Chapter 9: Smokey the Moblin Says/Memories of Younger Days
Link spent the time it took to return to the Kokiri Forest contemplating what he ought to believe. Navi had released a dam of thoughts barricading his mind. She'd relieved him of the burden of the knowledge that his efforts were not enough to save the world, because he didn't even know the details of what had happened—no one did.
If he were the Wind Waker, then he could atone for his shortcomings. It would make sense if he were the Wind Waker, but that was because he had all the memories of living such a life, whereas he'd been thrust into the middle of this other Link Sylvanus's life.
He'd known, somewhere in the depths of his heart, the moment that Zelda Atempor had named him 'Link Sylvanus' what that signified, but he'd shoved the knowledge aside, just as Link Sylvanus Tetrus, whoever he was, had done on his quest across the Great Sea. But, that ignored epiphany had returned to haunt him, and he needed to face that knowledge now, that he know who he was by the time he reached one Link Sylvanus's childhood home.
Was he the Hero of Time? Was he the Hero of Winds? The latter sounded plausible, which made it suspect. The former made little sense, which made it strangely plausible. Reality seldom functions as we expect, after all.
Link Sylvanus Hace, the Hero of Time, ancestor of the Wind Waker. He'd seen a statue in the chamber under the Great Sea, and he had some idea as to how he now looked. There was a certain uncanny resemblance in looks, but there was certainly more to reincarnation than physical appearance. Just look at Makar and Mido, or Kaepora Gaebora and Rauru.
Tetra had described the Hero of Time as the "master of many weapons", and he had spent the first part of his quest mastering. He'd felt the need, knowing that it was a vulnerability to face a foe with a weapon he did not yet fully understand. In fact, in many ways, there were subtler undercurrents pushing him in the direction of a "yes" to that first question—that he was the Hero of Time—just one without his childhood memories, to make room for those of another Link Sylvanus.
And, the further along he progressed in this quest, the further his own actions overlapped with those of the Legendary Hero, the less it seemed to matter. The less point there seemed to be in differentiating between the two. If he ended up gathering the three Spiritual Stones, retrieving the Master Sword, collecting the six medallions, and sealing away Ganondorf Dragmire, all as with the Hero of Time, then how was that different from being the Hero of Time? He knew that it was different, in several ways, but they almost seemed cosmetic, from this angle.
Rauru had given him a few criteria for what made the Hero of Time what he was. Sturgeon and Orca had given him others: traveling through time (which he had done to arrive here in the future), wielding the Master Sword (which he had done in both times), sealing away Ganondorf (he was working on that). Fighting alongside the Sages (he was in the process of awakening them), wielding the Master Sword (so nice that they agreed), that he had collected the three Spiritual Stones and opened the Door of Time at all….
He fulfilled, or would fulfil, all the requirements. He had no idea what the requirements were for being the Hero of Winds. Perhaps, it was acquiring the Wind Waker and awakening the Master Sword, earning the favour of the Wind Gods, and—
Wait a minute. Wind Gods. Frogs. Frogs that liked music, waiting under the water. Oh. Ohh.
Link was briefly distracted from his thoughts, making a mental note to (if it happened that he was able to travel back in time) go to Zora's River and play some songs for the brightly coloured frogs lurking near the fallen log, because what if? Could two of them have been Cyclos and Zephos? Was the familiarity of the songs they had taught the Hero of Winds due to the fact that those songs were ones that they had learnt from the Hero of Time?
Life's sudden propensity towards cyclicality was beginning to confuse Link.
And thus, his mental detour returned him to his proper mental path, and he followed it, running through the tunnels and labyrinthine corridors of his own mind, trying to decide what he believed.
And, he had an answer, before he reached the Lost Woods.
Three days through a very similar wilderness (which felt safer, despite the occasional poe, without the huge peahats spinning through the air, lurking burrowed in the ground, all around) brought him to the path of dead trees that grew along a narrow path leading to a hollow log leading to the still-intact rope bridge leading to the Kokiri Forest. He stood on the rope bridge, staring around at the superficially unchanged forest.
"Well, have you come to a decision, before we face Kokiri Forest?"
Link looked down at the ground, still trying to convince himself that the answer was correct.
"Yes," he said, scuffing his boots. "After all, there isn't a Hero of Winds yet. And, maybe he is my reincarnation. And, maybe I will be he someday. But, Hero of Time or not, this isn't his time yet. There is no Hero of Winds yet. There's only the Hero of Time, the first Link Sylvanus, and that's me. And, if someday, I'm he as well—I will treat that as it comes."
He stared straight ahead, unseeing, into the dark tunnel leading to the Kokiri Forest.
Navi stared at him, blinking at his solid, calm stance. She was about to say something, but he took a shaky breath, and continued.
"It feels…a bit…as if I've taken off one of the Mask Man's masks, and can be myself again. I wonder why I didn't have the courage to, before…. But, I suppose no one handles having their self-image challenged well."
"You decided that you're the Hero of Time?" Navi asked, hovering in front of his face with what she thought was a blank face and voice, but he saw through it. She was trying to keep up, but the recent confusion was too much for her.
Well, both of them had had their views of reality upended. If Link decided that he was the man he'd previously assumed was his ancestor, it was hardly the most alarming thing. She nodded to him. "Then, you're Link Sylvanus of the Kokiri?"
