Link's Infinite Quest
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Link's Infinite Quest
Chapter 3: Death Trap
The room went silent as the name was uttered.
"Are...are you sure Link?"
"Yes, I'm sure. He's the only one who it can be. I should know, I've fought him." Yes, Gannondorf,who I had thought was forever contained within the dark world. Possessor of the triforce of power, corrupted by his own greed. After I had defeated the mad wizard Zelda had sent me backin time, to my childhood, with Gannondorf eliminated from that reality...the way things should have been. The only ones who knew what had happened were Zelda, me, and the six other sages. However, magic has a funny way of repeating itself if you will. Though Gannondorf was locked in the dark world, when it rolled around to about the time my spirit had been locked in the temple of light in the previous reality(when I was about twelve), suddenly everyone who had been affected by him in the previous reality knew about him. Are you following me still? Anyway, so effectively everyone suddenly woke up and knew that there was an unbelieveably powerful wizard that had endangered all of hyrule and the rest of the known world, though they didn't know where he was, or who he had been defeated. All the knew was that he was/is in existance. They didn't know about the sages, or the triforce, or me. I know, took me about a week to figure out, even after Zelda had explained it(triforce of wisdom and all). So Mack and the others knew enough to be afraid, but not enough to really know why.
"You laddie? Even after what I've heard about you I find that a wee tad hard to believe."
I looked around the room. Tho only people in the small kitchen were Mack, Hugh, Chayne, and Mack's daughter. I sighed, "Okay. I would prefer it if what I'm about to show you and tell you didn't leave this room." I reached over and pulled the gauntlet off of my left hand. I concentrated on the back of it, and the triforce insignia began to become visible. I took a deep breath and concentrated harder. The dim room quickly brightened as the triforce began radiating light and power. A slight breeze kicked up, a glass fell over, spilling its contents upon the floor. Mack's daughter squinted, Chayne's mouth dropped, Hugh widened his eyes, and the rag Mack had been holding slipped from his hand. I calmed my mind again, as the triforce faded and the wind died down. I nonchalantly slipped the silver gauntlet back on, and waited for someone to speak.
"What was THAT?" Mack's daughter was the first to speak.
"That design....it's the triforce, isn't it? That treasure from the ancient stories....courage.. .wisdom...power...but how...why?" So Chayne knew his ancient lore...
"Laddie, I don't know what that was but it sure was a hell of a show." Hugh grinned.
"Chayne's right, it does have to do with the relic of the Goddesses, the triforce. First of all, if you didn't know, the triforce is three golden triangles aranged to form one big triangle. Each triangle represents a different virtue, or ability, if you will. Power, wisdom, and courage. It is said that the one who controls the triforce gets one wish, for anything. Gannondorf reached the triforce in what was once the sacred realm, however, his evil and greedy heart was too unbalanced to control the entire triforce, so it split apart, leaving only the triforce of power with him. The other two pieces, courage and wisdom, went to two others. The triforce of wisdom went to Princess Zelda. The triforce of courage, to me. Gannondorf began to pursue the princess and I, seeking to regain the lost pieces and make his wish. This eventually led to a battle between the dark magician and I, ending with me smiting him with the legendary master sword, and the sages trapping his soul, along with the triforce of power, in what was the sacred realm, now the dark world...I thought, forever. I must be wrong, because Gannondorf has weakened the barrier enough to begin calling forth his dark minions again."
"Just a minute ago I wouldn't have believed it but now..." Mack said as he sat down in a chair, shaking his head as if to try and wake himself up.
"I have to get back to Hyrule!" A new resolution filled me. If Gannondorf's bonds were weakening then something must have happened to the temples, or worse...the sages.
I ran out of the room, ignoring the cries of the others. I threw open the door of the tavern, stepped out and stopped dead in my tracks. Above me, higher than all the buildings, was a see- through, multicolored dome, seeming to cover the whole town. People were walking out of their houses and staring up bewilderedly at the sky. Apparently this was new to them too.
"Link wait, I'm com-OOOF" Chayne came running through the door and smack into me, sending us both sprawling. I got up and dusted myself off, and turned to see him staring at the strange new addition to the town.
"Any idea what it is?" I asked him.
"Not a clue."
"Hmm..." I pulled out my bow and experimentally fired an arrow straight up. It hit the dome with a loud buzz noise, then fell back down again, imbedding itself in the ground to my left. "This isn't good..." I muttered. I pulled out a light arrow, and fired again. This time the arrow hit and stuck, slowly pushing it's way through. After a split second though a sinister laugh echoed throughout the town square, seeming to come from everywhere. The arrow popped back out again, this time with a dark purple halo instead of a golden one around the arrowhead. Instead of falling it began to fly around, then made a beeline straight for us!
"Look out!" I called to Chayne, pushing him out of the way and pulling up my mirror shield right where his head had formerly been. CLANG! The arrow slammed against the shield, and I could feel the dark magic exuding from it, reflected by my shield. The missile didn't stop though, it looped around for another pass, still radiating purple energy.
"I don't know how to fight an unstoppable arrow!" I groaned, and tried to think of something. The errant projectile came in once again, this time it's flight erratic and hard to predict. I barely had time to throw up my shield before it reached me, with another CLANG! As it flew off I tried throwing everything I had at it...bombs, deku nuts, the works. Nothing. And I couldn't us Din's fire for fear of hurting the people around me. As the arrow came around for a third pass I was running out of ideas fast. I could only keep shielding for so long, and if I ran inside the arrow would surely pick a different target. It all became moot when a splash of water flew through the air, hitting the arrow and causing it to fall from the air, hitting the ground and clattering to a stop, right in front of me. Tha dark magic was gone. I looked in the direction the water had come from to see Chayne standing, triumphantly clutching a ladel. I raised my eyebrow in a silent question.
