!" said Naro. "Mido, Saria's finally going to be your girlfriend! Isn't that...Mido? Mido?"
Tael had already left to deliver the message to Deku, whom he found near the Palace Gate. "Hey, Deku, I need to talk to you!" said Tael.
Deku noticed him. "Oh, you're that fairy that was with that Skull Kid, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I have a message for you from the Queen."
That got his attention. "What did she say?"
"She wanted to tell you that once Majora is gone, she'll marry you."
He sighed in relief. "Oh, I was worried that she was breaking our engagement or something! Thank you. Now, I have to get back to work. The party's starting in a few minutes."
"Goodbye." Said Tael. He flew back to Skull Kid, who was still asleep. He sighed and flew into his hat. He tried, and failed, to go to sleep immediately. He could hear the sounds of the party just outside. He sighed and moved deeper into Skull Kid's hat. He still had trouble sleeping. He wished Tatl were here. Back before they became the heirs of Mesmoria, whenever he had trouble sleeping, she was there to help him go to sleep. She sang him his favorite lullaby, just like mom used to. He felt like crying at the memories of the old days, so he tried to blot out all external sounds and his own thoughts. After an hour, he finally fell asleep.
Skull Kid was in a funnel of swirling colors, yellow, green, red, blue, orange, and purple. He could see the stars outside the funnel. He looked down, and saw the ground quickly receding from him. He looked up and screamed. He was being sucked into the mouth of the moon. He screamed again as he reached the mouth, and was surrounded by darkness. He could see nothing, hear nothing. He was cold, very cold. Colder, even, then he had been on the night he had first met Tael and Tatl. Suddenly, he could see their lights up ahead of him. The two fairies flew towards him, coming to give him warmth. He opened his arms to accept them, ready to heat up. Then, a massive hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed the fairies, pulling them away from Skull Kid. He could hear laughter. The darkness vanished, and Skull Kid was standing on a bridge. The bridge went over a huge pit of lava. Skull Kid looked behind him and saw nothing. He looked ahead of him and saw Majora. The demon laughed
and opened his right hand, revealing Navi, Tael and Tatl. He opened his left, revealing Link and Zelda. They were all dead. To the demo's left, he saw Ganondorf, grinning, his long cape billowing behind him. Just behind Majora were two figures, his brothers, Zartanis and Somosa. Even further behind was a figure that could be none other than Skull Kid's uncle, Satan. Even though Majora was taller then his father, Skull Kid could somehow see him towering above Majora anyway. The demon stomped the ground, cackling. The bridge beneath Skull Kid crumbled to pieces, and he fell into the lava. The villains laughed as he fell. Just as he hit the lava, there was a flash, and he was in the Chamber of the Crystals. His sister, Din, was hovering over him. "Din, what's going on?" asked Skull Kid. "Is this all a dream?"
"In a way, it is. It is a premonition, like the kind that Link gets sometimes, or the ones that Mom has all the time. This is more of an informative dream, to tell you something that will help you on your quest. Listen carefully. When battling Majora, you must remember something very important. Remember what I told you to find your inner magic. Focus on something that makes you happy, not something that makes you sad or angry. Then focus on your heart. That is the key."
"The key to what?"
"When the time comes, you will know. Now Skull Kid, I must bid you adieu once more. It is time for you to wake up. You must go to Kakariko Village, for it is on the way to Death's Head."
"Can't I use the shortcut in the Lost Woods?"
"It no longer exists. Goodbye, little brother. I love you..."
Skull Kid woke up with a start, knocking his hat off. Tael flew out of it, dazed from his rude awakening. "Wha? Huh? Mommy, just ten more minutes..." he was woken up as Skull Kid grabbed Tael. "Aah! Skull Kid, what is it? It's only seven o' clock in the morning! The sun's barely up!"
"I know, but something tells me we have to get to Kakariko as soon as possible. It'll take us a day, possibly more, to walk there. The shortcut's been closed, so we have to leave now."
"What about breakfast?"
"No time for that! We can eat when we reach Kakariko."
"But I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday morning. Couldn't we just wait until everyone wakes up and ask for some food?"
"I'm sorry Tael, but we really must leave now. Maybe we'll find something on the way." Tael moaned, but fluttered onto Skull Kid's hat. They walked down the slope and headed for the forest exit, walking quietly so as not to disturb anyone. From the mess in the village and the toilet paper festooned over the palace, it was obvious that it had been a big party. They walked across a bridge over water to the tunnel to the field, and found themselves in Hymina Field. It wasn't a welcome sight. It was actually very desolate. The grass was brown and dead. The trees were leafless and gray. Guays circled overhead. Skull Kid angrily looked up at the grinning moon. "This is all your fault." He whispered. He grunted. "Come on Tael, we have to find Death's Head mountain. Rauru said to head north in the direction of the big mountain with the red, swirling cloud of energy over it." He looked north. "Oh, there it is. Let's go." They headed north. It was a long way away. The scenery didn't
get any better. They kept on going. Things weren't improving. Tael's tiny stomach was starting to rumble. There was no food, so nothing could be done. Skull Kid was getting a little hungry too, but he ignored his urges. They kept on hiking across the vast field. They didn't seem to be going anywhere. The field looked like it had no end. But they kept on going. Hey were not attacked at all, which was quite surprising. The field was supposed to be full of monsters. How odd. The Guays kept circling them, hoping they were fresh prey. Skull Kid got an idea. "Hey Tael, can you eat meat?"
"Yeah, why?"
Skull Kid pulled out his crossbow and aimed at one of the Guays. "I've just found us lunch." He let loose an arrow, hitting the Guay. It screeched and fell to the ground, landing with a sickening thud. Skull Kid ran over to the dead Guay. Fortunately, it was still intact.
Tael stopped Skull Kid. "We can't eat this raw, can we?"
"I was kind of planning to roast it over an open flame."
"Oh. Sorry then." Skull Kid picked up the dead bird and looked for some firewood. There was so much deadwood lying around, it was easy. Thanks to a little flint, Skull Kid was able to start a fire. He used some more sticks to fashion a spit for the bird. It took a while to pluck the feathers off, but soon the dead bird was being roasted. After it was ready, they eagerly dug in.
"Mmm. Tastes like cucco." Said Skull Kid.
"Mmph. Great idea Skull Kid." They continued to eat. Finally, their bellies were full and the Guay was gone. They realized they had spent an hour and a half on lunch, so had to pick up the pace. Even so, nightfall soon fell and they were still no nearer to Kakariko. Even though it was dark, they kept going. Skull Kid figured they could just find a place to sleep when they were too tired to go any further. Suddenly, Tael jingled in alarm. "Skull Kid, there's something behind us!"
Skull Kid turned around and wished he hadn't. There was a huge horde of Stalchildren, eagerly looking on Skull Kid as ripe prey. There were far too many to fight. "Holy Mom, that's a lot of Stalchildren!" The Stalchildren started forward. Tael and Skull Kid screamed and ran, still heading north. The Stalchildren eagerly gave chase. As they ran, more Stalchildren came out of the ground to add to the pursuit. It seemed like they were running for hours. They were. They had been able to run for so long thanks to the miracle of adrenaline. But eventually, their adrenaline wore out. They were slowing down. The Stalchildren, sensing the tiring of their prey, moved faster. Finally, Skull Kid tripped on a rock and fell. He moaned, but couldn't pull himself up. The Stalchildren were about to reach him, when suddenly...the rooster crowed. The sun came up. The Stalchildren screeched and burrowed back into the earth. Skull Kid groaned, looking up at the sun. "Thank...Mom..." he fell
asleep from sheer exhaustion. Tael joined him.
An hour later, Skull Kid was woken up by something pecking at his head. He woke up to find a flock of Guay, who seemed to think he was dead, surrounded him. He got up, shaking the birds off. They flew away, squawking. Tael was still snoozing inside his hat. Skull Kid decided not to disturb him. He was still very tired, but didn't want to get eaten by Guay in his sleep. He looked back and saw that the Stalchild attack had made up a lot of distance. They were miles from where they had been when the sun had set. Skull Kid yawned and kept heading north, careful not to disturb Tael. Tael woke up sometime after noon, feeling a bit more rested. Skull Kid wished he could say the same. They kept going, but as the sun set, they still hadn't reached Kakariko Village. The Stalchildren came out of the ground as the sun set. When Skull Kid saw the first Stalchild, he knew he was in trouble. He burst into a sprint, trying to stay away from the Stalchildren. They sensed prey as they woke
up, but Skull Kid was running to fast for them to see him until he was several meters past them. Skull Kid was running on sheer adrenaline boost once more. His adrenaline ran out quicker than it had the night before, though. He hadn't had any sleep. Despite this, he managed to keep up his strength and continue running from the skeletons. It never occurred to him or Tael to try on the Captain's Hat. It didn't matter, though. After another unbelievable six hours of running, the sun rose and the Stalchildren went back to sleep. Skull Kid fell to his knees, panting.