He turned to her, nodded, giving her a tight, strained smile (the best he could under the circumstances), and ran through the tunnel into Kokiri Forest.
The forest was filled with monsters—mad scrubs had burrowed into piles of autumn leaves scattered throughout the woods, with the more conspicuous giant deku babas springing up where they had the room. Octoroks lurked in the ponds, leaping out of the water as he approached the stepping-stones. The air was taut as a bowstring.
The kokiri were nowhere to be found, and Link's heart pounded in his chest, as he thought of his friends. Not even Mido deserved this.
He ran into the Know-It-All Brothers' House, at the top of an incline, thinking, without voicing the thought to himself, that if anyone would knew what had happened, it would be they.
But, they acted as if they'd never seen him before, as if they'd never sat around playing word games, or discussing the peculiarities of Mido's behaviour, or analysing the kokirish lifestyle. One spoke of the wind, how unfavourably it blew from the forest, and the Forest Temple wherein Saria faced what must be an army of monsters. Another spoke of Mido, going into the Lost Woods to look for her. They all warned him (he looked strangely familiar to them; had they met before?) that the forest was filled with monsters. He should be careful.
The experience was strange, surreal. He continued on, noticing that all of his kokiri… friends were safe and accounted for, except for three: Saria, Fado, and Mido. Everyone else hid in the treehouses and shop. Some of them said that he reminded them of someone they couldn't place, others that they felt as if they'd been friends with him for a long time. None of them gave him a real opportunity to explain, or seemed to notice Navi. He'd only just acknowledged this place as his home, even if it had been taken from him before he'd even known to claim it.
It was an oddly lonely experience, leaving him with the feeling that he was the last living person in the world. Navi kept a wary, almost defeated, silence. The still-verdant Kokiri Forest was a ghost town that felt as desolate as a graveyard. He climbed the ledge leading to the viney cliff leading to the entrance to the Lost Woods. He climbed the vines to the slope leading to the gossip stone, and the tunnel to the Lost Woods. Even here, a mad scrub leapt out of a pile of fiery-coloured leaves to attack him. That did not bode well.
He defeated it, and ran into the woods.
Soon, he came to the pillar of stone sticking up out of the water. Guarding the "doorway" to the next part of the forest was a kokiri with a cylindrical hat, hands on his waist. He looked very small and short, now. The kokiri chief frowned, tapping his foot and staring fearlessly up at Link (now very much taller than Mido; it truly struck home how much taller he was than his old friends) as Link approached.
"You can't continue through, stranger. Don't think I'm a fool. Though you wear kokirish clothes, I can tell you're not one of us. What business could a foreigner possibly have in these Woods?"
"I—I'm a friend of Saria's," Link said, choosing his words with care. There was no time to explain who he was to Mido, and the man would doubtless not believe him, nor would it help to gain Mido's trust, for the two of them could hardly be considered close. Mido had never had any respect for Link. Saria, on the other hand…Mido had loved Saria.
"She asked me to guard this pass, and to let no one through. I can't help her otherwise, and thus I do as she says."
"She needs help. She's in danger. I need to get through. I—I can talk to her long-distance, through that song she always plays, in the heart of the woods."
Link pulled out the faerie ocarina, and began to play Saria's Song. A sad, wistful, longing look settled on Mido's face, the tapping stilled, the eyes grew incredibly old. Link stared.
"This song," Mido murmured, as Link played. "I know this song. Saria plays it. And, she teaches the melody only to her closest friends. It forms a tight bond between musician and forest. And you…if you know this song, you must be a friend of hers, as you said. If what you say is true…perhaps, I should move aside. Although…I don't know why, but you remind me of…him…."
Whom did he remind Mido of? Was it perhaps Link himself, then? Could it be that Mido, his childhood tormentor, came closest to figuring out his identity?
Mido walked away from the path, to stand next it. When Mido saw him look, he gave a curt nod. With a word of thanks, Link continued deeper into the Lost Woods.
At last, he came to the maze that was the final protective barrier for the Lost Woods. He was about to run into the forest corridor, when Navi stopped him.
"Do you hear that low growling? I don't think our worst opponent here is mad scrubs, anymore. Do you know about moblins?"
Link frowned, considering. "The Wind Waker encountered some on his quest, but…given how different most of the other foes he faced are from the ones we have…I would say that they also have few similarities with the ones he defeated."
Navi nodded, bobbing into the corridor as a hulking shape with glowing red eyes, and a round head with humanoid features, except for a bear's short muzzle, appeared. It wore armour on its head, shoulders, chest, loincloth, and feet. It was thickly muscled, and broadly built.
"Well, these are moblins," Navi said, fluttering close to its head. "They're very unobservant, relying mostly on smell and movement. They wield pikes mainly, but some among them—the toughest and the strongest—wield clubs. I don't think you can face these head on—a spear's got greater reach, and you're at a disadvantage in these narrow corridors. You'll have to attack them from behind."
Link nodded, bracing himself, and aimed his only remaining long-distance weapon after he and Navi had sorted through his inventory, namely, the hookshot, at the open area of the monster's back. It pierced through the sharp flesh, and Link released the dial, causing the chain to fly back into the holder. He'd have to remember that it didn't yet have as long of a reach as the one the Wind Waker used.
The monster fell on its back, bursting into blue flames as it died, and Link waited with bated breath for the next to come by. At last, he began to follow the semi-familiar path to the Sacred Forest Meadow. He stopped at regular intervals to eliminate the many moblins he encountered in the corridors along the way. He kept tense and wary, trying to keep on alert, despite the need for haste.
Then, they came to the narrow pass leading to the Sacred Forest Meadow. A moblin carrying a club stood guard in the very centre. As Link approached, it slammed down the club, causing the ground to shake, and Link to stumble. He was used to his new body by now, so he was sure that it was the power behind the blow that caused him to almost fall.
"That's one of the ones with clubs. Just keep running until you can get to an area where it has trouble reaching you. Moblins turn around only very slowly."
Link wove around the heavy blows of the club, trying to leave himself enough space to move as he could. Eventually, Link managed to roll between its legs, coming up behind it, and dragging the Master Sword upwards. Then, the Sacred Forest Meadow was empty once more. Link slowly approached the sacred place, standing at the entrance to examine the area, which looked much the same as before. Still the tree stump, still the old tree and column, and the doorway leading into what must be the Forest Temple, still the gossip stone.
He carefully aimed the hookshot at the top of the tree, but he was too far away, of course. He walked deeper into the clearing, and then stopped, tense, to whirl around, at the slight noise of a body landing on the ground.
"We meet again, Link Sylvanus," said a woman all in white and blue, with those brilliant crimson eyes, and the covered face.
"Sheik!" he said. "I thought you were staying in the Temple of Time!" He smiled at her, to show her that there were no hard feelings from last time. She blinked several times.
"Ah. I see the source of that misunderstanding, but no. I need at least an idea of where you'll be, but it is for me to follow you on your quest, that you might find where you need to go. That is why I am here, to teach you a melody that will assist you.
"Look around you. This is the Sacred Forest Meadow, a truly holy place. Standing beyond the platform-ledge above you is the entrance to the Forest Temple, once used to pray to the spirits of the forest, and to the Forest itself.
"The flow of time is always cruel," she said, still standing at the entrance. Now, she took a few steps closer to him. "It takes away so much—loved ones, opportunities, innocence. The things it cannot erase are hidden deep inside us all. One thing that will not change with time is a memory of younger days. This song embodies that sentiment, and is filled with happy memories. Play the 'Minuet of Forest' to return here, anytime, from anywhere, or to remind yourself of what is truly important."
She pulled a harp out. It was small, and circular, and she held the side of it with her left hand as she plucked notes with her right.
"We will make this song together. Follow along with the introduction. Our joint efforts will write the song!"
She played six notes, waited, and played the same six notes again. Gradually, Link understood his cue, and took out the Ocarina of Time, echoing the six notes. Then, they improvised the rest of a song. To his surprise, their unplanned melody meshed well, as if their minds were naturally in tune with one another. The song sounded a coherent whole even on their first try, as if, somewhere deeper down, they understood each other already.
"But…how can I play this song again if I'm only responsible for half of it? This was a joint effort, but you won't be right beside me when I play this song to return here."
Sheik smiled, he was sure. The area of the cheeks bulged slightly, as if the corners of her mouth might be turned upwards. "All you need to do is to keep the song in your heart, just as we played it, and think hard about it as you play. Will it into existence around you. Try it now."
Link hesitated, but lifted the ocarina to his lips again. To his surprise, although Sheik didn't move, he could clearly hear the remembered strains of the harp keeping up with his playing. A ghostly Sheik finished her run of notes as he drew out the ending note. He stared at her, about to ask how that had happened, but then—
His mind opened. He grew dizzy, and fell to his knees to keep from falling on his face, as images, sounds, feelings, sensations, rushed by him, around him, through him. He remembered. He remembered. It was no longer a matter of the primacy of current life against an entire remembered other lifetime.
Now, he remembered both, and his mind reeled at the contrast. It was too much to remember, too much to be, and he asked himself. again and again the same questions: how many years, this? How old am I, then? There was no proper answer, or at least not yet. He was young, and old, and kokiri, and foreigner, with no real place, and no real time, even without the weight of destiny strewn as a mantle about him.
Sheik was kneeling next him when he came to. "Navi told me you had amnesia—that you remembered nothing before you awoke in the Kokiri Forest, shortly before your quest began. Had I but known—the Hero of Time, an amnesiac! But, it's to the best, if you remember. Most likely, you will need those memories, or the Goddesses Three would not have bestowed them upon you. Take heart, Link Sylvanus!"
"…Link," he slurred, rising back onto his knees. "Just call me Link. You're an ally, after all, and probably a friend, too. I thank you for your concern for me. Perhaps, I am unaccustomed to such kindnesses. Thank you, Sheik."
She gave a tight nod, rising to her feet, and then, slowly, offering a hand to pull him up. He took it, and there was something familiar in the sensation—her hand, too familiar, pulling him to his feet. An echo, the shadow of a memory, one among thousands, spanning perhaps several decades.
He shook his head. He'd never find it in the sudden labyrinth of his thoughts.
Or, rather, his thoughts had always been made of a labyrinth, but now it was lit, and he could see all those twists and turns.
"Thank you, Sheik," he said a third time, giving her a nod and a smile.
Sheik nodded in return, stepping backwards in long strides, returning to the top of the stairs. "I must go for now. Until you have liberated the Forest Temple, you will find me in the Temple of Time. Fret not. Link…I'll see you again!"
She took another step back, and threw something at the ground, which broke with a bright cracking noise, and a flash of brilliant light. As he watched, she vanished, leaving him alone in the woods.
"Well, but it was very…kind…of her to wait for you to awake," Navi conceded, as if he had asked what she thought. "I'm sorry I told her about…your not remembering anything. She needed some manner of explanation, and I gave her the first one that came to mind…I wish that I could have consulted with you."
He smiled at her, reaching out a hand for her, to show that he bore her no grudge.
"We'd best hasten into the Forest Temple," Navi said, alighting once more on his shoulder. Link nodded, shaking the latest encounter with Sheik out of his mind. He aimed the hookshot with care at the overhanging branch, and was relieved to find that this was one of the kind of woods that the hookshot would latch onto.
The hookshot easily pulled them to the top of the branch, where Link had aimed, and Link leapt off, into the entrance for the temple.
Beyond was a small room with two trees growing by the centre of the walls to left and right. Despite himself, Link found himself remembering the trees Makar had grown in the entrance to the Wind Temple. But, these trees were old, and gnarled. Something was hidden in the branches overhead—a treasure chest. Link used the hookshot to pull himself up, and only then noticed the vines growing, forming a path up the right-hand wall. He opened the chest out on the limb of the tree to find his first small key of this dungeon. It was plain looking and silvery, although he suspected, for some reason, that this was only a coating of metallic grey over some sturdier metal.
He touched the key, and it vanished into his inventory. Then, he dropped easily from the branch as two grey wolfoi appeared, already circling around him. He could always exit out the other door of the room, but perhaps they would catch up to him if he tried to run, and they would hurt him, as his concentration would be less focused than it needed to be on external threats.
Instead, he focused on one of the wolfoi, concentrating hard on it, as Navi watched both carefully. The one he concentrated on made the most moves both to attack him and to guard itself. With the Master Sword in his possession, and drawing on his own old familiarity with the wolfos guarding the entrance to the maze leading to the Sacred Forest Meadow, he made short work of both wolfoi.
He pulled out the faerie ocarina, again, and began to play Saria's Song. Now that he remembered everything, he had to check on her again.
"Link? It's me, Saria. Can you hear me?" Saria's voice was a whisper.
"Saria! Are you alright? I'm in the Forest Temple! Where are you?" He couldn't keep the fear out of his own voice, try as he might. His inner voice was almost as high-pitched as it had been before he'd grown up.
"Link…you sound…different…" Saria said, sounding distracted. "I don't know where I am, but wherever it is, it's cold and dark. I think a man called Ganondorf put me here. One moment, I was in the Forest Temple, and the next…I think I might have been dragged into a painting of a vast, open field. I don't know, though. I'm not sure where I am, now. Please hurry and find me, Link—but be careful. Look after yourself, first. You'll never save me if you get hurt! I'll be fine, waiting for you!"
Link closed his eyes, glad just that she hadn't died. He'd feared the worst when she'd cut the connection prematurely, before. At least he had some idea as to where she was, now. He'd probably have to defeat the dungeon's boss to get to her, though.
He walked to the door forward, staring at it. It had a handle. Could he tell it to open, and expect it to work?
He could return to making his way through the temple, as Saria had said. But, now, as it turned out, he had to physically open the door. That was how ordinary doors worked, on the Great Sea. Perhaps, he was too accustomed to the freedom to carry things with his hands, or to defend himself, as he waited for the door to open. There was a feeling of vulnerability, which did not sit well with him.
A skulltula hung from a line of web in the middle of the next corridor (this one with its vulnerable underside exposed to him, for the moment—if only he had some sort of projectile weapon!). It had yet to notice him, and he stared at it for a moment. Now, he could truly appreciate how big they were—before, every skulltula he had encountered as a child had seemed huge, but, as he had reminded himself, most things were huge to a child.
It was strange to think back to that, now, after regaining his memories. Of the two ways of thinking, the years of living in Kokiri Forest won out by sheer force of numbers, but he could still remember how it felt to be an adult deaged into a child's body, and now…he was having something like the opposite experience. Perhaps, he now knew how it was to be a child who was supposed to be a child, a child who was supposed to be an adult, an adult who was supposed to be a child, and an adult who was supposed to be an adult. That was a lot of experience for—at least—thirty-five years worth of memories.
He pulled out the hookshot, remembering that it could latch onto many things. There was a risk that he'd be drawn into striking range of the skulltula, but the hookshot was made of metal, and had a hook reminiscent of an arrow, and quite as sharp. He aimed the tool/weapon, and shot out the chain. It hit the skulltula, which dropped down, never having seen the foe who had slain it.
Link passed through the corridor without thinking more of the monster, until he stood before the door on the far side (which also had a handle).
Now, at last, came the central main chamber of the Forest Temple. A number of doors around the perimeter of the room led deeper into the Temple—there were at least five, two situated at the end of long tunnel-passages. The iron bars across one of them suggested that there was a hidden switch somewhere.
One door was located in the wall of a high ledge ringed by a tall guardrail. Another stood on the opposite side of the room from it, but was sealed with a locked padlock. Before using small keys, it was always best to discover how far you could go, and how many you could find, traversing the Temple for as long as possible, without opening locked doors.
As he entered, he noticed the lantern-shaped box standing in the middle of the floor. He took in its decorated, graven roof, its four supporting posts, all before four figures with black faces and long, pointy noses, appeared from out of nowhere. Each wore a different colour: violet, green, red, blue. The lift was situated in the centre of a stone circle, with a short bounding wall near it, and four torches, one in each corner of the wall. When the odd-looking poes appeared, the lights of each of these four torches moved from the ornate braziers to the torches that the four Poe Sisters carried. The lift sank into the floor, as they carried away the torches.
"Who—?" he began, and Navi sighed, crossing her arms.
"Those are the Poe Sisters," she said, shrugging. "They conceal themselves within works of art of their own making. I don't know whether that applies to all of them, or just some. You'll have to destroy all images of them within whatever room they hide in. But, let's worry about more immediate concerns."
Link, nodding, turned to the room beyond the door directly across from him. The next room contained a skulltula in the middle of an otherwise empty corridor, and on the other side of said corridor, he found that the bars shot down across the door through which he had just entered. Wasn't it a bit early for a miniboss?
He turned to Navi, to ask, but she had already located the threat—two skeleton soldiers, wearing hats on their heads, boots, gloves, and shoulder pads, wielding swords and bucklers.
Navi glowed yellow as she hovered near the body of one of them.
"They're 'stalfoi'!" Navi said. "There are all different kinds. There are the cursed souls of humans who got lost in the Lost Woods, and there are monsters created by magic. They bear different weapons, and some of them somehow can only be defeated if you destroy them close together. I think that's what kind these are. Watch out! If you don't defeat them both in a short enough span of time, the other will keep resurrecting until you do! These must be spell-made stalfoi…. Did you already know all that? It seems all the monsters on the Great Sea are different, even if they have the same names…."
Link ducked under the swipe of the stalfos Navi was hovering near.
"There were stalfoi on the Great Sea, but they looked a lot less human. They wielded some sort of club, I think, and the key to destroying them was to bash in their heads."
Navi frowned. "Well, Link…. These stalfoi aren't that tough. Enough damage to what would be a vital area for a human should defeat them. See how they protect themselves with that buckler? Use your shield, too, and wait for it to lower its guard. Because they can only be defeated by killing both of them, the other one will wait outside of the arena until you've finished with this one…this means that you only need to worry about one opponent at a time! Make use of that!"
Link wished that he had some sort of projectile weapon. He had bombs, but those required two hands to use, which would mean forgoing his sword and shield. He needed something with which to defend himself. Instead, he settled for watching these new stalfoi very closely. When one of them made to attack, it briefly drew its shield aside. Link was faster than the skeleton soldiers, lashing out at the heart area with the Master Sword.
The Master Sword, despite its appearance, was clearly not at the peak of its strength. He had to strike the monster several times in the air of its ribcage before it finally collapsed into a heap of bones, and he whirled to face the second one.
He could feel the tension seep through their mental connection. Navi was thinking about the time limit, if such it could be called…that small window of time before the monster he had just defeated resurrected itself. It was almost enough to make him throw caution to the winds. He, unlike the skeleton soldiers, couldn't keep fighting forever.
He compensated by using riskier, harder-hitting attacks. He focused magic into the Master Sword as the stalfos approached, unleashing it in a spin attack as it came close enough. The spin attack was an impressive technique, worth the time it took to charge enough magic energy into the sword. It bypassed even the stalfos's buckler to hit the monster with blue flames (the same ones that consumed foes when they were defeated, perhaps?). During that time, however, he was completely vulnerable, unable to do anything but try to use the shield to defend himself. He had to focus his attention on the sword.
He leapt back to give himself some more room, but didn't try to charge another spin attack. Instead, he waited for the monster to lash out at him in turn, as he glanced occasionally at the pile of bones sitting nearby. It wouldn't do to slip on them….
The stalfos feinted several times before committing to an attack, and Link leapt forward, cutting straight through the monster's ribcage with the Master Sword. It staggered back, and then straightened up again. It couldn't be so simple, could it? The next time it tried to attack, he lashed out twice with the Master Sword before it managed to get its shield into a position to defend itself.
"Link! Hurry!" Navi cried. Link nodded, set his feet, and waited. The monster lashed out again, and he thrust the Master Sword straight through where its heart ought to be. It collapsed, blue flames swallowing it as it fell. The other stalfos, too, burst into flames.
As the flames died down, leaving nothing behind, a ball of green light appeared, spinning around in a circle, and leaving a small treasure chest behind. He opened it up to find a second small key. Now he had two small keys, and no locked doors that he could access. He frowned, considering, but just backtracked to the main chamber. It would be nice to have a map, by now. Those were usually among the first things he found.
There were only two other doors he could reach—a handleless door in the left-hand wall at the end of a corridor like a tunnel, and a handled one set into the same wall. On the opposite side of the room, he could see an unlocked door set on a high ledge, and a second tunnel leading to a barred door. There was an eye-switch above this one, and he briefly considered the thought that he was intended to use the faerie slingshot, but…. Navi had said that it wouldn't work for an adult. Judging by the Waker of Wind's experience, this suggested that he was about to acquire some new manner of projectile weapon.
He headed through the handleless door, first, to find himself in yet another corridor, with yet another skulltula. Link used the hookshot on it, and it pierced the shell, killing the skulltula with ease.
He came through another handleless door (he quite appreciated just having to tell a door to open), into what might have once been a garden. There was a well on the far side, and another door set into the wall. A narrow stream cut across it, with a bridge over it providing a drier path to the well, and the remains of an arcade. From here, he could tell that there were a number of doors set high into the wall. This was as much as he could take in before the octorok leaping from the stream distracted him. The deku baba lunging repeatedly at him from this side of the bridge was not worth paying attention to, yet. It had been snapping at him, unheeded, as he had examined the garden.
He reflected the rock the octorok spat at him right back, taking a moment to fully appreciate how much easier the hylian shield was to carry now that he was fully-grown. He tied to imagine carrying it around the Lost Woods before he'd grown up. He supposed it was light enough for him to lift, but ungainly, with its excessive height.
As the deku baba reared up, he lunged at it with the drawn Master Sword, easily cutting right through the stalk. He walked along the bank of his side of the river, waiting for more foes to appear, and then crossed the bridge, wandering the area. He saw vines high up leading down from one of the high balconies up above he had noticed from the entrance, but there was no way to reach them.
There was a big treasure chest behind the arcade. As he approached it, he found that these treasure chests now only came to about his knees. He'd now have to bend over, or perhaps even crouch down, to retrieve what lay within. What a difference seven years makes!
He opened it, reaching into it to find the most confusing dungeon map he had ever seen. This garden was marked as being the door to the northwest of the central chamber of the dungeon. A corridor somehow connected it to the same room on the northeast side of the map (this was marked by a dotted line cutting through the main chamber, and the same area, redrawn, beneath that floor of the map, above the label for 1B). This label, marked with the same symbol both in the main map of the floor, and the in-depth one, was confusing enough, but apparently, this floor also contained a series of passages that…led different places depending on how you exited the door? The scribbled notes in the margins were not very helpful. Never before had Link seen so much writing on a map, and it wasn't intelligible, most of it, even despite the artist's best efforts.
He stared at the strange corridors for a moment longer. According to the map, they occasionally were connected to the southwestern door—the other door he could access, but hadn't. The one with the handle. Was there some sort of importance to that?
For now, he could do nothing but see what lay beyond the door set into the left-hand wall, near the well.
There was a long corridor, here, which seemed very straightforward, the same as all the others, complete with a skulltula hanging in the centre.
At the other end of the corridor, he emerged into another garden, at first glance identical to the one he had just left. However, as he stole glimpses of it whilst fending off octoroks and deku babas, he noticed a few differences. First of all, there was no arcade. Second of all, the well was situated up against a wall, rather than in the middle of an open area. Finally, there were no vines leading up to a higher cliff; indeed, there was no higher balcony or ledge to this room at all. A highly conspicuous detail.
According to the map, however, there was a means to a floor 1B here, which led back to the garden he had just come from, somehow. There must be something special about it, for he'd seen no clue as to a means of accessing a lower floor in the other garden. He peered around the garden, walking around it again, and noticed that there were vines growing up out of the well. They led up the ledge next to the well in a very conspicuous way. Link found himself reminded of Kokiri Forest, and the Lost Woods, which went out of their way to provide means to access otherwise inaccessible places—if there was a reason you might wish to go there. Perhaps….
He climbed onto the rim of the well, and saw that, down through the clear pure waters of the well, the vines continued growing down, down, down. He jumped into the well, and swam to the vines, climbing up the ledge, to find a step-on switch. When he stepped on it, the water drained out of the well, revealing a passage. It did not, however, lower the level of the stream. This didn't bother him, as it might have bothered the Waker of the Winds. Dungeons were strange places. They'd both noticed that. Here, in the heart of the Lost Woods, everything was at its strangest.
He climbed down to the bottom of the well, and was not surprised to see a narrow path running alongside a canal, with grates at either end. There was a ladder leading out of the other well, and a treasure chest on the far side.
He made his way through with caution, grateful of this when he narrowly leapt back in time to avoid the skulltula that dropped from the ceiling. Could they breathe water, or had they not been there when the well (and the passage) had been filled with water?
Navi flew up ahead, after that attack, finding and exposing the other skulltula before it could surprise them.
Inside the small chest was another small key. He now had two of them, and not enough locked doors.
There was nothing to do but to backtrack. This time, he would head through the door with the handle. It was the only plausible way left to get to that ledge overlooking the first garden.
Beyond was a room filled with high ledges situated around the room at various heights, with three levels to it. Immediately upon his entrance, two blue bubbles rushed at him. Navi was quick to reassure him that these would not immobilise him, but were rather non-threatening—not too dangerous, as long as he used his shield to bash them, kill the flames surrounding him, and then quickly finish them off with the Master Sword. They weren't even as dangerous as the red bubbles on the Great Sea.
But of course, after these were dispatched, there was still the puzzle of the room to solve.
It had been a while since he'd had to push and pull blocks to solve a puzzle. This particular room involved following guiding arrows helpfully drawn on the floor, pulling and pushing blocks, and then heading around behind them to push and pull from another angle. To begin, he'd had to find the ladder leading to a ledge, with another ladder leading to another ledge, which had a low extended archway that also had another, left-hand, passageway branch off it, halfway through.
At the end of the archway was a hole leading down. Turning left, he found the arrows engraved into the floor, and then painted (or rather, Navi did). Then, he found the first block, to his left, which, following the arrows, belonged at the end of the passageway, where there was a sunken block-shaped area waiting for it. There was also a secondary passage which would allow him to approach this first block from behind.
The ledge overlooked the entrance to the room through which he had come, and showed him the location of the door hidden in an alcove above the entrance, in the right-hand wall. His map suggested that this ledge led to the garden—the second storey, which he had only seen, but been unable to access. As that door was unreachable, he'd have to find another way to the same ledge.
Climbing this block, when it was at last set in its proper place, led him, eventually, after many turns, to a third level to the room (which was swiftly turning into a maze). This time, he had to climb up and down a ladder located where the previous block had been to at last move the second block into position.
This allowed him access to the fourth and final floor of this room. He turned a corner, and found himself in an open area patrolled by two more blue bubbles. The openness was quite abrupt, and the blue bubbles noticed him before he noticed them. Not that it mattered, but according to the map, the door with the eye-switch above it led to the mysterious four-exit corridors. He'd soon discover just what made them so strange.
He dispatched the blue bubbles first, and then went to the (locked) door, hastening to open it, eager to discover what lay beyond.
"Link, look!" Navi cried, laughing as she tilted in midair to try to adjust her angle to match the room. "This corridor is all twisted…I think it's about ninety degrees…isn't that weird?"
Weird was one way to put it. He wondered if the other corridor with four exits for a two-door room was also twisted.
Determined not to become disoriented, he fixed his eyes on the wall, and walked forward at a steady pace. That beigeish green-brown of the temple corridors was so featureless that even the twisting corridors, and the accompanying twisting of the walls, did not change the appearance of the walls—at least, not noticeably.
By the time he reached the end of the corridor, the room lying beyond, clearly visible even from the entry door, was rotated ninety degrees. Blocks stuck out of the walls, and there was a strange, ornate blue treasure chest on the ceiling. There was a door at the other end, and a hole cut into the floor, leading who-knew-where. A ladder led up one of the protruding squares, and Link started for it, until Navi's voice called out a warning.
"Link! Watch out! There are monsters on the ceiling! They're called 'wallmasters'…they have some mild reality-distorting powers…and when they drop down on you, if they catch you, all enemies you have defeated, except for minibosses and bosses, will be revived, and all puzzles except block puzzles will be reset. It's about to fall on you! Get out of the way!"
Link executed a hasty backflip, and then another, as a giant shadow grew larger, and larger, and a monster resembling a wrinkled purplish-brown hand fell from the ceiling. It looked leathery and wrinkled as an old man's, and it had no nails. It looked very different from the most similar monsters he had…seen…on the Great Sea. Navi's warning, and the thought of all the progress he would lose, kept him wary.
Now, he stayed in constant motion, thinking he had best get rid of it before it could drop down on him as he sought to climb up to the ledge leading to another room. He waited for the whistling of its descent to reach his ears, and then jumped aside, rolling and coming to his feet a fair distance away from the hand. Navi fluttered near it, glowing a bright yellow. Link hacked mercilessly at it, and it exploded into blue flames, leaving behind several red rupees, and a few blue ones. Well, he'd never want for funds if these things were around.
He ran around some more, waiting for another to appear, before climbing the ladder leading to the second corridor, which was straight.
The handled door at the end opened onto a strange room. There was a wraparound balcony curving around the wall, on the right, and a set of steps leading down, on the left. Near the ceiling of the wall before him was a portrait of a poe identical to those he had seen in the main chamber. This was the red one, which had borne away the red torch. She wore a red dress, with a hat that reminded him, inevitably, of the statues three that his descendant had encountered on the Great Sea. Perhaps…was that why he had been disturbed by the statues?
As Link approached the painting, with Navi whispering information, most of which she had already told him, in a panicked rush, the figure in the painting vanished, with a familiar poe's cackle. The painting was left blank. There was, however, another poe beneath the railing of the upper ledge, above a second staircase. Staring straight ahead, as if at him, was the same picture of the red poe sister (Joelle, Navi told him her name was, a name eerily similar to that of one of the Outset Island children). As he descended the stairs, this picture turned black, as well, once again accompanied by a poe's laughter, but when he turned to look at the first portrait, the poe had returned.
There was a final, blank portrait next to a locked door. On the opposite side of the door was a fancy brazier, which sent off lazy puffs of smoke into the air, as if it carried a recently expired fire.
There was nothing he could do but to open the locked door (leaving him with one small key), and hope that he found something that would help him defeat the poe sisters.
Beyond was, naturally, a second miniboss. Link furrowed his brow, turning to Navi, quizzical.
"I think it's just the same as before: you need to defeat both within a short time of the other, or they'll resurrect until you either do, or you die. Strange that, of the four dungeons we've been two, half of them have been with two minibosses, but I doubt you'll find that often on the rest of our quest. Watch out!"
She cried the warning in time to dodge the stalfos's vertical swipe, and to counterattack viciously. But, the stalfos recovered quickly, and Link was soon back on the defensive. Even with the Master Sword, these were hardy foes.
He attacked the first stalfos predominately with thrusts and slices, which needed no special energy or time to build up. Eventually, it collapsed into a heap, and the other moved in. Now, he was much less cautious, preparing a spin attack, as he had with the previous miniboss, and charging it as he waited for the enemy to come close enough. When the stalfos next lowered its defenses, however, he simply hacked at it as many times as he could, slicing at areas that might have been vital areas on a human.
At long last, it, too, collapsed, consumed by blue flames, and the already defeated one did the same. A ball of green light spiraled around on the floor, in the centre of the small, circular room.
It left another big treasure chest. Within, Link was surprised to find, not the compass, but the faerie bow, equipped with thirty arrows. Link resolved to discover what, if anything, had become of the Shooting Gallery that had once graced Hyrule Castle Town, but for now, he had to settle for his small knowledge of archery—what he had gained from Saria's teaching him.
He continued through the other door, which led through to a room similar to the one he had been in with the torch that Joelle had stolen. There was a portrait of a poe dressed in blue, nearby, and another at the top of the landing. The third was situated in the small ledge above the stairway. The final portrait hung next to the door leading away from the second poe sister's room (according to Navi, this one was named "Beth").
Halfway up the stairs, he set his feet in the appropriate stance and, remembering Navi's further instructions that the poe sisters' trick was to hide themselves in works of art of their own creation and likeness, Link decided to try to destroy the portraits. It would have been useful to have had fire or even ice arrows, but it was the other Link Sylvanus (perhaps his future self, even!), who had that ability. All he could do was aim the almost radiant pale arrows at the portraits, sighting along the shaft carefully, that he not waste one of the thirty arrows that came in the quiver.
Summoning the bow also summoned the quiver, and summoning the quiver also summoned the bow, as if they were bound together with a sturdy, if invisible, cord. He was glad that the quiver seemed to appear automatically slung over his shoulder, without his needing to focus on that particular goal.
He slowly sighted along the arrow, aiming first for the portrait next the door leading to parts unknown. There was an eye-switch above it, and it was locked. He'd have to hope he didn't need any more keys, or that he found another soon.
Stricken by sudden inspiration, he fired an arrow at the portrait above him, and when it hit, blue flames spread across, burning the monster-portrait to ash.
He wasn't paying attention. He sent away the bow and arrow, temporarily, to thrust both arms into the sky, focusing magic into them, and then slowly bring them back down, now surrounded by green light, as he offered a prayer to Farore, and his request for aid. A ball of green light formed over his head, and then seemed to disappear. He staggered, briefly, at the drain on his magic, but quickly straightened again, as Navi alit upon his shoulder, wings beating furiously, face drawn in concern.
Now, he had a way back to this very room, and could see what else lay in the four-exited twisted corridors segment of the temple, and come back after, if he found more keys. He'd just backtrack, for now.
He turned around to face the second portrait, above them, where the landing connected the first flight of steps to the second. The pictures were all so large that he had little problem hitting this one, either (although in each case, he attempted to hit it in the centre). This picture, too, erupted in blue flames when stricken. There was a third portrait above the doorway, again of the poe sister carrying the blue-flamed torch, above the lower flight of steps. He struck this third one, and it erupted into blue flames, and he headed partway down the stairs, aiming for the final portrait as he did.
When the final portrait burnt to ash, a figure carrying a blue torch the way the poes of the graveyard carried lanterns appeared. She wore a blue dress, and had bright blue eyes, to go with the brightly burning torch. He wondered whether the poe sisters were naturally evil, or if they were intended to be guardians of the temple, whom Ganondorf had corrupted, or controlled.
The bow was still in his hand, and, forgetting the nature of poes in the heat of the moment, he aimed. Staring hard at the poe, and fired a fifth arrow. She reared back, flailing her arms, and then disappeared, as poes usually did when you stared at them. All that was left visible were the stolen flames of her torch, which she swung as she spun, shooting towards him as she whirled in tight circles.
He stepped out of her way, and she reappeared. Most unusual for a poe. He glanced at Navi, glowing yellow, where she hovered next to the poe sister.
"I don't think these will disappear if you stare at them too long," Navi belatedly explained. "I'll help guide your bow; just try to defeat her with the Master Sword and faerie bow. I'll help guide you!"
Link aimed the bow at the poe again, in response, trusting Navi to guide it to its destination.
When stricken by the arrow, the poe once more disappeared, swinging the torch around in circles, before reappearing. In this way, he made short work of her. It only cost him eight more arrows. But, finally, when blue flames consumed her, the slightly darker flame burning on her torch dispersed, to reform near the fancy brazier next the door, leaving the torch burning a bright azure.
Then, two treasure chests fell from seeming nowhere, one landing near the door, the other by the stairs. He'd already used fourteen arrows, and was relieved to find a bundle of twenty more, bundled again into packs of five, in the treasure chest by the stairs. He took fifteen of them, and set the remaining five back in. Link wondered if their appearance was somehow the Lost Woods, looking out for one of its own.
In the treasure chest near the door, he found another small key, forcing him to decide whether to head back up the stairs to discover what lay in the second four-way corridor, or to continue his journey back to the main chamber of the temple.
For Link, it seemed to make more sense to continue retracing his steps. Now, he knew what to do in the first poe sister's room. