Kakariko village had changed in the seven years since they had last visited it, but that was to be expected. The village had grown somewhat. There were more houses and shops. More people travelled the streets. Impa's village was growing, but at what cost? While they noticed old Kakariko faces, and faces from other distant parts of the realm, he also noticed faces from Hyrule Castle Town as well; faces that said that they too called Kakariko home. Kakariko's growth was a by-product of Hyrule Castle Town's destruction.
As Link and Navi walked up the street, they came upon two young men, who were obviously friends. However, the one friend was visibly frightened, while the other laughed at him. He realized that these men were the same ones who he had met so many years earlier, when he had to sneak into Hyrule Castle for his audience with the Princess. He approached the two men and struck up a conversation.
"Friends, I am a traveller from far away" Link began. "I noticed the fright of one of you, and the scorn of the other. The two of you are friends, but your actions are unusual. What would frighten one brave man, yet only earn scorn from the other?"
The frightened man replied "My friend does not believe in ghosts, even during these evil times! Nor did I, until last night! I had tarried late at the grave of my mother. I was leaving the village graveyard, just after dark, when I saw him! I saw the ghost of Dampé, the dead village gravedigger! He was cackling as he sank back into his grave, that he had a wondrous treasure with him! It frightened me to my very bones! This was last night, yet still I quake in fear!"
"You must understand my friend" said the other man. "He is a hopeless romantic and dreamer, and I love him like a brother because of it! But still… Before he met his wife, would you believe that he actually tried to sneak into Hyrule Castle, thinking that he could marry Princess Zelda! And him only a commoner, as am I? Well, he did! And he almost succeeded! I believe his fright. I laugh to try to break him of it. I would almost believe it, but Dampé? TREASURE? Dampé was a gravedigger! The only treasure that man had was the satisfaction of laying someone to rest at ten rupees a hole! An honest living to be sure, but I wouldn't call it a treasure! Certainly not one to brag about from beyond the grave! Were Dampé not the gravedigger of that cemetery in life, he would never have been buried there, anyhow! That is the resting ground of Sheikah warriors, Hylean nobles, and the very wealthy. The late King's family was buried there in times past, and so was the Warrior Duke who used to ride the fields… Perhaps that is a treasure at that! I thank you for listening to us, friend! You have helped me find wisdom!"
"And I too thank you traveller!" the frightened man exclaimed. "For you are a man who radiates courage! You have opened my eyes and broken my terror! For Dampé was a kind man, despite his looks, and in life he looked frightening indeed! He would never hurt a soul! But he could be a braggart! Just the man to brag of his fortune in being buried in the graveyard he loved, with the important people who he himself dug graves for."
"And I thank you, friends, for talking so freely to me. I am glad I was able to help by listening to you." After Link said that, he and Navi continued walking towards the graveyard.
They walked past shops and houses. They walked past the House of Jardain. When last he visited Kakariko Village, Arthur, Louis, and Edgar had just started to clean it up. The other villagers not only avoided the place; they avoided its residents as well, though they were no longer cursed. Now, their counting house was fully set right, and fairly busy. People entered and left the place, obviously using the services the sons of Jardain offered. The once-faded sign, which sat in back of their room, now hung proudly over the front door. Once again it announced in the Hylean tongue and the tongue of Jardain's ancestors, "Jardain and Sons, Counting House." For those who couldn't read, the large moneybag on the sign told of the services offered inside.
On their left, the unfinished building of Link's youth was now a indoor target range. People went into and out of it too, but it was a place of amusement, so wasn't as busy as Jardain and Sons. They walked past where the young woman tended her Cucoos years ago. She was still tending fowl there, but they were smaller. They did not stop and talk with her, though. They had more important business up the hill. They left the village, and walked up the path to the graveyard.
The graveyard had changed even less than Kakariko Village. The patch of weeds was still in the corner to the right of the cemetery gate. The old sign was still posted by the front gate, or was it? Closer examination revealed that the sign had a different notice on it. Instead of advertising Dampé's nightly tours of the graveyard, the sign advertised something else. "Until further notice, tours have been cancelled."