"Holy water, from the life temple." He explained.
"Ah. Well, we at least know that it's a barrier of dark magic. Now who's projecting it?"
"It has to be someone in town. Only at close range could someone project a spell of this magnitude." Mack's voice came from behind me, "Studied at Nuguana school of magic when I was younger." He said in response to my bewildered look. "By the way, you might want to destroy that," he nodded to the arrow at my feet, "Allow me." He raised his hand and a small fireball appeared in his palm, flying down and engulfing the arrow. I was stunned. "You're not the only one with a tale to tell." he grinned. I shook off my confusion and sent my brain back into action.
"We need to find this enchanter and bring down this shield. And I think I know where to start to look. Did you say there was a temple in this town?"
"Yeah, but why does that matter?" Asked Chayne.
"Generally temples are huge magic collectors, and if I was a wizard, that's where I'd be."
"But the temple of life is holy place. No dark magic could be there." The boy protested.
"Hmmm..where did you get that holy water?" I queried.
"The water basin. The water originally came from the town fountain though, which runs directly from the temple. Follow me!" He dashed off, with me close behind. We went down a side street, and through an alley, where a colorful curtain hung. Chayne pushed aside the curtain, revealing a small garden with an extravagant fountain in the center. The water, however, was mysteriously absent.
"The fountain!" He cried. At that moment, Big Mack walked through the curtain, coming to a halt in front of the fountain.
"This can only mean one thing," He said gravely, "Something's gone horribly wrong at the temple."
"We've got to do something!" Chayne urged.
"No, I've got to do something. If it hadn't been for me none of this would have happened."
"Well I suggest you talk to Hugh first, he's good friends with brother Michael, head of the temple." Big Mack said. I nodded, parted the curtain, and walked back through the alley. Just as I turned the corner I heard Chayne call out behind me.
"I'm coming too!"
"NO! Absolutely not. It's too dangerous for someone who isn't trained. I don't want to be resposible for the death of someone."
"Hey, I handled that arrow thingie didn't I?"
I sighed, "I suppose you're right. But in that case, we're going to make a quick stop before we go see Hugh..."
* * *
A bell jangled as we stepped into the shop.
"You can browse for a minute, there's some stuff I want to check out." I said to Chayne, who nodded and moved off through the various racks. I walked up to the counter to speak to the clerk.
"Welcome, young man, what do you want to buy? A deku stick, perhaps? Or maybe a slingshot?"
"What do you have in the way of custom fit armor?"
"We carry a large stock of armor, ranging from leather to solid steel plate armor. Custom alterations on premises. But that's a tad pricey for someone your age isn't it?"
"I can pay," I insisted, patting the small fortune of rupees I carry around, causing them to jingle in their pouch.
"Well then, step this way please!" he motioned towards a smaller back room.
"Actually, it's for my friend. Hey Chayne!" I called. The thirteen year old's head poked around the corner from behind a shelf of battle medicines.
"Yeah?
"Come here and try some of this stuff on!" He hurried over and we both walked into the room.
"Now what exactly were you looking for sir?" The clerk asked Chayne. Chayne merely shrugged.
"He needs something lightweight but still strong enough to deflect most projectiles. And do you have anything that will deflect magic?"
"Yes, but it will definitely run you up by a couple hundred rupees at the least." I jangled the pouch again. "Though I can see that that doesn't matter!" He smiled, hurrying around the room checking various racks. Finally he came back with a shirt of chain mail and some leather padding. "This should suit the young fighter well. If he would please take off his tunic?" Chayne looked uncertain for a moment, then shrugged again and pulled his tunic over his head, revealing a lanky fram. "Raise your arms please." The clerk slipped the leather over Chayne's head in one fluid motion. He then slid the mail over that, securing it with several leather straps. "Oh a perfect fit!" The clerk beamed.
"Yeah, except it's kind of hurting my arms," Chayne looked towards the offending sleaves.
"Well we could remove the sleaves..." The clerk mused.
"Yes, please." Chayne insisted, "I think my arms are starting to get raw."
"Back in a moment!" The clerk flashed through the door and came back with what looked like oversized scissors. With a few quick clips the sleaves were gone.
"Ahhh, much better," Chayne sighed.
"Now that mail is made of an incredibly strong and very light alloy, that allows the wearer free movement and will stop everything from acorns to arrows. However, it does not guard against magic. For that you'll need this," He pull a tunic from behind a rack over in the corner. "This is a mirror tunic. It will protect from most magic attacks, though the extremely strong ones will still get through. It was woven by the mystics in the far mountains, extremely rare and extremely valuable. Let's see how it fits."
He handed it to Chayne, who, after putting it on commented, "Seems rather big." Rather big was an understatement. It fit him like a tent would.
"Just wait..." the clerk said, a knowing glint in his eyes. As he said it the tunic began to shrink, until it fit the boy perfectly. "We'll take it." I said.
"Very good sir, is there anything else?"
"Yes, but it's in the front of the store." We headed back out, where I led Chayne to a weapons rack. "Okay Chayne, choose what you want." I could see Chayne's eyes roam eagerly across the various swords, clubs, staffs, and other assorted blunt and sharp objects. Then he reached forward and picked up what he wanted. It was like fate, something jsut seemed right when he picked it up.
"Ah, the double-handed warhammer. Excellent choice!" The clerk piped up. "Will that be all?"
"One more thing..." Chayne said, disapearing behind another rack. He reappeared a moment later wearing a steel helm with gold trim and the triforce insignia on the front.
"Very good, sirs!" The clerk said, returning to his spot behind the desk, "Now that's one suit of mail, the tunic, the helm, the warhammer..."
"And throw these in too," I interupted, grabbing a few bottles of blue potion and some deku nuts"
"...twenty deku nuts, and three ultimate potions. That'll be eight hundred and ninety rupees please!" He held out his hand. I whistled. That was more than I had expected. Oh well, rupees are for spending. I reached into my rupee pouch and counted out all eight hundred and ninety. "Thanks you sir, have a nice day!"
* * *
It was beginning to get dark as Hugh, Chayne and I walked up the large stone steps of the life temple. I paused a moment at the top to observe the temple. It was largely uninteresting, save for the enormous red jewel upheld by a statue of the Goddesses on the roof. The jewel seemed to glow and almost never hold the same shape for more than a second. It was disconcerting. I looked away as Hugh knocked on the doors.
"Who is it?" Came a voice from behind the doors.
"Hugh, here to see Brother Michael." Hugh replied. The doors were immediately thrown open and a man of avergae stature came bounding out, embracing Hugh.
"Hugh, so good to see you!" The man beamed.
"The pleasure is all mine Mike, it's been a long time."
"Too long my friend, too long. But let's not remain out here on the doorstep, come in, come in!" We were ushered inside. "And who might these two strapping young men be?"
"I'm Chayne, and this is my friend, Link," Chayne seemed to stand three feet taller after hearing the compliment. Michael reached out to shake our hands, but when I extended my left hand he shied away, as if he had thought better of it. Well that's odd, I though to myself
"It's nice to meet you both. Tonight you are guests of the Brotherhood of Life. Come, I'll show you around." He put his arms on our shoulders, and practically hauled us down the hall. Half an hour later we came to the main worship room. It was large and spacious, with pews lined up in rows, and various articles of religious significance hanging on the walls. What caught my eye though, was a small door partially concealed by a wall hanging.
"Excuse me," I interrupted his speach about some relic or another, "What's behind that door over there?" I pointed to the door in question.
"Oh that? That's the old morgue. Now as I was saying, this carving..."
"Could I have a look inside, please?"
"Well, er...that wouldn't be the best idea. It was closed down due to cave-ins, and, um, well, it just wouldn't be good!" Michael replied, a bit flustered. I peered closely at the man, then yanked off my left gauntlet and thrust my hand in his face. The triforce glowed, and he cringed and backed away.
"Link, what are ye doing lad?" Hugh asked, running forward to aid his friend.
I threw up my right hand, holding him off, while keeping the triforce focused on the priest, who by this point was almost against the wall. "'Michael' isn't what he seems, Hugh." I narrowed my eyes and concentrated, and a beam shot from the triforce in my hand, striking "Mike" full in the chest. His body suddenly began to reshape and fade, revealing a poe in it's place. I could here both Chayne and Hugh gasp, as the poe cackled. It flew at me, trying to claw my eyes out, but I calmly drew my gilded sword and cut him down. He screamed in an unearthly tone as he died, and was answer by moans that seemed to come from everywhere. Suddenly the four doors around the snctuary were thrown open, and redeads began shuffling through. I counted seventeen altogether, more than I had ever faught at one time. "Chayne, Hugh, come here and stand back-to-back with me, we'll take them together!" They quickly did as told. "If you hit them enough they'll go down eventually. Don't make contact with their eyes though! It'll freeze your heart, and your body as well!"
"Can't you just make with the triforce stuff and take them all out?" Chayne asked as he nervously unhooked his warhammer
"Not that simple, I don't really know how to yet."
"Damn. Just our luck." Hugh said, who, having no weapon, settled into a traditional fighting stance, arms in a guard, feet spread."
"Get ready, here they come!" I shouted, as the Redeads moved in for the kill. I muttered a silent prayer to Nayru, goddess of wisdom and life as I drew my sword and shield. Three redeads shuffled up and upons seeing they could not get on my back to suck my life force, resorted to a more traditional clawed swipe at my face and body. A quick diagonal swipe severed three hands, which fell to the floor, still twitching. They moaned in pain and anger(if such a sound is possible), and threw themselves bodily at me. I deflected one with my shield, ran another through with my sword, but the third managed to get onto my back somehow, latching on with inhuman strength. I tried to shake him loose, but it did no good, as I felt it's deformed excuse for a mouth clamp onto the back of my neck. I began to feel weaker as the undead monster sucked my very life energy from me. I thrashed about and managed to smack it in the head with the side of my shield. It dislodged itself from my back, but began madly slashing at me with it's remaining hand. two quick swipes and it fell to the ground, its body in three pieces. I didn't have time to catch my breath though as two more dove for me. I rolled away and popped up again, taking a moment to see how Chayne and Hugh were faring. Chayne was clumsily swinging his large warhammer, missing most of the time though his chain mail protected him form most of the redeads' attacks. Hugh, however, had four in front of him, being smacked with his haymaker punches but coming back for more, fist-shaped dents appearing in their decrepit bodies. I watched as anothe shuffled up behind him, about to pounce. I quickly pulled out my bow, nocked and arrow on the string, and fired. The arrow hit home, but did little but annoy the zombie. It turned and began plodding towards me, the arrow still embedded in it's chest. But then I had an idea. I pulled out more arrows and began firing them at the redeads, calling out, "COME ON YOU OVERGROWN SKELETONS, LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'VE GOT!" The result was every redead in the room turing to look at me, then turning and coming to attack me, all in a large group. Which was exactly the result I had been aiming for. I let them get a few steps closer, then pulled out a fire arrow and launched it into the middle of the group. Immediately the redead that had been struck burts into flames, the fire quickly spreading to all of them. There was a chorus of inhuman screams as the lot of them were consumed by fire, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes on the floor. The room reeked of rotting flesh and smoke. I tried not to think about what I was stepping in as I rushed over to Hugh and Chayne. "Are you okay?" I said, noticing Hugh's many wounds and dark spots on the back of his neck where redeads had latched on.
"Aye laddie, I'll be al.. I'll be all.. I'll be all riiii..." The large man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped to the ground.
"Hugh!" I knelt down and cradled his head. "Chayne, where are those bottles I gave you to carry?!?"
"Right here Link," He handed me a bottle of blue potion. I tipped Hugh's head back and poured the liquid down his throat. He coughed and then sat up, as his wounds closed and dark spots dissapeared.
"Ooooh, what a fight," Hugh rubbed his head and shook all his limbs out.
"Take it easy," I said to him, "You still haven't recovered all your energy yet. You took some hard hits." Hugh stood up and walked over to a pew, where he promptly flopped down and closed his eyes. "We have to investigate what's behind that door. Hugh, you stay here."
"Aye. You lads be careful down there, I'm just gonna rest for a mome...." His voice faded into snoring.
"Link...are you sure we have to go down there? I mean, there were already all those zombies, and then that nasty ghost dude..."
"Yes Chayne, we have to go." My tone of voice ended all arguments.
"Okay, let's go kick some ass!" Chayne's eyes filled with new resolution. I sheathed my sword and shield, walked over to the door, and threw it open. Immediately a stench poured out that made the smell in the worship room seem like a breath of fresh air. "It figures the bad guy's in a morgue." Chayne remarked.
"It's so cliche," I agreed.
With a deep breath we both walked through the small door, weapons drawn, ready for action. Instead of action we found a nicely decorated room with a desk, a bookcase, and a few torches to light it.
"But then why does it stink?" I wondered aloud.
"Oh goddesses! Link, look!" Chayne pointed to a back corner, where a corpse lay. It was decayed to the point of being almost unrecognizable, save for the robe and the thick head of hair.
"Looks like we've found brother Michael..." I grimly concluded.
"How can you be so calm about this?? I mean he's just lying there, and he's dead, and the smell, and oh goddesses," Chayne buried his face in his hands as his knees buckled. I moved over to comfort the boy barely into his teens.
I know Chayen, I know, it's rough. But you gotta put that out of the way for now, we've got work to do. Look over here," I moved back over to the body, point to what had been it's chest. On the robe there were scorch marks, though no actualy hole of any kind, "This man was hit with a very powerful blast of magic, dark magic too. It didn't actually damage the body, but went straight to the soul, that's why there are no holes in the fabric or anything. The soul of a member of the clergy is extremely well guarded, which means this must have been an exceptionally powerful and gifted enchanter. And look here," I pointed to the dirt floor, "There are bootprints in the dirt. Michael wasn't wearing boots, which means that these were left by the murderer. They lead to the bookcase over there." Chayne stood up and walked over to the bookcase, with me right behind him. "Don't touch anything!" I warned.
"Okay, I won't," He pulled his hand back from where he was about to touch one of the books, and tried to look innocent. I rolled my eyes and continued examining the bookcase. Finally I found a book that wasn't coated with dust.
"A-HA!" I grinned triumphantly and yanked the book out. A split second later there was a horrible metallic grating sound coming from somewhere above. "Oh damn..." A door in the ceiling opened up and water began gushing through. I turned back towards the door just in time to see it slam shut. I didn't bother trying to open it, I knew it wouldn't work.
"Link what the hell did you DO?" Chayne yelled above the sound of the water. Already it was up to my knees.
"Quick, put this on!" I tossed him my blue tunic, "It'll let you breath underwater."
"Okay!" He shouted back and proceeded to stuff his head into it. That taken care of, I reached into the pack behind my shield and felt around till I felt the object I was looking for. I yanked it out and thrust it onto my face. I screamed in pain as I felt all my boned and inner organs shifting around and resetting, transforming my body into that resembling a cross between a fish and a hylian. A zora. I turned to see Chayne staring at me as if I were a ghost. "What?" I shouted over the water, trying to act nonchalant, "It's a transformation mask!" He nodded his head but continued to stare. "Quit it, you're creeping me out!"
"Oh I'M creeping YOU out!?!"
I ignored the sarcasm and thought for a moment. By this point the water was past my waist. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do!" I shouted, "Wait for the entire room to fill up, then grab on to my ankles, we're going through there!" I pointed to the hole in the ceiling from whence the water came.
"Got it!" He yelled back, just before the water covered his mouth. Mine was covered a moment later, and soon I was completely submersed. Here I was in my element. I did a few quick circles around the room while waiting for it to fill up completely. Then I tried to ignore the rotting hand floating next to me. Finally the water level had risen to the grate in the ceiling. I motioned for Chayne to grab on to my ankles, to which he quickly complied. With a moment of focus I activate a magic water barrier, then busted through the gate, swimming up the current. I switched off the barrier, wanting to conserve my magic energy, then pressed on. I came to a bend heading off horizontally, and followed the channel. Suddenly a seperate current sucked me in a different direction, and I didn't have enugh space to turn around and go against it. I looked up to see a low-set stone looming in my face, then a moment later smashed head-on into it. Everything went black.
Chapter 3: Death Trap
The room went silent as the name was uttered.
"Are...are you sure Link?"
"Yes, I'm sure. He's the only one who it can be. I should know, I've fought him." Yes, Gannondorf,who I had thought was forever contained within the dark world. Possessor of the triforce of power, corrupted by his own greed. After I had defeated the mad wizard Zelda had sent me backin time, to my childhood, with Gannondorf eliminated from that reality...the way things should have been. The only ones who knew what had happened were Zelda, me, and the six other sages. However, magic has a funny way of repeating itself if you will. Though Gannondorf was locked in the dark world, when it rolled around to about the time my spirit had been locked in the temple of light in the previous reality(when I was about twelve), suddenly everyone who had been affected by him in the previous reality knew about him. Are you following me still? Anyway, so effectively everyone suddenly woke up and knew that there was an unbelieveably powerful wizard that had endangered all of hyrule and the rest of the known world, though they didn't know where he was, or who he had been defeated. All the knew was that he was/is in existance. They didn't know about the sages, or the triforce, or me. I know, took me about a week to figure out, even after Zelda had explained it(triforce of wisdom and all). So Mack and the others knew enough to be afraid, but not enough to really know why.
"You laddie? Even after what I've heard about you I find that a wee tad hard to believe."
I looked around the room. Tho only people in the small kitchen were Mack, Hugh, Chayne, and Mack's daughter. I sighed, "Okay. I would prefer it if what I'm about to show you and tell you didn't leave this room." I reached over and pulled the gauntlet off of my left hand. I concentrated on the back of it, and the triforce insignia began to become visible. I took a deep breath and concentrated harder. The dim room quickly brightened as the triforce began radiating light and power. A slight breeze kicked up, a glass fell over, spilling its contents upon the floor. Mack's daughter squinted, Chayne's mouth dropped, Hugh widened his eyes, and the rag Mack had been holding slipped from his hand. I calmed my mind again, as the triforce faded and the wind died down. I nonchalantly slipped the silver gauntlet back on, and waited for someone to speak.
"What was THAT?" Mack's daughter was the first to speak.
"That design....it's the triforce, isn't it? That treasure from the ancient stories....courage.. .wisdom...power...but how...why?" So Chayne knew his ancient lore...
"Laddie, I don't know what that was but it sure was a hell of a show." Hugh grinned.
"Chayne's right, it does have to do with the relic of the Goddesses, the triforce. First of all, if you didn't know, the triforce is three golden triangles aranged to form one big triangle. Each triangle represents a different virtue, or ability, if you will. Power, wisdom, and courage. It is said that the one who controls the triforce gets one wish, for anything. Gannondorf reached the triforce in what was once the sacred realm, however, his evil and greedy heart was too unbalanced to control the entire triforce, so it split apart, leaving only the triforce of power with him. The other two pieces, courage and wisdom, went to two others. The triforce of wisdom went to Princess Zelda. The triforce of courage, to me. Gannondorf began to pursue the princess and I, seeking to regain the lost pieces and make his wish. This eventually led to a battle between the dark magician and I, ending with me smiting him with the legendary master sword, and the sages trapping his soul, along with the triforce of power, in what was the sacred realm, now the dark world...I thought, forever. I must be wrong, because Gannondorf has weakened the barrier enough to begin calling forth his dark minions again."
"Just a minute ago I wouldn't have believed it but now..." Mack said as he sat down in a chair, shaking his head as if to try and wake himself up.
"I have to get back to Hyrule!" A new resolution filled me. If Gannondorf's bonds were weakening then something must have happened to the temples, or worse...the sages.
I ran out of the room, ignoring the cries of the others. I threw open the door of the tavern, stepped out and stopped dead in my tracks. Above me, higher than all the buildings, was a see- through, multicolored dome, seeming to cover the whole town. People were walking out of their houses and staring up bewilderedly at the sky. Apparently this was new to them too.
"Link wait, I'm com-OOOF" Chayne came running through the door and smack into me, sending us both sprawling. I got up and dusted myself off, and turned to see him staring at the strange new addition to the town.
"Any idea what it is?" I asked him.
"Not a clue."
"Hmm..." I pulled out my bow and experimentally fired an arrow straight up. It hit the dome with a loud buzz noise, then fell back down again, imbedding itself in the ground to my left. "This isn't good..." I muttered. I pulled out a light arrow, and fired again. This time the arrow hit and stuck, slowly pushing it's way through. After a split second though a sinister laugh echoed throughout the town square, seeming to come from everywhere. The arrow popped back out again, this time with a dark purple halo instead of a golden one around the arrowhead. Instead of falling it began to fly around, then made a beeline straight for us!
"Look out!" I called to Chayne, pushing him out of the way and pulling up my mirror shield right where his head had formerly been. CLANG! The arrow slammed against the shield, and I could feel the dark magic exuding from it, reflected by my shield. The missile didn't stop though, it looped around for another pass, still radiating purple energy.
"I don't know how to fight an unstoppable arrow!" I groaned, and tried to think of something. The errant projectile came in once again, this time it's flight erratic and hard to predict. I barely had time to throw up my shield before it reached me, with another CLANG! As it flew off I tried throwing everything I had at it...bombs, deku nuts, the works. Nothing. And I couldn't us Din's fire for fear of hurting the people around me. As the arrow came around for a third pass I was running out of ideas fast. I could only keep shielding for so long, and if I ran inside the arrow would surely pick a different target. It all became moot when a splash of water flew through the air, hitting the arrow and causing it to fall from the air, hitting the ground and clattering to a stop, right in front of me. Tha dark magic was gone. I looked in the direction the water had come from to see Chayne standing, triumphantly clutching a ladel. I raised my eyebrow in a silent question.
"Holy water, from the life temple." He explained.
"Ah. Well, we at least know that it's a barrier of dark magic. Now who's projecting it?"
"It has to be someone in town. Only at close range could someone project a spell of this magnitude." Mack's voice came from behind me, "Studied at Nuguana school of magic when I was younger." He said in response to my bewildered look. "By the way, you might want to destroy that," he nodded to the arrow at my feet, "Allow me." He raised his hand and a small fireball appeared in his palm, flying down and engulfing the arrow. I was stunned. "You're not the only one with a tale to tell." he grinned. I shook off my confusion and sent my brain back into action.
"We need to find this enchanter and bring down this shield. And I think I know where to start to look. Did you say there was a temple in this town?"
"Yeah, but why does that matter?" Asked Chayne.
"Generally temples are huge magic collectors, and if I was a wizard, that's where I'd be."
"But the temple of life is holy place. No dark magic could be there." The boy protested.
"Hmmm..where did you get that holy water?" I queried.
"The water basin. The water originally came from the town fountain though, which runs directly from the temple. Follow me!" He dashed off, with me close behind. We went down a side street, and through an alley, where a colorful curtain hung. Chayne pushed aside the curtain, revealing a small garden with an extravagant fountain in the center. The water, however, was mysteriously absent.
"The fountain!" He cried. At that moment, Big Mack walked through the curtain, coming to a halt in front of the fountain.
"This can only mean one thing," He said gravely, "Something's gone horribly wrong at the temple."
"We've got to do something!" Chayne urged.
"No, I've got to do something. If it hadn't been for me none of this would have happened."
"Well I suggest you talk to Hugh first, he's good friends with brother Michael, head of the temple." Big Mack said. I nodded, parted the curtain, and walked back through the alley. Just as I turned the corner I heard Chayne call out behind me.
"I'm coming too!"
"NO! Absolutely not. It's too dangerous for someone who isn't trained. I don't want to be resposible for the death of someone."
"Hey, I handled that arrow thingie didn't I?"
I sighed, "I suppose you're right. But in that case, we're going to make a quick stop before we go see Hugh..."
* * *
A bell jangled as we stepped into the shop.
"You can browse for a minute, there's some stuff I want to check out." I said to Chayne, who nodded and moved off through the various racks. I walked up to the counter to speak to the clerk.
"Welcome, young man, what do you want to buy? A deku stick, perhaps? Or maybe a slingshot?"
"What do you have in the way of custom fit armor?"
"We carry a large stock of armor, ranging from leather to solid steel plate armor. Custom alterations on premises. But that's a tad pricey for someone your age isn't it?"
"I can pay," I insisted, patting the small fortune of rupees I carry around, causing them to jingle in their pouch.
"Well then, step this way please!" he motioned towards a smaller back room.
"Actually, it's for my friend. Hey Chayne!" I called. The thirteen year old's head poked around the corner from behind a shelf of battle medicines.
"Yeah?
"Come here and try some of this stuff on!" He hurried over and we both walked into the room.
"Now what exactly were you looking for sir?" The clerk asked Chayne. Chayne merely shrugged.
"He needs something lightweight but still strong enough to deflect most projectiles. And do you have anything that will deflect magic?"
"Yes, but it will definitely run you up by a couple hundred rupees at the least." I jangled the pouch again. "Though I can see that that doesn't matter!" He smiled, hurrying around the room checking various racks. Finally he came back with a shirt of chain mail and some leather padding. "This should suit the young fighter well. If he would please take off his tunic?" Chayne looked uncertain for a moment, then shrugged again and pulled his tunic over his head, revealing a lanky fram. "Raise your arms please." The clerk slipped the leather over Chayne's head in one fluid motion. He then slid the mail over that, securing it with several leather straps. "Oh a perfect fit!" The clerk beamed.
"Yeah, except it's kind of hurting my arms," Chayne looked towards the offending sleaves.
"Well we could remove the sleaves..." The clerk mused.
"Yes, please." Chayne insisted, "I think my arms are starting to get raw."
"Back in a moment!" The clerk flashed through the door and came back with what looked like oversized scissors. With a few quick clips the sleaves were gone.
"Ahhh, much better," Chayne sighed.
"Now that mail is made of an incredibly strong and very light alloy, that allows the wearer free movement and will stop everything from acorns to arrows. However, it does not guard against magic. For that you'll need this," He pull a tunic from behind a rack over in the corner. "This is a mirror tunic. It will protect from most magic attacks, though the extremely strong ones will still get through. It was woven by the mystics in the far mountains, extremely rare and extremely valuable. Let's see how it fits."
He handed it to Chayne, who, after putting it on commented, "Seems rather big." Rather big was an understatement. It fit him like a tent would.
"Just wait..." the clerk said, a knowing glint in his eyes. As he said it the tunic began to shrink, until it fit the boy perfectly. "We'll take it." I said.
"Very good sir, is there anything else?"
"Yes, but it's in the front of the store." We headed back out, where I led Chayne to a weapons rack. "Okay Chayne, choose what you want." I could see Chayne's eyes roam eagerly across the various swords, clubs, staffs, and other assorted blunt and sharp objects. Then he reached forward and picked up what he wanted. It was like fate, something jsut seemed right when he picked it up.
"Ah, the double-handed warhammer. Excellent choice!" The clerk piped up. "Will that be all?"
"One more thing..." Chayne said, disapearing behind another rack. He reappeared a moment later wearing a steel helm with gold trim and the triforce insignia on the front.
"Very good, sirs!" The clerk said, returning to his spot behind the desk, "Now that's one suit of mail, the tunic, the helm, the warhammer..."
"And throw these in too," I interupted, grabbing a few bottles of blue potion and some deku nuts"
"...twenty deku nuts, and three ultimate potions. That'll be eight hundred and ninety rupees please!" He held out his hand. I whistled. That was more than I had expected. Oh well, rupees are for spending. I reached into my rupee pouch and counted out all eight hundred and ninety. "Thanks you sir, have a nice day!"
* * *
It was beginning to get dark as Hugh, Chayne and I walked up the large stone steps of the life temple. I paused a moment at the top to observe the temple. It was largely uninteresting, save for the enormous red jewel upheld by a statue of the Goddesses on the roof. The jewel seemed to glow and almost never hold the same shape for more than a second. It was disconcerting. I looked away as Hugh knocked on the doors.
"Who is it?" Came a voice from behind the doors.
"Hugh, here to see Brother Michael." Hugh replied. The doors were immediately thrown open and a man of avergae stature came bounding out, embracing Hugh.
"Hugh, so good to see you!" The man beamed.
"The pleasure is all mine Mike, it's been a long time."
"Too long my friend, too long. But let's not remain out here on the doorstep, come in, come in!" We were ushered inside. "And who might these two strapping young men be?"
"I'm Chayne, and this is my friend, Link," Chayne seemed to stand three feet taller after hearing the compliment. Michael reached out to shake our hands, but when I extended my left hand he shied away, as if he had thought better of it. Well that's odd, I though to myself
"It's nice to meet you both. Tonight you are guests of the Brotherhood of Life. Come, I'll show you around." He put his arms on our shoulders, and practically hauled us down the hall. Half an hour later we came to the main worship room. It was large and spacious, with pews lined up in rows, and various articles of religious significance hanging on the walls. What caught my eye though, was a small door partially concealed by a wall hanging.
"Excuse me," I interrupted his speach about some relic or another, "What's behind that door over there?" I pointed to the door in question.
"Oh that? That's the old morgue. Now as I was saying, this carving..."
"Could I have a look inside, please?"
"Well, er...that wouldn't be the best idea. It was closed down due to cave-ins, and, um, well, it just wouldn't be good!" Michael replied, a bit flustered. I peered closely at the man, then yanked off my left gauntlet and thrust my hand in his face. The triforce glowed, and he cringed and backed away.
"Link, what are ye doing lad?" Hugh asked, running forward to aid his friend.
I threw up my right hand, holding him off, while keeping the triforce focused on the priest, who by this point was almost against the wall. "'Michael' isn't what he seems, Hugh." I narrowed my eyes and concentrated, and a beam shot from the triforce in my hand, striking "Mike" full in the chest. His body suddenly began to reshape and fade, revealing a poe in it's place. I could here both Chayne and Hugh gasp, as the poe cackled. It flew at me, trying to claw my eyes out, but I calmly drew my gilded sword and cut him down. He screamed in an unearthly tone as he died, and was answer by moans that seemed to come from everywhere. Suddenly the four doors around the snctuary were thrown open, and redeads began shuffling through. I counted seventeen altogether, more than I had ever faught at one time. "Chayne, Hugh, come here and stand back-to-back with me, we'll take them together!" They quickly did as told. "If you hit them enough they'll go down eventually. Don't make contact with their eyes though! It'll freeze your heart, and your body as well!"
"Can't you just make with the triforce stuff and take them all out?" Chayne asked as he nervously unhooked his warhammer
"Not that simple, I don't really know how to yet."
"Damn. Just our luck." Hugh said, who, having no weapon, settled into a traditional fighting stance, arms in a guard, feet spread."
"Get ready, here they come!" I shouted, as the Redeads moved in for the kill. I muttered a silent prayer to Nayru, goddess of wisdom and life as I drew my sword and shield. Three redeads shuffled up and upons seeing they could not get on my back to suck my life force, resorted to a more traditional clawed swipe at my face and body. A quick diagonal swipe severed three hands, which fell to the floor, still twitching. They moaned in pain and anger(if such a sound is possible), and threw themselves bodily at me. I deflected one with my shield, ran another through with my sword, but the third managed to get onto my back somehow, latching on with inhuman strength. I tried to shake him loose, but it did no good, as I felt it's deformed excuse for a mouth clamp onto the back of my neck. I began to feel weaker as the undead monster sucked my very life energy from me. I thrashed about and managed to smack it in the head with the side of my shield. It dislodged itself from my back, but began madly slashing at me with it's remaining hand. two quick swipes and it fell to the ground, its body in three pieces. I didn't have time to catch my breath though as two more dove for me. I rolled away and popped up again, taking a moment to see how Chayne and Hugh were faring. Chayne was clumsily swinging his large warhammer, missing most of the time though his chain mail protected him form most of the redeads' attacks. Hugh, however, had four in front of him, being smacked with his haymaker punches but coming back for more, fist-shaped dents appearing in their decrepit bodies. I watched as anothe shuffled up behind him, about to pounce. I quickly pulled out my bow, nocked and arrow on the string, and fired. The arrow hit home, but did little but annoy the zombie. It turned and began plodding towards me, the arrow still embedded in it's chest. But then I had an idea. I pulled out more arrows and began firing them at the redeads, calling out, "COME ON YOU OVERGROWN SKELETONS, LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'VE GOT!" The result was every redead in the room turing to look at me, then turning and coming to attack me, all in a large group. Which was exactly the result I had been aiming for. I let them get a few steps closer, then pulled out a fire arrow and launched it into the middle of the group. Immediately the redead that had been struck burts into flames, the fire quickly spreading to all of them. There was a chorus of inhuman screams as the lot of them were consumed by fire, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes on the floor. The room reeked of rotting flesh and smoke. I tried not to think about what I was stepping in as I rushed over to Hugh and Chayne. "Are you okay?" I said, noticing Hugh's many wounds and dark spots on the back of his neck where redeads had latched on.
"Aye laddie, I'll be al.. I'll be all.. I'll be all riiii..." The large man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped to the ground.
"Hugh!" I knelt down and cradled his head. "Chayne, where are those bottles I gave you to carry?!?"
"Right here Link," He handed me a bottle of blue potion. I tipped Hugh's head back and poured the liquid down his throat. He coughed and then sat up, as his wounds closed and dark spots dissapeared.
"Ooooh, what a fight," Hugh rubbed his head and shook all his limbs out.
"Take it easy," I said to him, "You still haven't recovered all your energy yet. You took some hard hits." Hugh stood up and walked over to a pew, where he promptly flopped down and closed his eyes. "We have to investigate what's behind that door. Hugh, you stay here."
"Aye. You lads be careful down there, I'm just gonna rest for a mome...." His voice faded into snoring.
"Link...are you sure we have to go down there? I mean, there were already all those zombies, and then that nasty ghost dude..."
"Yes Chayne, we have to go." My tone of voice ended all arguments.
"Okay, let's go kick some ass!" Chayne's eyes filled with new resolution. I sheathed my sword and shield, walked over to the door, and threw it open. Immediately a stench poured out that made the smell in the worship room seem like a breath of fresh air. "It figures the bad guy's in a morgue." Chayne remarked.
"It's so cliche," I agreed.
With a deep breath we both walked through the small door, weapons drawn, ready for action. Instead of action we found a nicely decorated room with a desk, a bookcase, and a few torches to light it.
"But then why does it stink?" I wondered aloud.
"Oh goddesses! Link, look!" Chayne pointed to a back corner, where a corpse lay. It was decayed to the point of being almost unrecognizable, save for the robe and the thick head of hair.
"Looks like we've found brother Michael..." I grimly concluded.
"How can you be so calm about this?? I mean he's just lying there, and he's dead, and the smell, and oh goddesses," Chayne buried his face in his hands as his knees buckled. I moved over to comfort the boy barely into his teens.
I know Chayen, I know, it's rough. But you gotta put that out of the way for now, we've got work to do. Look over here," I moved back over to the body, point to what had been it's chest. On the robe there were scorch marks, though no actualy hole of any kind, "This man was hit with a very powerful blast of magic, dark magic too. It didn't actually damage the body, but went straight to the soul, that's why there are no holes in the fabric or anything. The soul of a member of the clergy is extremely well guarded, which means this must have been an exceptionally powerful and gifted enchanter. And look here," I pointed to the dirt floor, "There are bootprints in the dirt. Michael wasn't wearing boots, which means that these were left by the murderer. They lead to the bookcase over there." Chayne stood up and walked over to the bookcase, with me right behind him. "Don't touch anything!" I warned.
"Okay, I won't," He pulled his hand back from where he was about to touch one of the books, and tried to look innocent. I rolled my eyes and continued examining the bookcase. Finally I found a book that wasn't coated with dust.
"A-HA!" I grinned triumphantly and yanked the book out. A split second later there was a horrible metallic grating sound coming from somewhere above. "Oh damn..." A door in the ceiling opened up and water began gushing through. I turned back towards the door just in time to see it slam shut. I didn't bother trying to open it, I knew it wouldn't work.
"Link what the hell did you DO?" Chayne yelled above the sound of the water. Already it was up to my knees.
"Quick, put this on!" I tossed him my blue tunic, "It'll let you breath underwater."
"Okay!" He shouted back and proceeded to stuff his head into it. That taken care of, I reached into the pack behind my shield and felt around till I felt the object I was looking for. I yanked it out and thrust it onto my face. I screamed in pain as I felt all my boned and inner organs shifting around and resetting, transforming my body into that resembling a cross between a fish and a hylian. A zora. I turned to see Chayne staring at me as if I were a ghost. "What?" I shouted over the water, trying to act nonchalant, "It's a transformation mask!" He nodded his head but continued to stare. "Quit it, you're creeping me out!"
"Oh I'M creeping YOU out!?!"
I ignored the sarcasm and thought for a moment. By this point the water was past my waist. "Okay, here's what we're gonna do!" I shouted, "Wait for the entire room to fill up, then grab on to my ankles, we're going through there!" I pointed to the hole in the ceiling from whence the water came.
"Got it!" He yelled back, just before the water covered his mouth. Mine was covered a moment later, and soon I was completely submersed. Here I was in my element. I did a few quick circles around the room while waiting for it to fill up completely. Then I tried to ignore the rotting hand floating next to me. Finally the water level had risen to the grate in the ceiling. I motioned for Chayne to grab on to my ankles, to which he quickly complied. With a moment of focus I activate a magic water barrier, then busted through the gate, swimming up the current. I switched off the barrier, wanting to conserve my magic energy, then pressed on. I came to a bend heading off horizontally, and followed the channel. Suddenly a seperate current sucked me in a different direction, and I didn't have enugh space to turn around and go against it. I looked up to see a low-set stone looming in my face, then a moment later smashed head-on into it. Everything went black.