"Skull Kid, are you all right?" asked Tael.
"I'm...fine...Tael. I...just...need...a...rest...before...we...go...on..." he wheezed. When he recovered, he staggered to his feet. "Come on, Tael. We have to keep heading north."
"Skull Kid, are you sure you're okay?" asked Tael concerned. "You seem really tired."
"Don't be ridiculous." Said Skull Kid. "I'm fine." He lied. They continued. Eventually, Tael went into Skull Kid's hat to get some sleep. Skull Kid chuckled to himself, before stopping because it took too much energy to chuckle. He kept on going, stumbling at times, nearly falling over. He was so tired. He could go without food for months without suffering from any adverse effects, but sleep was completely indispensable. Tael needed both though. Even though fairies were immortal, they needed their daily allotment of food and sleep just like all other mortals. Skull Kid was different because he had been born from the heavens. All the other imps were also immortal, but different as well, since they were really cursed people in most cases. Skull Kid couldn't remember ever seeing an imp who had never been human at one time or another. He staggered, trying to keep from falling asleep on his feet. Somehow, he managed to focus all his energy on moving one foot in front of the
other. He was so tired, he often didn't quite see where he was going. He tripped on several rocks and ran into trees more than once. The only reason he didn't lose track of which way to go was because he was following his instincts, as always. Despite his current state, the directions from his instincts kept coming in crystal clear. He could sense he was quite close to Kakariko, but not there just yet.
Hours passed, and Tael woke up, hungrier than ever. He was about to ask Skull Kid to shoot down a Guay for lunch, until he noticed Skull Kid's condition. He felt guilty, for he had gone to sleep while his best friend hadn't gotten any rest at all. He decided to say nothing, and merely fly alongside Skull Kid. Inevitably, night fell. The Stalchildren started popping up. Skull Kid's adrenaline tried to kick in and he began to run. Unfortunately, his adrenaline level was very weak from lack of rest. His run was barely faster than that of the Stalchildren. Fortunately, it was fast enough to keep ahead of them. Suddenly, Tael noticed something. "Skull Kid! Look!"
"Wha?"
"There's a bridge going over a stream, and across from that are stairs! If we cross the bridge, we'll be safe, since undead can't cross running water!" Tael was right about the stream and the steps. The steps led into the foothills of Death's Head, where Kakariko lay. If they could just make another eighth of a mile, they'd be safe. Of course, there were still Stalchildren on the other side of the stream, but not as many. Skull Kid ran across the bridge. And stood at the other end, sure they couldn't cross. That's when the Stalchildren easily started to walk over the bridge. Skull Kid shot an angry look at Tael. "Okay, so I was wrong..." said Tael weakly.
There was no time for that. The Stalchildren were crossing the bridge, and more were popping out of the ground. Skull Kid made a run for the stairs. Just before he reached the steps, a Stalchild scratched him on the back with its sharp claws, making Skull Kid fall flat on his face on the stairs. He lay there, awaiting the bloody death the Stalchildren would surely inflict on him. And waited. And waited. Finally, struggling to keep his eyes open, he got up. "Tael, why aren't they killing me?"
"Skull Kid, you'll have to see for yourself. This is unbelievable."
Skull Kid turned around and saw the horde of Stalchildren just standing there, looking angry. Inches in front of Skull Kid, at the base of the stairs, a wall of purple fire had risen, and they couldn't cross it. Skull Kid wearily grinned. "Hah! In your face, bone breath!" he made faces and even mooned them. Grumbling, the Stalchildren walked away. Skull Kid turned to Tael. "What is that flame?"
"I have no idea, but it means we're safe! Come on, I bet Kakariko Village is right up these stairs." Tael led the way. Skull Kid started walking up the stairs. There were a lot of them. He climbed the stairs, his strength slowly ebbing away. He needed rest, but had to reach the village first. After fifteen minutes, he reached the top of the stairs. At the gate to Kakariko Village was a soldier. He stood up in surprise as Skull kid approached, staggering.
What the? A monster? I thought the mayor's force field kept them out...he thought for a moment. If the force field were down, then Stalchildren would be swarming the village. That means it must be a traveler! He walked over to Skull Kid. "Do you need any help, sir? You don't look too good."
Skull Kid looked up. The guard gasped, not at Skull Kid's beak or scarecrow-like head, but at how bad he looked. His beady eyes were bloodshot, his arms limp, his clothes torn and dirtied from tripping on rocks. Skull kid managed to rasp out, "Who...are...you?"
The guard recovered his composure. "I am the clock soldier of Kakariko Village. I tell time and guard the gate, even though it's pretty much unnecessary."
"This...is...Kakariko...Village...?" asked Skull Kid.
"Yes, this is Kakariko Village, the gateway to Death's Head Mountain and home of Mayor Impa, Sage of Shadow."
Skull Kid collapsed, wheezing. "Thank...mom..." he gasped, before bursting into a fit of hacking and coughing. Skull kid didn't understand. He had been tired before, but now he felt worse, like he was sick or something.
"Sir, are you all right? You really don't look too good."
Skull Kid looked desperately up at the guard. "Help...me..." He fainted.
He woke up much later to find himself in a nice, cozy bed. He looked around. The bed he was on was lying on an upper loft, overlooking a room. It was the interior of a house, with large bookshelves lining the walls. A ladder led up to somewhere above the ceiling, an attic perhaps? Skull Kid got out of bed. He was immediately run into by Tael. "Skull kid, you're all right! I was really worried."
"Tael, what happened? How long have I been out?"
"That Stalchild that scratched you injected you with a fast-acting poison. You would have died if the guard hadn't rushed us over to Mayor Impa. Even after she healed you, you were still feverish, so she's allowed us use of her house until you recovered. You've been out for two days."
Skull Kid was horrified. Two days? That could ruin his schedule! He might not make the deadline in time. He had already used up his first week. He only had four more before the solar equinox occurred. He needed to get moving, and fast! "Tael, where's the food?"
"In the icebox. Are you sure you're up to eating?"
Skull Kid rushed down the stairs and over to Impa's icebox, where he grabbed several foodstuffs, ran over to the table, and wolfed it down. "Tael, we only have four weeks left until the end of the world as we know it. We can't afford to waste time, unless we have too much surplus." He finished eating. "Now, off to Death's Head Mountain! We can thank that Impa person on our way back." He headed for the door and opened it. He screamed.
Tael flew up. "Skull Kid, what's wrong? Oh, it's just you. Hi, Dampe`!"
Skull Kid had screamed because of Dampe`, who was floating outside the door. "Hi Tael. You must be Skull Kid, right?"
Skull kid recovered. "Uh, yeah. I'm Skull Kid."
Dampe` beckoned. "My boss wishes to see you. Please follow me." He started floating away.
"Tael, who is this guy?" asked Skull Kid.
"He's the town's former gravekeeper. He's now the Mayor's attendant. He's pretty nice after you get over the initial shock of his being dead." They followed the ghost outside.
Skull Kid got his first look at Kakariko Village. It was a small, quaint town. The addition of the Smithy and the Astral Observatory (which was at the top of Impa's house, where the ladder Skull Kid had noticed went to) hadn't really changed the townspeople's daily routine. Everyone was walking about, doing his or her own business. Nobody seemed to notice or care about the Poes floating around. Skull Kid decided that this town didn't have a problem with undead walking the streets. Skull Kid could see Death's Head Mountain towering over the village. As they walked down the steps from Impa's house, Professor Shigashi burst out of the front door of his Observatory, ran up to the railing of his balcony, and yelled, "Incoming!"
Instead of taking shelter, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up towards the grinning moon. Skull kid could see flaming objects descending from around the moon's eyes. "What's going on, Dampe`? I was inside tending to Skull Kid whenever that Observatory guy said something was incoming." said Tael.
Dampe` grinned. "Every day at around this time the demon bombards the village with Moon's Tears."
"Shouldn't we be hiding then?" asked Skull Kid.
"Kid, Majora took over two weeks ago. Aren't you wondering why we're the only town to get bombarded, and yet there is no damage to a single building? Just sit back and watch the show." Skull Kid looked upwards along with the other people in town. The Moon's Tears were hurtling towards them. Suddenly, fifty meters above the ground, the meteors hit a purple barrier that stopped their descent. The missiles exploded in a display of brilliant pyrotechnics, which everyone admired before getting back to work.
Skull Kid and Tael looked at Dampe`. "That's just like the barrier that stopped the Stalchildren from attacking me!" said Skull Kid.
"It is the same barrier, kid. The honorable Mayor Impa, my boss and Sage of Shadow generates it, from her temple. As long as she is in the temple, the force field will keep out everything evil, be it Stalchildren, meteors, or Majora himself! Of course, I doubt it'll do a thing about the demon's old man, but Impa claims that you two are the ones that will save us all. I didn't really believe her. Then again, I didn't really believe that ghosts could come out in broad daylight either, but Impa proved me wrong on that. Now, we really must go." He floated towards the graveyard. Skull Kid and Tael followed. They reached the graveyard after a fairly short walk. As Skull kid passed through the gates, a bunch of Redeads erupted from the ground, moaning. Skull Kid gasped. Dampe` floated in front to address the lead Redead. "It's okay, Bill, the boss wants to see them." The Redeads groaned and sank back into the earth. Dampe` led the way to the back of the cemetery, where a ladder ran
up to a ledge. Dampe` floated up, beckoning. Skull Kid climbed up the ladder. On the ledge was a hexagonal platform with a Triforce symbol. On the back of the ledge was a downward tunnel with a staircase. Dampe` disappeared, telling them one last thing before he vanished. "Just go inside and look for Impa. She's around somewhere." He vanished.
"I thought he was supposed to take us to Impa, not dump us here to find her ourselves." Grumbled Skull Kid. They went down the stairs and entered a large room with a complicated chalk drawing on the floor. Lit braziers surrounded the circle. A huge, open door in the back of the room beckoned. "Is this the right way? It looks pretty creepy..." said Skull Kid.
"I think this is the Shadow Temple. Didn't Link say he saved Impa from one of Ganondorf's minions here or something?"
"Yeah, I thought the name sounded familiar. Well, let's go." He went into the dark and foreboding passage, and was surprised at the temple interior. Instead of being dark and foreboding, the place seemed bright and cheerful. There were lots of torches on the walls, glowing magical orbs on the ceiling, and the walls themselves had been painted with colorful murals depicting scenes from the past. Skull Kid followed the corridor, which turned to the right. He walked over what had once been a chasm, and through where an illusion had used to be. He entered a large room with an open mouth at one end, its tongue lolling out like a large platform. It rested on a filled-in chasm. In front of the filled in chasm was a ring of poles surround a fearsome-looking bird statue with statuary on them. Skull Kid walked through the large mouth and into another corridor. Skull Kid wasn't scared anymore. Neither was Tael. The place was a lot nicer than Link had described it as. They walked
further down the corridor and found themselves in a tall room with three possible corridors to follow. One went right, one went forward and down, and one went left. Skull Kid went left on a hunch.
As they walked through, Tael and Skull kid kept admiring the artwork. As they reached a door at the end of a corridor, Tael stopped Skull Kid, flying to an image of a proud man with a crown on one of the murals. "I think I've heard of this guy. He's King Harkinian, the man who allowed the Sheikah to become the bodyguards of the Royal Family."
"How do you know that?"
"I read about him in the library back home. The telescopes in the observatories do more than just look at stars, you know. It allows fairies to see and hear what's on the outside world. It's why fairy historians were also astronomers, and why Mesmoria's history section is so big." He turned back to Skull Kid. "Sorry, I just wanted to point it out."
Skull Kid shrugged. It's okay. We can admire the paintings all we want, but remember we have a strict deadline to maintain." They went through the door and found themselves in a square room with many low walls. There was a clear, circular space in the middle with nothing in it except a large post for something that must have pivoted there. There were several alcoves, but one of them went deeper than the others. Skull Kid walked into it, and found a ladder going down. He climbed down the ladder and found himself in a caged-in platform in a massive room. Another short ladder in the floor allowed him to enter the room. There was a channel filled with water, and a ferryboat that floated in it. Skull Kid climbed up a block and onto a ledge to hop on the ferry. They looked over it, seeing no obvious way to start it.
"Where's the captain?" asked Tael.
"Right here." Said a voice behind them. They turned around to see a Stalfos at the ship's wheel. Skull kid pulled out his knife. "Hey, relax! I'm just this boat's captain. I ferry people down the channel. Do you want to go to the other end?" Skull Kid paused then nodded. "Great, Lets start the old girl up, then." The bells hanging from the front of the boat started ringing. The boat began to move down the channel. After a long cruise down a wide passage lined with even more beautiful murals, they reached the other end and hopped off. They waved goodbye to the captain as he sailed back to the other end of the channel. They now had two options. They could go through the door on the right, or go through the door at the other end of the large room, between the two giant bird statues, across the filled-in chasm. They chose the door between the statues and found themselves in another room with a filled-in chasm. There several platforms, but they opted to use the stairs to get to
the high door. In the next room, things weren't as nicely decorated. In fact, the room was pretty creepy. There were piles of skulls in the corners and the walls looked like they were made out of lots of skulls. There was a hole in the floor. Voices could be heard at the bottom.
"Should we jump in?" asked Tael.
"Do you even need to ask?"
He jumped into the hole. Tael flew after him. At the bottom of the long drop, they landed on a big bongo drum. The room was tall and wide. The area around the drum looked like it had recently been drained of liquid. Just in front of them was a tall, imposing woman in body armor. She had short gray hair, paint on her face, and red eyes. She was directing several undead monsters around the room. On the floor, Gibdos and Floormasters were mopping up the last of a strange green liquid, which wasn't easy since it ate through their mops. On the walls, Wallmasters held scaffolding for Redeads and Stalfos, who sat on the scaffolding applying paint to the walls. They weren't done, but Skull kid was able to pick out certain familiar features. After a moment, he realized the paintings were of Impa and the fellow Sages, including Zelda, Link, Navi, and Saria's fairy, Patch. There were five walls that seemed intentionally blank. Impa turned around as she noticed their appearance. She
gave a last call to her workers before talking to the imp. "Okay Leo, remember to ease up on the green paint for Saria. We don't want to have a repeat of yesterday's fiasco, now do we?" The Redead she was referring to shuddered at the memory and applied the paint a little more carefully. She gave her attention to Skull Kid. "Now, you are the imp who is destined to battle Majora for the fate of the world, correct?"
"Yes ma'am." Said Skull kid.
Impa smiled. "Don't be formal. Just call me Impa."
"Okay. Impa, I would like to thank you for healing me from the Stalchild's poison and for letting me use your house."
"You're quite welcome. Now, you are probably wondering why I called you here."
"Yes, we were." Said Tael.
"Well, I wanted to meet you in person. When you weren't unconscious, that is." Skull Kid blushed. "I also wanted to give you a Shadow Medallion."
"Oh, you don't need to. Rauru already gave me one. See?" said Skull Kid, pulling the Medallion from his pack.
Impa frowned. "Rauru gave it to you? He's not authorized to do that! Oh well." She sighed.
Skull Kid decided to change the subject. "So, what's going on here? I thought the Shadow Temple was full of monsters and booby traps and chasms and stuff."
Impa scowled. "It was. My ancestor, the Sheikah chieftain Pompilio, built this temple a thousand years ago. He wasn't quite healthy in the mental sense. He also created the guardian of this temple, the dragoness Nox, from shadows in the graveyard. The temple itself was built from the blood and bones of Hyrule's evil dead."
Skull Kid grimaced. "This Pompilio must have been really nuts."
"He was. None of the Shadow Sages after him wanted to live in the temple because of all the zombies and other undead monsters that sprang up from the corpses used to build this place, not to mention the gloom, the chasms, and the traps. The dragon was killed by poachers six hundred years ago, but you already knew that." She paused. "As for what's happening now, I did what no other Shadow Sage had done before. I decided to redecorate the temple. I hired a bunch of carpenters to fill in the chasms, brighten up the place, and disarm the booby traps. They did the job in one week."
"How come this village isn't consumed by evil?" asked Tael.
"When I saw the moon's new face, I decided I should get to the temple. Since Rauru and my temples are the only ones that do not have new Sages (well, except for the Temple of Time, but it did merge with a clock tower), as long as we remain in our temples, our domains are completely safe. Unfortunately, that meant I would have to say in this dreary old place. It's a good thing those carpenters are so fast! I might have gone as nuts as Pompilio if I had to live here."
"Well, that explains a lot. But I still have a few questions." Said Skull Kid.
"What?" asked Impa.
"First of all, are you really the last of your species?"
Impa smiled. "Yes and no. I am indeed the last Sheikah...in Hyrule. There are plenty of tribes wandering around across the world."
"Okay. Second of all, who did all the paintings?"
"You may not believe this, but the undead did it all."
"Really?" said Tael. "I would have thought they had no artistic talent at all, or that anything they did would involve pictures of death and despair."
Impa nodded. "Most people would think that, wouldn't they? But they were human once. They still retain most of their old personality. They have seen quite a lot. New corpses come in every year since the graveyard is pretty much filled up, undead to join the ranks. I quickly reform them if they're evil and put them to work guarding the village. After the initial shock, the smell isn't really that bad. They have been able to paint fabulous murals of events they witnessed in life, like when Harkinian allowed the Sheikah to be bodyguards to the Royal Family, or when Pompilio first came to Hyrule. The results are quite good, aren't they?"
"Yeah, but why isn't the upper part of this room fixed up?" asked Tael.
"I decided to let just one room remain unchanged. For Pompilio's sake."
"So what are your minions painting now?" asked Skull Kid.
"Since this chamber is big enough, I decided to make it a tribute to those I consider the most important. As you might be able to see, the Sages are being painted, including myself of course. I am also painting Zelda, Link, and his fairy. Saria's fairy too."
"Why are there five blank spaces?" asked Tael.
"They are reserved for the new Sages. I haven't met them in person yet, so I have no available pictures to reference from."
"But there are only four new Sages. Why is there still one empty panel?" asked Skull Kid.
Impa paused. "I have someone...special in mind for that wall."
"Oh, a boyfriend?"
Impa looked flustered. "Wha...no, not a boyfriend! By special, I meant...never mind."
"Ah, come on, tell us!" begged Tael.
"Well...all right. It's for you Skull Kid."
"ME?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes. You are destined to fight Majora, are you not? That makes you important enough to be painted on a wall."
Skull Kid was flattered. But he was unsure about something. "Impa, I don't quite understand destiny. You probably know a lot, don't you?"
"Well, I know a bit. Why?"
"I don't quite understand destiny. Does it mean something will happen, or something may happen? Is a person master of his or her own fate, or is everything predetermined? Do we have any free choice at all?'
Impa pondered that for a moment. "That is actually a good question, Skull Kid. I think I can answer it for you. It's a little of both. A person may choose to do as he or she wishes, but may be destined for something different. That doesn't actually mean they will choose to fulfill their destiny, or even succeed at it. Many never find their true purpose for being. But most settle into their destinies by chance, by decisions that they make that work in strange ways. A person may search all his life for his destiny, but never find it, when the truth was that he was already living his destiny."
"I don't quite understand." Said Tael. Skull Kid looked a bit perplexed as well.
"Here's an example. You are destined to fight Majora, the only one who can defeat him. That does not mean you will defeat him, just that you can. Destiny is quite malleable, like water, but can be firm, like ice. Destiny states that you may fight the demon, but does not say you actually will. You could die on the way and never truly fulfill your purpose. That means the outcome of this current dilemma is uncertain, as is pretty much the entire future. Even premonitions of the future can be incorrect on slight occasions. Do you understand now?"
"I guess." Said Skull Kid.
"Good. Now, are there any more questions? I have to get back to supervision."
"Only one more question. This one is most important of all."
"What is it?"
"How do we get out of here?" asked Skull Kid pleadingly.
Impa actually laughed. I'll get you transportation. GRABRAHAM! Grabraham, get down here now!" she called. A Wallmaster descended from the ceiling. "Grabraham, can you please take this imp back to the temple entrance?" The hand tapped the ground once, meaning yes. "Good. Before you take him, one more thing." She turned to Skull Kid. "If you wish to scale the mountain, I must warn you that my force field does not extend beyond this village. There are no Stalchildren on the mountain, but you do not want to travel at night. Set up camp after sundown. Trust me on this. You should also stock up on supplies before you leave. Grabraham, you may take him now." Grabraham floated in the air, grabbed Skull Kid by the back of his shirt, and started for the ceiling. As they left, Impa turned around and moaned at the mess her unsupervised artists had made. "Oh no! Mike, Darunia is supposed to have tattoos under his eyes, not on his nose! Leo, I told you to be careful with the green! Donny,
I told you a million times that my...support isn't that big! And Raphael, Nabooru will kill you again if she sees how fat you made her hips look! Oh, this is going to set us back by days!"
Grabraham dropped Skull Kid and Tael in the entryway to the temple before floating away. They left the Graveyard and headed back to town. "That was an interesting encounter." Said Tael.
"Yeah, and I think I understand what I'm doing a little better. Come on, we have to get some supplies and start climbing the mountain." They went to all the stores they thought would help and bought lots of supplies. Since the Kokiri pack had a relatively infinite amount of space and caused no weight or damage time-wise or physically to the items it carried, they could easily carry a ton of food without any spoilage. After causing several storekeepers to faint with the amount of rupees they were leaving, Skull kid finally just left the money in the cash register and left the change, since there was no way any of the storekeepers could ever pay them back that much money. Eventually, they had all the supplies they needed: a tent, a sleeping bag, lots of food, and climbing gear. They climbed the stairs to the gate leading to the Mountain Trail and found it closed. The guard refused to let them through. "But why can't we go through?" asked Skull Kid.
"Do you have permission from the Royal Family?" asked the guard sternly.
"WHAT Royal Family? The King is abroad on a tour of ally nations, the Princess is in the clutches of a demon, and the Queen has been dead for fifteen years. The only Royal Family around these days is Ganondorf and Majora! There is no royal family!" said Tael angrily.
The guard shrugged. "Rules are rules."
Skull Kid sighed. "Who pays your salary, Impa or the King?"
"The King."
"What would it take to get you to let us through?"
"Permission from the Royal Family."
"No, specifically. What counts as permission?"
"Any document with a signature from a member of the Royal Family on it."
"Just a sec." Skull Kid pulled off his pack and rummaged through it, finally finding what he was looking for. "Ah hah! This should validate us." Skull Kid handed the peace treaty he had signed with Zelda the day the demon had taken over to the soldier.
The guard looked it over. "Hmmm...this is Princess Zelda's signature, but it's a peace treaty and does not count as permission to go up the mountain."
"But all the shops in town have mountain gear, which means lots of people are able to go climbing! Unless..." Skull Kid looked carefully at the soldier. "Could you please tell me what time it is?"
"Why sure! It's eleven o' clock in the morning."
"Just as I thought! You don't really guard this gate at all! You're the clock soldier from the village entrance!"
The clock soldier sighed. "All right, you got me. I was just trying to get you to bribe me for extra cash. I haven't gotten a paycheck since the demon took over."
"We should report you to Impa, right Skull Kid?" said Tael.
"I have a better idea," said Skull Kid, fishing into his wallet. "Will this be enough?" he asked, handing over a black rupee.
The guard's jaw dropped. "Th-th-th-that'll b-b-b-b-be enough." He opened the gate and walked away. Skull Kid and Tael walked through, beginning the climb up Death's Head Mountain.
And so ends another chapter. Will our heroes manage to survive whatever dangers lie atop Death's Head Mountain? Find out next time!
Disclaimer: I own no familiar characters. This you know.
Chapter 4
Rauru began. "The next temple you will be going to is in the mountains. The Fire and Snowhead temples have combined. Death Mountain and Snowhead have merged as well, forming Death's Head Mountain."
"Not a nice name." Muttered Skull Kid.
Rauru continued. "The Snowhead Temple was built a thousand years ago by the ancestor of Darmani the Third."
"So Darmani is the next Sage?" asked Tael.
Rauru nodded. "The Temple was built to honor the god of the Terminan Gorons, the dragoness Serpentine. As for the Fire Temple and its dragon, well, that's a sad story." He frowned. "The temple was built a thousand years ago by Darunia's ancestor, Darmani. Keep in mind this is Darmani from Hyrule, not from Termina."
"I got that." Said Skull Kid.
"Just making sure. Anyway, Darmani created the guardian of the temple, the dragon Volvagia, from the lava and rocks at the heart of Death Mountain."
Skull Kid frowned. "Wait, I thought Volvagia was the dragon Link killed in that erased timeline."
Rauru sighed. "That is the sad part of the story. Six hundred years ago, just before the poachers showed up, Volvagia was happy. He had a mate, a lovely red dragoness, and a whole nest of eggs. He had to leave on urgent business for a few days, and when he returned, he found his mate dead. All but one of his eggs was smashed. He went insane when he discovered that all his fellow dragons had been killed, both guardian and normal, except for Aeolus. He hunted down the poachers himself, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind him. He killed the poachers and returned to Death Mountain. But you must remember that he was quite crazy by now. His proud, dragon form lost cohesion and he became more like a serpent. He burrowed into Goron City and launched an attack that killed half of the population before returning to his lair in the Fire Temple. The Gorons turned to their leader, Darunia the First, Big Brother and Hero of the Gorons, not to mention the current Sage of Fire.
It was his duty to slay the guardian dragon. He went to the Goron forges and had them make the strongest hammer they could possibly forge. That hammer was the Megaton Hammer. Darunia went to the Fire Temple, ready to battle the dragon." Rauru paused. "Here is another reason why this part is sad. You see, since Darunia was Sage of Fire and Volvagia was temple guardian, they were actually best of friends. But now that the dragon had gone berserk, Darunia would have to kill his best friend. In an awesome battle, Darunia defeated Volvagia, smashing his head in with the Megaton Hammer. Volvagia is still dead. Now, the reason Link killed Volvagia in the erased timeline is that Ganondorf had partially resurrected the dragon, binding it to his will. But now that that future was erased, the dragon has stayed dead. But he will need to be reborn if the demon is to be banished back to Hell. You have heard the story, Skull Kid. Are you ready to save the Sages of Fire and Ice?"
Skull Kid nodded. "Of course I'll do it. It's my job, isn't it?"
Rauru smiled. "It is. Now, to get to Death's Head, you must leave the forest and head north to Kakariko Village. Just keep heading in the direction of the big flat-topped mountain with a big, swirling red cloud of energy over it." He raised his hands.
There was a flash of light, and Skull Kid was back in Forestfall, outside the temple. He was pleased to see that the water was back to normal. He turned to his partner. "Hey Tael, want to go for a swim?"
"Sure." Said Tael.
"Then follow me!" Skull Kid jumped off the altar, diving into the water, he swam for the exit to Forestfall.
"Wait up!" yelled Tael, flying after Skull Kid. Skull Kid reached the exit, pulled himself up, and climbed down the ladder leading to the outside. Once there, he jumped off the ledge, diving into the water once more. He came out on the bank and shook himself off.
"Ah, that felt good!" he said.
Tael caught up with him. "Skull Kid, you scared me half to death! Twice! Please don't do anymore stunts like that."
Skull Kid grinned up at his fairy. "I can't promise I will, but thanks for being considerate."
Tael sighed and flew onto Skull Kid's hat. "Sorry, I just got a little worried. By the way, that was really cool how you stopped Odolwa by sending his own bugs at him! I had no idea his mask could do that."
Skull Kid frowned. "Neither did I, Tael. Neither did I." They said nothing as they worked their way back to the village. They passed several Snappers, but instead of attacking, they stared at them dopily. They got lost a few times, but finally reached the village after sundown. There was a celebration under way. The water was no longer poisonous, showing that the forest was back to normal. From his vantage point at the Lost Woods tunnel, Skull Kid could see that the Stalfos and the other forest monsters had made up with the Kokiri and the Scrubs, and were about to start a party. Skull Kid smiled and lay down on the grass.
Tael flew over his head. "Skull Kid, aren't we going to the party?"
Skull Kid shook his head. "No, Tael, I think we should get a good, long rest. That was a tough battle. We'll need all the strength we can get for tomorrow.
"But it's only seven o' clock." Skull Kid shrugged. "What about the messages we were supposed to give to Mido and Deku?"
"Tael, I'm sorry, but I'm really tired. If you can wait, we'll tell them tomorrow morning. If not, tell them yourself. I'm going to sleep now." He rolled over and started snoring.
Tael sighed. "How do you do that? You always seem to fall asleep at will, while it takes me hours." He decided to deliver the messages now, so flew down to the village. The party was almost ready to begin.
Tael asked around for Mido. Everyone thought Tael was just another guardian fairy running an errand, and directed Tael to Mido's house, which he was still sharing with the two Deku sisters. Tael found Mido in his kitchen with his guardian fairy, Naro. They were putting the finishing touches on a big cake. They looked busy, but Tael knew he had to deliver the message. Tael cleared his throat. Mido looked up. "Yes, what is it?" he asked.
"Mido, I have a message for you from Saria."
That got his attention. "What is it?" he asked.
"She has considered your proposal, and the answer is yes."
Mido stared at Tael in shock, before fainting. "Yay! I can date Patch now!" said Naro. "Mido, Saria's finally going to be your girlfriend! Isn't that...Mido? Mido?"
Tael had already left to deliver the message to Deku, whom he found near the Palace Gate. "Hey, Deku, I need to talk to you!" said Tael.
Deku noticed him. "Oh, you're that fairy that was with that Skull Kid, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I have a message for you from the Queen."
That got his attention. "What did she say?"
"She wanted to tell you that once Majora is gone, she'll marry you."
He sighed in relief. "Oh, I was worried that she was breaking our engagement or something! Thank you. Now, I have to get back to work. The party's starting in a few minutes."
"Goodbye." Said Tael. He flew back to Skull Kid, who was still asleep. He sighed and flew into his hat. He tried, and failed, to go to sleep immediately. He could hear the sounds of the party just outside. He sighed and moved deeper into Skull Kid's hat. He still had trouble sleeping. He wished Tatl were here. Back before they became the heirs of Mesmoria, whenever he had trouble sleeping, she was there to help him go to sleep. She sang him his favorite lullaby, just like mom used to. He felt like crying at the memories of the old days, so he tried to blot out all external sounds and his own thoughts. After an hour, he finally fell asleep.
Skull Kid was in a funnel of swirling colors, yellow, green, red, blue, orange, and purple. He could see the stars outside the funnel. He looked down, and saw the ground quickly receding from him. He looked up and screamed. He was being sucked into the mouth of the moon. He screamed again as he reached the mouth, and was surrounded by darkness. He could see nothing, hear nothing. He was cold, very cold. Colder, even, then he had been on the night he had first met Tael and Tatl. Suddenly, he could see their lights up ahead of him. The two fairies flew towards him, coming to give him warmth. He opened his arms to accept them, ready to heat up. Then, a massive hand reached out of the darkness and grabbed the fairies, pulling them away from Skull Kid. He could hear laughter. The darkness vanished, and Skull Kid was standing on a bridge. The bridge went over a huge pit of lava. Skull Kid looked behind him and saw nothing. He looked ahead of him and saw Majora. The demon laughed
and opened his right hand, revealing Navi, Tael and Tatl. He opened his left, revealing Link and Zelda. They were all dead. To the demo's left, he saw Ganondorf, grinning, his long cape billowing behind him. Just behind Majora were two figures, his brothers, Zartanis and Somosa. Even further behind was a figure that could be none other than Skull Kid's uncle, Satan. Even though Majora was taller then his father, Skull Kid could somehow see him towering above Majora anyway. The demon stomped the ground, cackling. The bridge beneath Skull Kid crumbled to pieces, and he fell into the lava. The villains laughed as he fell. Just as he hit the lava, there was a flash, and he was in the Chamber of the Crystals. His sister, Din, was hovering over him. "Din, what's going on?" asked Skull Kid. "Is this all a dream?"
"In a way, it is. It is a premonition, like the kind that Link gets sometimes, or the ones that Mom has all the time. This is more of an informative dream, to tell you something that will help you on your quest. Listen carefully. When battling Majora, you must remember something very important. Remember what I told you to find your inner magic. Focus on something that makes you happy, not something that makes you sad or angry. Then focus on your heart. That is the key."
"The key to what?"
"When the time comes, you will know. Now Skull Kid, I must bid you adieu once more. It is time for you to wake up. You must go to Kakariko Village, for it is on the way to Death's Head."
"Can't I use the shortcut in the Lost Woods?"
"It no longer exists. Goodbye, little brother. I love you..."
Skull Kid woke up with a start, knocking his hat off. Tael flew out of it, dazed from his rude awakening. "Wha? Huh? Mommy, just ten more minutes..." he was woken up as Skull Kid grabbed Tael. "Aah! Skull Kid, what is it? It's only seven o' clock in the morning! The sun's barely up!"
"I know, but something tells me we have to get to Kakariko as soon as possible. It'll take us a day, possibly more, to walk there. The shortcut's been closed, so we have to leave now."
"What about breakfast?"
"No time for that! We can eat when we reach Kakariko."
"But I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday morning. Couldn't we just wait until everyone wakes up and ask for some food?"
"I'm sorry Tael, but we really must leave now. Maybe we'll find something on the way." Tael moaned, but fluttered onto Skull Kid's hat. They walked down the slope and headed for the forest exit, walking quietly so as not to disturb anyone. From the mess in the village and the toilet paper festooned over the palace, it was obvious that it had been a big party. They walked across a bridge over water to the tunnel to the field, and found themselves in Hymina Field. It wasn't a welcome sight. It was actually very desolate. The grass was brown and dead. The trees were leafless and gray. Guays circled overhead. Skull Kid angrily looked up at the grinning moon. "This is all your fault." He whispered. He grunted. "Come on Tael, we have to find Death's Head mountain. Rauru said to head north in the direction of the big mountain with the red, swirling cloud of energy over it." He looked north. "Oh, there it is. Let's go." They headed north. It was a long way away. The scenery didn't
get any better. They kept on going. Things weren't improving. Tael's tiny stomach was starting to rumble. There was no food, so nothing could be done. Skull Kid was getting a little hungry too, but he ignored his urges. They kept on hiking across the vast field. They didn't seem to be going anywhere. The field looked like it had no end. But they kept on going. Hey were not attacked at all, which was quite surprising. The field was supposed to be full of monsters. How odd. The Guays kept circling them, hoping they were fresh prey. Skull Kid got an idea. "Hey Tael, can you eat meat?"
"Yeah, why?"
Skull Kid pulled out his crossbow and aimed at one of the Guays. "I've just found us lunch." He let loose an arrow, hitting the Guay. It screeched and fell to the ground, landing with a sickening thud. Skull Kid ran over to the dead Guay. Fortunately, it was still intact.
Tael stopped Skull Kid. "We can't eat this raw, can we?"
"I was kind of planning to roast it over an open flame."
"Oh. Sorry then." Skull Kid picked up the dead bird and looked for some firewood. There was so much deadwood lying around, it was easy. Thanks to a little flint, Skull Kid was able to start a fire. He used some more sticks to fashion a spit for the bird. It took a while to pluck the feathers off, but soon the dead bird was being roasted. After it was ready, they eagerly dug in.
"Mmm. Tastes like cucco." Said Skull Kid.
"Mmph. Great idea Skull Kid." They continued to eat. Finally, their bellies were full and the Guay was gone. They realized they had spent an hour and a half on lunch, so had to pick up the pace. Even so, nightfall soon fell and they were still no nearer to Kakariko. Even though it was dark, they kept going. Skull Kid figured they could just find a place to sleep when they were too tired to go any further. Suddenly, Tael jingled in alarm. "Skull Kid, there's something behind us!"
Skull Kid turned around and wished he hadn't. There was a huge horde of Stalchildren, eagerly looking on Skull Kid as ripe prey. There were far too many to fight. "Holy Mom, that's a lot of Stalchildren!" The Stalchildren started forward. Tael and Skull Kid screamed and ran, still heading north. The Stalchildren eagerly gave chase. As they ran, more Stalchildren came out of the ground to add to the pursuit. It seemed like they were running for hours. They were. They had been able to run for so long thanks to the miracle of adrenaline. But eventually, their adrenaline wore out. They were slowing down. The Stalchildren, sensing the tiring of their prey, moved faster. Finally, Skull Kid tripped on a rock and fell. He moaned, but couldn't pull himself up. The Stalchildren were about to reach him, when suddenly...the rooster crowed. The sun came up. The Stalchildren screeched and burrowed back into the earth. Skull Kid groaned, looking up at the sun. "Thank...Mom..." he fell
asleep from sheer exhaustion. Tael joined him.
An hour later, Skull Kid was woken up by something pecking at his head. He woke up to find a flock of Guay, who seemed to think he was dead, surrounded him. He got up, shaking the birds off. They flew away, squawking. Tael was still snoozing inside his hat. Skull Kid decided not to disturb him. He was still very tired, but didn't want to get eaten by Guay in his sleep. He looked back and saw that the Stalchild attack had made up a lot of distance. They were miles from where they had been when the sun had set. Skull Kid yawned and kept heading north, careful not to disturb Tael. Tael woke up sometime after noon, feeling a bit more rested. Skull Kid wished he could say the same. They kept going, but as the sun set, they still hadn't reached Kakariko Village. The Stalchildren came out of the ground as the sun set. When Skull Kid saw the first Stalchild, he knew he was in trouble. He burst into a sprint, trying to stay away from the Stalchildren. They sensed prey as they woke
up, but Skull Kid was running to fast for them to see him until he was several meters past them. Skull Kid was running on sheer adrenaline boost once more. His adrenaline ran out quicker than it had the night before, though. He hadn't had any sleep. Despite this, he managed to keep up his strength and continue running from the skeletons. It never occurred to him or Tael to try on the Captain's Hat. It didn't matter, though. After another unbelievable six hours of running, the sun rose and the Stalchildren went back to sleep. Skull Kid fell to his knees, panting.
"Skull Kid, are you all right?" asked Tael.
"I'm...fine...Tael. I...just...need...a...rest...before...we...go...on..." he wheezed. When he recovered, he staggered to his feet. "Come on, Tael. We have to keep heading north."
"Skull Kid, are you sure you're okay?" asked Tael concerned. "You seem really tired."
"Don't be ridiculous." Said Skull Kid. "I'm fine." He lied. They continued. Eventually, Tael went into Skull Kid's hat to get some sleep. Skull Kid chuckled to himself, before stopping because it took too much energy to chuckle. He kept on going, stumbling at times, nearly falling over. He was so tired. He could go without food for months without suffering from any adverse effects, but sleep was completely indispensable. Tael needed both though. Even though fairies were immortal, they needed their daily allotment of food and sleep just like all other mortals. Skull Kid was different because he had been born from the heavens. All the other imps were also immortal, but different as well, since they were really cursed people in most cases. Skull Kid couldn't remember ever seeing an imp who had never been human at one time or another. He staggered, trying to keep from falling asleep on his feet. Somehow, he managed to focus all his energy on moving one foot in front of the
other. He was so tired, he often didn't quite see where he was going. He tripped on several rocks and ran into trees more than once. The only reason he didn't lose track of which way to go was because he was following his instincts, as always. Despite his current state, the directions from his instincts kept coming in crystal clear. He could sense he was quite close to Kakariko, but not there just yet.
Hours passed, and Tael woke up, hungrier than ever. He was about to ask Skull Kid to shoot down a Guay for lunch, until he noticed Skull Kid's condition. He felt guilty, for he had gone to sleep while his best friend hadn't gotten any rest at all. He decided to say nothing, and merely fly alongside Skull Kid. Inevitably, night fell. The Stalchildren started popping up. Skull Kid's adrenaline tried to kick in and he began to run. Unfortunately, his adrenaline level was very weak from lack of rest. His run was barely faster than that of the Stalchildren. Fortunately, it was fast enough to keep ahead of them. Suddenly, Tael noticed something. "Skull Kid! Look!"
"Wha?"
"There's a bridge going over a stream, and across from that are stairs! If we cross the bridge, we'll be safe, since undead can't cross running water!" Tael was right about the stream and the steps. The steps led into the foothills of Death's Head, where Kakariko lay. If they could just make another eighth of a mile, they'd be safe. Of course, there were still Stalchildren on the other side of the stream, but not as many. Skull Kid ran across the bridge. And stood at the other end, sure they couldn't cross. That's when the Stalchildren easily started to walk over the bridge. Skull Kid shot an angry look at Tael. "Okay, so I was wrong..." said Tael weakly.
There was no time for that. The Stalchildren were crossing the bridge, and more were popping out of the ground. Skull Kid made a run for the stairs. Just before he reached the steps, a Stalchild scratched him on the back with its sharp claws, making Skull Kid fall flat on his face on the stairs. He lay there, awaiting the bloody death the Stalchildren would surely inflict on him. And waited. And waited. Finally, struggling to keep his eyes open, he got up. "Tael, why aren't they killing me?"
"Skull Kid, you'll have to see for yourself. This is unbelievable."
Skull Kid turned around and saw the horde of Stalchildren just standing there, looking angry. Inches in front of Skull Kid, at the base of the stairs, a wall of purple fire had risen, and they couldn't cross it. Skull Kid wearily grinned. "Hah! In your face, bone breath!" he made faces and even mooned them. Grumbling, the Stalchildren walked away. Skull Kid turned to Tael. "What is that flame?"
"I have no idea, but it means we're safe! Come on, I bet Kakariko Village is right up these stairs." Tael led the way. Skull Kid started walking up the stairs. There were a lot of them. He climbed the stairs, his strength slowly ebbing away. He needed rest, but had to reach the village first. After fifteen minutes, he reached the top of the stairs. At the gate to Kakariko Village was a soldier. He stood up in surprise as Skull kid approached, staggering.
What the? A monster? I thought the mayor's force field kept them out...he thought for a moment. If the force field were down, then Stalchildren would be swarming the village. That means it must be a traveler! He walked over to Skull Kid. "Do you need any help, sir? You don't look too good."
Skull Kid looked up. The guard gasped, not at Skull Kid's beak or scarecrow-like head, but at how bad he looked. His beady eyes were bloodshot, his arms limp, his clothes torn and dirtied from tripping on rocks. Skull kid managed to rasp out, "Who...are...you?"
The guard recovered his composure. "I am the clock soldier of Kakariko Village. I tell time and guard the gate, even though it's pretty much unnecessary."
"This...is...Kakariko...Village...?" asked Skull Kid.
"Yes, this is Kakariko Village, the gateway to Death's Head Mountain and home of Mayor Impa, Sage of Shadow."
Skull Kid collapsed, wheezing. "Thank...mom..." he gasped, before bursting into a fit of hacking and coughing. Skull kid didn't understand. He had been tired before, but now he felt worse, like he was sick or something.
"Sir, are you all right? You really don't look too good."
Skull Kid looked desperately up at the guard. "Help...me..." He fainted.
He woke up much later to find himself in a nice, cozy bed. He looked around. The bed he was on was lying on an upper loft, overlooking a room. It was the interior of a house, with large bookshelves lining the walls. A ladder led up to somewhere above the ceiling, an attic perhaps? Skull Kid got out of bed. He was immediately run into by Tael. "Skull kid, you're all right! I was really worried."
"Tael, what happened? How long have I been out?"
"That Stalchild that scratched you injected you with a fast-acting poison. You would have died if the guard hadn't rushed us over to Mayor Impa. Even after she healed you, you were still feverish, so she's allowed us use of her house until you recovered. You've been out for two days."
Skull Kid was horrified. Two days? That could ruin his schedule! He might not make the deadline in time. He had already used up his first week. He only had four more before the solar equinox occurred. He needed to get moving, and fast! "Tael, where's the food?"
"In the icebox. Are you sure you're up to eating?"
Skull Kid rushed down the stairs and over to Impa's icebox, where he grabbed several foodstuffs, ran over to the table, and wolfed it down. "Tael, we only have four weeks left until the end of the world as we know it. We can't afford to waste time, unless we have too much surplus." He finished eating. "Now, off to Death's Head Mountain! We can thank that Impa person on our way back." He headed for the door and opened it. He screamed.
Tael flew up. "Skull Kid, what's wrong? Oh, it's just you. Hi, Dampe`!"
Skull Kid had screamed because of Dampe`, who was floating outside the door. "Hi Tael. You must be Skull Kid, right?"
Skull kid recovered. "Uh, yeah. I'm Skull Kid."
Dampe` beckoned. "My boss wishes to see you. Please follow me." He started floating away.
"Tael, who is this guy?" asked Skull Kid.
"He's the town's former gravekeeper. He's now the Mayor's attendant. He's pretty nice after you get over the initial shock of his being dead." They followed the ghost outside.
Skull Kid got his first look at Kakariko Village. It was a small, quaint town. The addition of the Smithy and the Astral Observatory (which was at the top of Impa's house, where the ladder Skull Kid had noticed went to) hadn't really changed the townspeople's daily routine. Everyone was walking about, doing his or her own business. Nobody seemed to notice or care about the Poes floating around. Skull Kid decided that this town didn't have a problem with undead walking the streets. Skull Kid could see Death's Head Mountain towering over the village. As they walked down the steps from Impa's house, Professor Shigashi burst out of the front door of his Observatory, ran up to the railing of his balcony, and yelled, "Incoming!"
Instead of taking shelter, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up towards the grinning moon. Skull kid could see flaming objects descending from around the moon's eyes. "What's going on, Dampe`? I was inside tending to Skull Kid whenever that Observatory guy said something was incoming." said Tael.
Dampe` grinned. "Every day at around this time the demon bombards the village with Moon's Tears."
"Shouldn't we be hiding then?" asked Skull Kid.
"Kid, Majora took over two weeks ago. Aren't you wondering why we're the only town to get bombarded, and yet there is no damage to a single building? Just sit back and watch the show." Skull Kid looked upwards along with the other people in town. The Moon's Tears were hurtling towards them. Suddenly, fifty meters above the ground, the meteors hit a purple barrier that stopped their descent. The missiles exploded in a display of brilliant pyrotechnics, which everyone admired before getting back to work.
Skull Kid and Tael looked at Dampe`. "That's just like the barrier that stopped the Stalchildren from attacking me!" said Skull Kid.
"It is the same barrier, kid. The honorable Mayor Impa, my boss and Sage of Shadow generates it, from her temple. As long as she is in the temple, the force field will keep out everything evil, be it Stalchildren, meteors, or Majora himself! Of course, I doubt it'll do a thing about the demon's old man, but Impa claims that you two are the ones that will save us all. I didn't really believe her. Then again, I didn't really believe that ghosts could come out in broad daylight either, but Impa proved me wrong on that. Now, we really must go." He floated towards the graveyard. Skull Kid and Tael followed. They reached the graveyard after a fairly short walk. As Skull kid passed through the gates, a bunch of Redeads erupted from the ground, moaning. Skull Kid gasped. Dampe` floated in front to address the lead Redead. "It's okay, Bill, the boss wants to see them." The Redeads groaned and sank back into the earth. Dampe` led the way to the back of the cemetery, where a ladder ran
up to a ledge. Dampe` floated up, beckoning. Skull Kid climbed up the ladder. On the ledge was a hexagonal platform with a Triforce symbol. On the back of the ledge was a downward tunnel with a staircase. Dampe` disappeared, telling them one last thing before he vanished. "Just go inside and look for Impa. She's around somewhere." He vanished.
"I thought he was supposed to take us to Impa, not dump us here to find her ourselves." Grumbled Skull Kid. They went down the stairs and entered a large room with a complicated chalk drawing on the floor. Lit braziers surrounded the circle. A huge, open door in the back of the room beckoned. "Is this the right way? It looks pretty creepy..." said Skull Kid.
"I think this is the Shadow Temple. Didn't Link say he saved Impa from one of Ganondorf's minions here or something?"
"Yeah, I thought the name sounded familiar. Well, let's go." He went into the dark and foreboding passage, and was surprised at the temple interior. Instead of being dark and foreboding, the place seemed bright and cheerful. There were lots of torches on the walls, glowing magical orbs on the ceiling, and the walls themselves had been painted with colorful murals depicting scenes from the past. Skull Kid followed the corridor, which turned to the right. He walked over what had once been a chasm, and through where an illusion had used to be. He entered a large room with an open mouth at one end, its tongue lolling out like a large platform. It rested on a filled-in chasm. In front of the filled in chasm was a ring of poles surround a fearsome-looking bird statue with statuary on them. Skull Kid walked through the large mouth and into another corridor. Skull Kid wasn't scared anymore. Neither was Tael. The place was a lot nicer than Link had described it as. They walked
further down the corridor and found themselves in a tall room with three possible corridors to follow. One went right, one went forward and down, and one went left. Skull Kid went left on a hunch.
As they walked through, Tael and Skull kid kept admiring the artwork. As they reached a door at the end of a corridor, Tael stopped Skull Kid, flying to an image of a proud man with a crown on one of the murals. "I think I've heard of this guy. He's King Harkinian, the man who allowed the Sheikah to become the bodyguards of the Royal Family."
"How do you know that?"
"I read about him in the library back home. The telescopes in the observatories do more than just look at stars, you know. It allows fairies to see and hear what's on the outside world. It's why fairy historians were also astronomers, and why Mesmoria's history section is so big." He turned back to Skull Kid. "Sorry, I just wanted to point it out."
Skull Kid shrugged. It's okay. We can admire the paintings all we want, but remember we have a strict deadline to maintain." They went through the door and found themselves in a square room with many low walls. There was a clear, circular space in the middle with nothing in it except a large post for something that must have pivoted there. There were several alcoves, but one of them went deeper than the others. Skull Kid walked into it, and found a ladder going down. He climbed down the ladder and found himself in a caged-in platform in a massive room. Another short ladder in the floor allowed him to enter the room. There was a channel filled with water, and a ferryboat that floated in it. Skull Kid climbed up a block and onto a ledge to hop on the ferry. They looked over it, seeing no obvious way to start it.
"Where's the captain?" asked Tael.
"Right here." Said a voice behind them. They turned around to see a Stalfos at the ship's wheel. Skull kid pulled out his knife. "Hey, relax! I'm just this boat's captain. I ferry people down the channel. Do you want to go to the other end?" Skull Kid paused then nodded. "Great, Lets start the old girl up, then." The bells hanging from the front of the boat started ringing. The boat began to move down the channel. After a long cruise down a wide passage lined with even more beautiful murals, they reached the other end and hopped off. They waved goodbye to the captain as he sailed back to the other end of the channel. They now had two options. They could go through the door on the right, or go through the door at the other end of the large room, between the two giant bird statues, across the filled-in chasm. They chose the door between the statues and found themselves in another room with a filled-in chasm. There several platforms, but they opted to use the stairs to get to
the high door. In the next room, things weren't as nicely decorated. In fact, the room was pretty creepy. There were piles of skulls in the corners and the walls looked like they were made out of lots of skulls. There was a hole in the floor. Voices could be heard at the bottom.
"Should we jump in?" asked Tael.
"Do you even need to ask?"
He jumped into the hole. Tael flew after him. At the bottom of the long drop, they landed on a big bongo drum. The room was tall and wide. The area around the drum looked like it had recently been drained of liquid. Just in front of them was a tall, imposing woman in body armor. She had short gray hair, paint on her face, and red eyes. She was directing several undead monsters around the room. On the floor, Gibdos and Floormasters were mopping up the last of a strange green liquid, which wasn't easy since it ate through their mops. On the walls, Wallmasters held scaffolding for Redeads and Stalfos, who sat on the scaffolding applying paint to the walls. They weren't done, but Skull kid was able to pick out certain familiar features. After a moment, he realized the paintings were of Impa and the fellow Sages, including Zelda, Link, Navi, and Saria's fairy, Patch. There were five walls that seemed intentionally blank. Impa turned around as she noticed their appearance. She
gave a last call to her workers before talking to the imp. "Okay Leo, remember to ease up on the green paint for Saria. We don't want to have a repeat of yesterday's fiasco, now do we?" The Redead she was referring to shuddered at the memory and applied the paint a little more carefully. She gave her attention to Skull Kid. "Now, you are the imp who is destined to battle Majora for the fate of the world, correct?"
"Yes ma'am." Said Skull kid.
Impa smiled. "Don't be formal. Just call me Impa."
"Okay. Impa, I would like to thank you for healing me from the Stalchild's poison and for letting me use your house."
"You're quite welcome. Now, you are probably wondering why I called you here."
"Yes, we were." Said Tael.
"Well, I wanted to meet you in person. When you weren't unconscious, that is." Skull Kid blushed. "I also wanted to give you a Shadow Medallion."
"Oh, you don't need to. Rauru already gave me one. See?" said Skull Kid, pulling the Medallion from his pack.
Impa frowned. "Rauru gave it to you? He's not authorized to do that! Oh well." She sighed.
Skull Kid decided to change the subject. "So, what's going on here? I thought the Shadow Temple was full of monsters and booby traps and chasms and stuff."
Impa scowled. "It was. My ancestor, the Sheikah chieftain Pompilio, built this temple a thousand years ago. He wasn't quite healthy in the mental sense. He also created the guardian of this temple, the dragoness Nox, from shadows in the graveyard. The temple itself was built from the blood and bones of Hyrule's evil dead."
Skull Kid grimaced. "This Pompilio must have been really nuts."
"He was. None of the Shadow Sages after him wanted to live in the temple because of all the zombies and other undead monsters that sprang up from the corpses used to build this place, not to mention the gloom, the chasms, and the traps. The dragon was killed by poachers six hundred years ago, but you already knew that." She paused. "As for what's happening now, I did what no other Shadow Sage had done before. I decided to redecorate the temple. I hired a bunch of carpenters to fill in the chasms, brighten up the place, and disarm the booby traps. They did the job in one week."
"How come this village isn't consumed by evil?" asked Tael.
"When I saw the moon's new face, I decided I should get to the temple. Since Rauru and my temples are the only ones that do not have new Sages (well, except for the Temple of Time, but it did merge with a clock tower), as long as we remain in our temples, our domains are completely safe. Unfortunately, that meant I would have to say in this dreary old place. It's a good thing those carpenters are so fast! I might have gone as nuts as Pompilio if I had to live here."
"Well, that explains a lot. But I still have a few questions." Said Skull Kid.
"What?" asked Impa.
"First of all, are you really the last of your species?"
Impa smiled. "Yes and no. I am indeed the last Sheikah...in Hyrule. There are plenty of tribes wandering around across the world."
"Okay. Second of all, who did all the paintings?"
"You may not believe this, but the undead did it all."
"Really?" said Tael. "I would have thought they had no artistic talent at all, or that anything they did would involve pictures of death and despair."
Impa nodded. "Most people would think that, wouldn't they? But they were human once. They still retain most of their old personality. They have seen quite a lot. New corpses come in every year since the graveyard is pretty much filled up, undead to join the ranks. I quickly reform them if they're evil and put them to work guarding the village. After the initial shock, the smell isn't really that bad. They have been able to paint fabulous murals of events they witnessed in life, like when Harkinian allowed the Sheikah to be bodyguards to the Royal Family, or when Pompilio first came to Hyrule. The results are quite good, aren't they?"
"Yeah, but why isn't the upper part of this room fixed up?" asked Tael.
"I decided to let just one room remain unchanged. For Pompilio's sake."
"So what are your minions painting now?" asked Skull Kid.
"Since this chamber is big enough, I decided to make it a tribute to those I consider the most important. As you might be able to see, the Sages are being painted, including myself of course. I am also painting Zelda, Link, and his fairy. Saria's fairy too."
"Why are there five blank spaces?" asked Tael.
"They are reserved for the new Sages. I haven't met them in person yet, so I have no available pictures to reference from."
"But there are only four new Sages. Why is there still one empty panel?" asked Skull Kid.
Impa paused. "I have someone...special in mind for that wall."
"Oh, a boyfriend?"
Impa looked flustered. "Wha...no, not a boyfriend! By special, I meant...never mind."
"Ah, come on, tell us!" begged Tael.
"Well...all right. It's for you Skull Kid."
"ME?" he asked, surprised.
"Yes. You are destined to fight Majora, are you not? That makes you important enough to be painted on a wall."
Skull Kid was flattered. But he was unsure about something. "Impa, I don't quite understand destiny. You probably know a lot, don't you?"
"Well, I know a bit. Why?"
"I don't quite understand destiny. Does it mean something will happen, or something may happen? Is a person master of his or her own fate, or is everything predetermined? Do we have any free choice at all?'
Impa pondered that for a moment. "That is actually a good question, Skull Kid. I think I can answer it for you. It's a little of both. A person may choose to do as he or she wishes, but may be destined for something different. That doesn't actually mean they will choose to fulfill their destiny, or even succeed at it. Many never find their true purpose for being. But most settle into their destinies by chance, by decisions that they make that work in strange ways. A person may search all his life for his destiny, but never find it, when the truth was that he was already living his destiny."
"I don't quite understand." Said Tael. Skull Kid looked a bit perplexed as well.
"Here's an example. You are destined to fight Majora, the only one who can defeat him. That does not mean you will defeat him, just that you can. Destiny is quite malleable, like water, but can be firm, like ice. Destiny states that you may fight the demon, but does not say you actually will. You could die on the way and never truly fulfill your purpose. That means the outcome of this current dilemma is uncertain, as is pretty much the entire future. Even premonitions of the future can be incorrect on slight occasions. Do you understand now?"
"I guess." Said Skull Kid.
"Good. Now, are there any more questions? I have to get back to supervision."
"Only one more question. This one is most important of all."
"What is it?"
"How do we get out of here?" asked Skull Kid pleadingly.
Impa actually laughed. I'll get you transportation. GRABRAHAM! Grabraham, get down here now!" she called. A Wallmaster descended from the ceiling. "Grabraham, can you please take this imp back to the temple entrance?" The hand tapped the ground once, meaning yes. "Good. Before you take him, one more thing." She turned to Skull Kid. "If you wish to scale the mountain, I must warn you that my force field does not extend beyond this village. There are no Stalchildren on the mountain, but you do not want to travel at night. Set up camp after sundown. Trust me on this. You should also stock up on supplies before you leave. Grabraham, you may take him now." Grabraham floated in the air, grabbed Skull Kid by the back of his shirt, and started for the ceiling. As they left, Impa turned around and moaned at the mess her unsupervised artists had made. "Oh no! Mike, Darunia is supposed to have tattoos under his eyes, not on his nose! Leo, I told you to be careful with the green! Donny,
I told you a million times that my...support isn't that big! And Raphael, Nabooru will kill you again if she sees how fat you made her hips look! Oh, this is going to set us back by days!"
Grabraham dropped Skull Kid and Tael in the entryway to the temple before floating away. They left the Graveyard and headed back to town. "That was an interesting encounter." Said Tael.
"Yeah, and I think I understand what I'm doing a little better. Come on, we have to get some supplies and start climbing the mountain." They went to all the stores they thought would help and bought lots of supplies. Since the Kokiri pack had a relatively infinite amount of space and caused no weight or damage time-wise or physically to the items it carried, they could easily carry a ton of food without any spoilage. After causing several storekeepers to faint with the amount of rupees they were leaving, Skull kid finally just left the money in the cash register and left the change, since there was no way any of the storekeepers could ever pay them back that much money. Eventually, they had all the supplies they needed: a tent, a sleeping bag, lots of food, and climbing gear. They climbed the stairs to the gate leading to the Mountain Trail and found it closed. The guard refused to let them through. "But why can't we go through?" asked Skull Kid.
"Do you have permission from the Royal Family?" asked the guard sternly.
"WHAT Royal Family? The King is abroad on a tour of ally nations, the Princess is in the clutches of a demon, and the Queen has been dead for fifteen years. The only Royal Family around these days is Ganondorf and Majora! There is no royal family!" said Tael angrily.
The guard shrugged. "Rules are rules."
Skull Kid sighed. "Who pays your salary, Impa or the King?"
"The King."
"What would it take to get you to let us through?"
"Permission from the Royal Family."
"No, specifically. What counts as permission?"
"Any document with a signature from a member of the Royal Family on it."
"Just a sec." Skull Kid pulled off his pack and rummaged through it, finally finding what he was looking for. "Ah hah! This should validate us." Skull Kid handed the peace treaty he had signed with Zelda the day the demon had taken over to the soldier.
The guard looked it over. "Hmmm...this is Princess Zelda's signature, but it's a peace treaty and does not count as permission to go up the mountain."
"But all the shops in town have mountain gear, which means lots of people are able to go climbing! Unless..." Skull Kid looked carefully at the soldier. "Could you please tell me what time it is?"
"Why sure! It's eleven o' clock in the morning."
"Just as I thought! You don't really guard this gate at all! You're the clock soldier from the village entrance!"
The clock soldier sighed. "All right, you got me. I was just trying to get you to bribe me for extra cash. I haven't gotten a paycheck since the demon took over."
"We should report you to Impa, right Skull Kid?" said Tael.
"I have a better idea," said Skull Kid, fishing into his wallet. "Will this be enough?" he asked, handing over a black rupee.
The guard's jaw dropped. "Th-th-th-that'll b-b-b-b-be enough." He opened the gate and walked away. Skull Kid and Tael walked through, beginning the climb up Death's Head Mountain.
And so ends another chapter. Will our heroes manage to survive whatever dangers lie atop Death's Head Mountain? Find out next time!