Link walked to the door of Dampé's shed. The door had not been disturbed in some time. However, it was not locked, either. He opened the door and went inside. The shack had been Dampé's house in life. From the looks of the place, that life had ended sometime in the past year, but no less than ten months ago. He found a diary that appeared to have been faithfully kept by its owner, but that had not seen attention lately. The last entry read: "Today was the day of the winter feast, and still no word from the Duke's boy about his inheritance, or my greatest treasure. Surely, had the boy lived, I would have heard from him now. For he would be celebrating his eighteenth year the first of this coming spring, and no one who was Arliss' son could have ignored Ganondorf's evil this long in silence! I will take my great treasure to the grave with me! No other is worthy of it here! Perhaps the Duke's boy will use my mighty Hookshot to pull himself from the grave. Or maybe the Duke himself will! No matter, until then, it's MINE!"
Link wondered, "Is this hookshot magic? If it could pull one from the grave, why didn't Dampé use it himself?"
"He was exaggerating, Link!" Navi scolded. She said more softly, "He won the hookshot from your father in a footrace around an unfinished tomb that Dampé was digging for Impa. Impa, like many great Sheikahs, had her grave prepared in advance, as soon as she received her first great office from the Hylean Royal Family. This was just before your father died, when Impa was named nurse-guardian for Princess Zelda. The hookshot is vital to our quest, but was just an amusement to your father, who had found it while travelling. After we visit your father's grave, we will have to visit Dampé's grave, and see if we can retrieve the hookshot."
Link and Navi left Dampé's shed, and went to the grave of Arliss the Fierce. The grave, though not tended recently, still looked neat and cared for. The forest flowers still grew, looking as if caring hands tended them. Link went to the back of the gravestone and pulled it back. The stone slid more easily than he remembered. He went to the front of the grave again. The fairy step was still at the bottom of the tomb entrance, and felt as if it would still push him back out of the tomb when he needed to leave it. He and Navi jumped down the hole.
Link looked around. The grave had not been entered since he last entered it just over seven years ago. The enchanted torches still burned brightly. The grave was still in disarray. There were still bones scattered across the floor of the tomb, his father's bones. Link wept silently. He noticed something else, which escaped his concerns when last he visited. It was a stone upon the ceiling of the chamber that read: "He who seeks order would play the Song of Time here."
Link took the Ocarina of Time and played the Song of Time. A horrible, ghostly voice shouted "Answer me, who art thou who wouldst disturb the eternal rest of Arliss, lest thou join me in eternal suffering!"
Link replied, "If you are truly Arliss the Fierce, you would never have me join you, at least not until your great-greatchildren could carry my bones to this garden of stone! For I am your son. You loved me so much that you hid yourself from me, lest I be killed before I became a man. You denied me my inheritance, until the day that inheritance would help me, not be my doom! That day is now, Papa! Help me rescue the mother of your unborn grandchildren from unknown bondage, if she still lives! Help me save the daughter of the King to whom you swore fealty, for she deserves that help even if he never did! Help me rid the world of the monster who laid you and my mother in an undeserved and early grave! Help me win in battle, that you may finally be proud of me!" The voice answered, "My son, I am already prouder of you than you will ever know!"
With that, the bones disintegrated in a flash of light, and were replaced by the ghostly appearance of a great warrior. The warrior resembled Link somewhat. However, anyone who knew both Arliss and Junia in life would say that they saw more of her in Link than him. The apparition had Link's build, but proportional to being eight feet tall, not six feet. The features of the face, though resembling Link's, were crudely sculpted, not quite handsome, and the hair was black as night. The beard and moustache were thick, full, and just as black. Link was reddish blond, and if he could have grown facial hair, it would be as fair. The apparition's blue eyes though were the inspiration of Link's, matching but not quite equalling in life the fire, brilliance, and intensity. The spectre continued. "Link, we will meet again, when you have more time. There is much I would tell you. But time is short, so listen carefully.
"First, I love you more than you will ever realize, until the day you have your first son, then you will know. Second, Saria is rightly your life-mate, according to legend. There is more to it than that, but I cannot tell you yet, nor can I tell you how I know these things now. Third, Saria is safe, for now. But time is growing short there, too. You must free the Forest Temple first, and soon, lest Saria die. Fourth, you noticed that Sheik acted unnatural for a man. That is because Sheik is a woman. You will feel attraction for Sheik as you come closer to the final battle with Ganondorf. Do not encourage this, but do not fight it! I cannot tell you more, but your proper course of action is to neither fight nor encourage Sheik. If you encourage an improper relationship with her, or discourage what will happen by fate, the battle will be lost, and both you and Saria will die!
"You must also be careful in this time. Because of who you are, you will live these times differently than everyone else. Before you fight Ganondorf for the last time, you will travel through time! By the way ordinary people live, by the way even I exist in time, you've already done things you haven't yet done! When you are doing those things, you will know of things that haven't happened yet, but will! You fight to save the realm. Be careful in your travels through time that you don't destroy it!" Link was almost sick with the weight of the responsibility, and the fear it brought. Arliss said, "Fear not, son. You are unusually wise for either an eleven or an eighteen-year-old. Your heart is also pure, and can sense these things, as those of all your people can. Use your heart and mind, and you will do fine.
"Finally, your inheritance. The entire realm is in disarray, the worst it's been since Ganondorf took over. The Gorons, except a few including Biggoron the Smith, are in bondage, to be sacrificed to the evil dragon of lore, Volvagia! The Land of the Zoras is frozen solid. Lake Hylia's water level has dropped almost three times my height. The Kokiri, though, suffer the worst! The village where you grew up is over-run with deku-babas and mad scrubs! The Kokiri have been reduced in number by a third! This has only happened recently. Up to this point, Mido has been able to defend the forest, with help from the Helfdanes, and three others. Even now, he still holds the Lost Woods, keeping them safe for the Kokiri. But even he, Warlord that he became thanks to you, can't hold out much longer. And it was you who helped him finally grow up and who gave him an example, when he could not see the example his father left for him. For their sake especially, you must find my sword! Finding my sword will be difficult, but not impossible. It will only take five days. You will also start redeeming your two retainers, Ingovard and Talon.
"After you leave me, go to the magic bean you planted as a child. It is now a magic bean plant, and will take you up to a hidden ledge. In a crate on the ledge is what remained of Dampé's heart, carefully preserved. It will help you on your quest, as will anything to increase your strength and endurance. Next to that plant is Dampé's grave. He will challenge you to a race. You will not win the race this time, but come close as you can. Do not lose him! Once the race is over, he will recognize you, and give you the hookshot. The way out of his grave will open only for you, the way you called me. This will put you in the top of the windmill. There, Dampé hid what remained of my heart, many years ago. He did this on my orders, given before I went to my death, though at the time I didn't know why I bid him do it. Before you leave, talk to the mad music man in the windmill. He is not only mad, he is angry. His anger is caused by a song, which he will teach you. Learn this song! You will need this song for the final battle with Ganondorf, should you live that long.
"Next, travel to your country estate. You must arrive there before mid-afternoon. There, you will find your squire, in the depths of his fall into treachery. He has taken Lon-Lon from your uncle, running Talon off, to this very village. You will not hurt him, nor will you tell him who you are, until after you've gained what you seek. He will offer to let you ride a horse for money. Pay him. You will call your horse with the song your cousin taught you years ago. When your horse comes, ride her. When Ingo tells you the time has expired, pay him for more time. When you ride this time, Ingo will challenge you to a race, wagering fifty rupees. He will also cheat, giving himself a head start. But your horse, Epona, is the fastest horse in the realm. Ride her hard, but save some of her strength for the last part of the race. Ingo's horse is also easily made drowsy and slow by fairy dust. Once you win, Ingo will challenge you to another race, this time for the horse. Defeat him again as you did before. He will try to renege on his bet. He will give you the horse, but lock the front gate to the farm. Say what seems right to Ingo then, but do not hurt him. I never rode out that gate in times of trouble, and neither should you. Jump the west fence; on Epona you will do it easily.
"Ride like the wind back to Kakariko. Talk to the woman who raises cuccoos by the graveyard path. She will offer you an egg, due to hatch in the morning. Take it. Then, go to the potion shop, and buy one fairy-bottle of blue fire.
"In the morning, enter the house by the first stairway leading to Death Mountain. There you will find your lazy groom. Wake him with the newly hatched cuccoo. He will not recognize your birthright, but will remember you from when you were a boy. He will take off for Lon-Lon. That will not be your concern as of yet. Take the cuccoo back to the woman, who is daughter to the man who has your sword. Don't ask her about the sword, though. Have her look at the cuccoo she gave you. She will then give you another. Take this blue cuccoo to the Lost Woods, where the lone Skull Kid played his ocarina years ago. Give the cuccoo to the deformed son of the carpenter. He will ask you to take a magic mushroom of the forest to Granny's Potion Shop in Kakariko. Do his bidding. But be quick! If you take too long, the mushroom will spoil, and your quest for my sword will be lost. Granny will sell you blue healing potions later, but on this trip, she will make a potion from the mushroom. This potion will also spoil, but it will be no matter. Be quick all the same. When you return to the Lost Woods, a Kokiri girl will be waiting. You will not recognize her, for she was an infant when you and Saria were married. Nor will she recognize you. She will demand the return of the potion, as only Kokiri can reap of the Lost Woods. You have more right to that potion than she, but give it to her anyway. In return, she will give you a poacher's saw, which the carpenter's son left behind. Take this saw to the rope bridge at the mouth of the Gerudo Valley. There, you will find the carpenter. Give him the saw; he will give you the pieces to my sword.
"Take the sword to Biggoron. You planted a magic bean plant at the mouth of Dodongo's Cavern as a child. It will make your trip several hours quicker. Ride it up to the magic cow grotto near the summit. Jump off of it, and run the rest of the way. Biggoron will recognize the sword as his work, but will not recognize the sword itself. His sight has been dimmed by the recent eruptions of Death Mountain, and he is in pain. He will ask you to bring him eye drops from King Zora. Do this for him. Run to Zora's Palace. When you get there, you will find everything, including Zora himself, frozen solid. Take your bottle of blue fire, and thaw King Zora. He will give you a Zora Tunic in gratitude. This tunic will allow you to breathe underwater. You will need this later, should you live to awaken the Sage of the Water Temple. Show Zora the note from Biggoron asking for the eye drops.
"Zora does not make the eye drops. He will give you a frozen eyeball frog to take to the potion lab at Lake Hylia. If you aren't fast, the frog will thaw, and will be useless. If it does thaw, Zora has a few more, but you must not waste time or frogs. Run to the mouth of Zora's River, and mount Epona. Ride the southern way to Lake Hylia. The peahats you remember from childhood are long dead, and you wouldn't have time to ride around them even if they still lived. You will need to jump both fences blocking the path to Lake Hylia, but Epona will make those jumps easily if you have her at full gallop. Ride to the door of the potion lab, and enter quickly on foot.
"The master potioner will at first think you brought him dinner. Be polite, but firm, and he will make the eye drops for free. These eye drops will spoil fast; so don't delay. Mount Epona, and ride at full gallop the entire length of the west road, cross the stone bridge, and ride to the steps of Kakariko. Epona will not be able to walk up the stairs, so you will have to run from there. Run up to the mouth of the Dodongo's Cave. Ride your magic bean leaf to the hidden cow grotto near the summit of Death Mountain. You will have to run and climb from here. A red tektite and three skullwaltullahs will wait in ambush. Kill or bypass them quickly, and climb up to the summit. Give Biggoron his eye drops.
"After Biggoron uses the eye drops, he will recognize the sword. He will be deathly afraid. You must calm him down. When he has calmed, bid him to hold his ear to the mouth of the Fountain of the Great Fairy of Swords. Go in to the Fountain. Call me; then call the Great Fairy. You will call me with this song from now on, listen carefully, and treasure it in your heart!"
Arliss' ghost whistled the "Song of the Fathers." Link was surprised that it sounded so familiar. "It is familiar, Link" Arliss continued. "It is the minor key of the 'Song of Manhood,' which you would have played for the Great Deku Tree, had you not had your unique burden to prove your manhood. Played in the major key, it pays tribute to your long dead ancestors. Played this way, it calls your long dead father from the grave! Normally, Kokiri don't do this. But these are not normal times.
"I must leave you now. Before you leave, there is a wall behind me. There is a healing fairy fountain behind this wall. Blow the wall down with a bomb. Then, leave! You have much to do, and so little time in which to do it! May fortune ride with you, my son!" Arliss disappeared, leaving four fresh torches lit in the sconces around the tomb. Link blasted the back wall of the tomb. He explored behind it, finding that there was a healing fairy fountain behind it. He left the fountain, and the tomb.
He noticed that almost no time at all had passed while he was in the tomb. A leaf, which had started to fall from a nearby tree, was still falling lazily to the ground, though there was no wind to hold it up. He climbed up the hill to where he had planted the magic bean as a kid. It seemed like he had just planted it weeks ago, and in his experience, he had.
The bean was grown up, or more accurately grown around. It was now as big around as a tavern round table, though it was only as tall as the top of his foot. He walked over to the bean plant, and stepped on it. It raised him about fifteen feet into the air, stopped for a moment, and lowered gently back down. It then started to rise again. While it was up the first time, Link noticed a crate on a ledge, just as the apparition had described. This time, he jumped onto the ledge and rolled into the crate with all his might. The crate burst, and he was on the preserved heart quarter so quickly he almost didn't realize that he had it. But he felt his body absorb it. He thought, "So far, the apparition has spoken the truth. But was it my father? And does it still hold the loyalties it did in life if it is?"
Navi answered, "It is the very man, Link! I was with him for many years. Not quite as close as to you, but very close anyway. This was your father in life, and he is the same man in the grave, even after almost two decades. That grave down there might be Dampé's. Notice it has flowers on it like your father's."
Link looked at the grave below, nearest where he stood. The stone was marked simply "Dampé", and the flowers were indeed like those on his father's grave. Link jumped down, landing behind the tombstone. He drew the stone back, and made a leap of faith into the hole.
Link was in the entrance to a tomb befitting royalty. Floating fifteen feet away was the ghost of Dampé. It challenged Link "Heh heh heh, young man! Are you fast on your feet? I may not look like it, but I'm confident in my speed! Let's have a race! Follow me if you dare!"
The ghost started to drift away. Link chased after it. As the ghost ran, it threw fireballs behind it, not caring if the fireballs missed Link or hit him. Link was able to duck the fireballs when they came, but they made it harder to follow at a full run. Link and the ghost raced through the huge labyrinthine tomb. They ran through doors and gates, which magically opened for the ghost, and seemed to close right behind Link. They finally reached the last room, after racing over a ledge that wrapped around a steep gorge. The ghost looked at Link. It then spoke.
"You are the Duke's Boy! So you've finally come! You were so much the Kokiri in appearance and manner as a boy that I did not recognize you at first. But recognize you I did. You claimed your father's shield then, and didn't suffer the curse. You had to be him!"
"What curse?" the Hero of Time asked.
The spectre answered, "The curse your father put on his sword and shield as he died! He cursed them to all but you. 'Whoever would steal my son's legacy, they will be cursed! Have he a son, the son will go mad! Have he no son, he will hew himself in two with the sword! The shield will not block attack, it will magnify the force of the attack by a thousand, and deliver it full on his thieving bosom!' The carpenter robbed your father's grave not a week after your father was laid to rest. I begged him to return the sword, but he denied stealing it, claiming he had bought a Goron two-handed sword from the Gorons some time before. Even after the madness started, the carpenter refused to admit his crime, let alone make amends! But all the town knew.
"A master carpenter will never lack for work, they are so rare. But for that, that man would have been run out of Kakariko or worse. Master Carpenters in this land never have to pay for food or lodging in a town where they work. This one did, and if he works here again, will still. Before I died, he was journeying to the Gerudo Valley to repair their bridge. You've talked to your father?"
The Hero of Time answered the ghost of the gravedigger. "Yes, I have. He bid me do many things, but there are still things I wonder about. How do you owe friendship to my family? Did you know my father before he became a Duke? No one ever referred to him by his given name that I've heard speak, except for Navi!"
Dampé answered, "When we first met, I was a young Lieutenant of the Hylean Royal Guard, and he was a travelling peddler. I was friendly to him, unlike the other Guardsmen. I allowed him to trade with the servants of the Palace, and even traded with him myself. He was an honest and kind man. His goods were always at least as good as he said, and while his prices made him a living, they were reasonable.
"The father of the Princess you serve was a mediocre King. I was falsely accused of dereliction of duty by the other Lieutenant of the Guard. The King knew I was innocent, but ordered me punished anyway, as he favoured the other Lieutenant over me.
"I had already been tortured on the rack, and had several bones broken. They were hanging me slowly, to be drawn and quartered, when The Duke arrived. He cut me down himself. He then cut down the Captain of the Guard, who was obliged to stop him. He then went straight to the King. He confronted the King sternly, for the charges were such an obvious lie that no one believed them! Confronted thusly, the King relented. He appointed me Captain of the Guard, but I would not have it.
"I told the King, 'Your Highness, I have served you loyally to now. I am now crippled from the rewards of that service, and insulted such that I could never find satisfaction without breaking my oath to your safety. Finish the job, or watch me leave. Lieutenant Garzo, whose lie you favoured, is now Captain. May he serve for you more faithfully than he served with me.' With that, I left Hyrule Castle, never to return.
"Your father went to pay blood-money to the mother of the dead Captain. She refused, because she believed her son wrong! 'He should have been on those gallows, not guarding them! Losing a son such as mine, love him though I do, is no loss my lord!' is what she said! Your father saw to her comfort anyway, he was that kind of a man. For Captain Beow's fate simply placed him where he could have done no right.
"But the King never forgave your father for being confronted. Your father died a month later. The King did not declare so much as an hour of mourning for your father, much less the week due a Duke of Hyrule! Nor did he have your mother entombed with your father. For if he had looked, he surely would have found her body, even if he didn't find her killers. But he didn't look for either! He gave your estate to your uncle, but didn't even send flowers to your father's grave. Had your father not been a friend to Impa and I, he wouldn't even have received the tomb he had earned. Your father was to have been sent to the Kokiri, to do with what they pleased. To go in the pyre would not have bothered your father, but he was The Duke and my friend! Impa protected me from the King's wrath for entombing him where he belonged. I also had the Kokiri warrior twins visit your father's grave. They planted the forest flowers that adorn it.
"Nor did your father forgive the King for turning a blind eye to treachery. Impa told me that nine years after your father died, the King had secretly pledged his daughter to marry the Gerudo Monster, thinking that would keep the peace. When your father had lived, Princess Zelda had been pledged by the king to marry you. Your father could have understood her being pledged to any other man after his death, since your continued living was being kept a secret. But for the King to pledge what was once your birthright to the man who murdered both your father's wives, and would have murdered you had he the chance, was more of an insult than even your father could take from the King, even from the grave! This brought your father from the grave, and The Duke placed a horrible curse upon the King!
"The Duke's ghost told the King 'You are the most profane of all the Hyleans! You comforted treachery and damned loyalty! You befriend the son of evil, and have even pledged your daughter to satisfy its lust! I curse you with your own evil deeds! You will die a ghastly death at the hands of Ganondorf! But before you die, you will see your daughter die in the fire for the love of my son! You will see your daughter after her first coupling with he to whom you've pledged her! She will be horribly young by Hylean standards, but you will have willed her to this fate! You will see the blood from her maidenhead spread across the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room where that deed took place! Every piece of furniture in the room will be broken, even the chamber pot! You will see the bruises near her private parts, and the marks of the coupling elsewhere! She will be so sore that she will not walk right. She will see into the depths of your black, near-sighted heart and know what you had pledged her to! She will not forgive you, and you will die un-mourned and almost forgotten!'
"The King was horrified at this curse. He knew that he had not been wise in his later years, and had allowed himself to easily be deceived by flattery. He even accepted the justice of the curse as it applied to himself. But he was truly frightened for his daughter. It was then that he gave Impa much of the power she had when you met her. He also had Impa start teaching Zelda the ways of the Sheikah warriors, that she might defend herself. He was planning on betraying Ganondorf when he came to claim Zelda's hand on her eighteenth birthday, but to keep him placated until then. He found cause to have Garzo, who was one of Ganondorf's minions, executed, and started to quietly rebuild the Hylean Palace Guard. Had the King the time he thought, he might have saved Hyrule himself! But it was not to be. Were it not for Princess Zelda sending you to save the Sacred Stones, Ganondorf would have taken them for sure. Even then, had the King been wiser, the day could have been saved. If he had believed Princess Zelda, he should have placed his best section of the Palace Guard at your disposal. You would not have been able to use them to obtain the Stones, you had to do that yourself. But, had they been at your disposal, you could have protected The Temple of Time. You would have at least been warned of his approach, and could have sealed the Door of Time behind you. Then, despite your having been too young otherwise, you would have obtained the Triforce! It is getting late; we should talk another time.
"I give you now the hookshot. It is my greatest treasure. I hope it will help you save the realm! And there may yet be hope! The King is dead these seven years! But his daughter escaped unharmed and undefiled! She did not deserve the curse of her father to fall on her head! Your father would not lift the curse for me while I still lived, and I have been stuck in my tomb these past months since I've been dead. I haven't figured out how to talk to Arliss yet, though I feel his presence in his tomb. But surely he will lift the burden from Zelda for you! Please ask him when next you speak! Whether he does or not, whether you ask or not, I am at your service, and Hyrule's, for as long as my service may do you good! Stop by and visit when you have the time!"
"I will… Captain!" replied Link. "But how do you know so much of my travels? And you just said my father lost two wives at the hands of Ganondorf? I only knew of my mother."
Dampé replied, "Even after leaving the King's service, I never lost interest in the affairs of the realm. In fact, I had even more time to ponder them, as tending the Graveyard didn't tax my mind. Travellers visiting the graves of their ancestors or loved ones would tell me the news of the realm. Impa also checked on me every once in a while. She would always tell me of what was going on in the Castle. Telling me of her problems helped her to think them through and solve them. The spirits of the dead would also talk to me from time to time.
"When your father was your age now, he had taken a Gerudo for a bride. Ganondorf had her killed for spite! Arliss didn't learn of Ganondorf's responsibility until after his first great battle, else Ganondorf would have been split like the other enemies of the Kokiri. The Gerudo didn't learn of the details of how she died either, else they would have deposed him! But they only heard the story from Arliss, who by that time had been discredited. So, Ganondorf continued to rule the Gerudo.
"Be careful when you leave! There is a test to get out of this tomb. If you are you, you will leave easily, with just a little care not to fall. If you are one of Ganondorf's minions, sent to trick me, I will have the burden of your company for quite a while!" Dampé's ghost cackled loudly, then disappeared! Link walked to the other end of the tomb. A time block blocked the way. This block, carved from the living rock by the hand of the soul of time, could only be displaced by the Hero of Time himself.
Navi said "That stone has the same markings on it as on the Door of Time! Perhaps the Song of Time will open it?"
Link answered, "That must be Dampé's test. Rauru said that the Song of Time only worked for me. If an impostor tried to move this block with the Song of Time, nothing would happen."
Link played the Song on the Ocarina of Time. The block disappeared, revealing a stairway whose first step was almost as tall as Link himself. Link climbed up the first step, then walked up the rest of the stairway. He found himself on the platform next to the heart platform in the upper part of the windmill. The rotating platform was just one step away, so he stepped onto it. As it passed the heart platform, he jumped to it, and claimed the heart container. He then jumped down, walked across the windmill, and talked to the mad music man again.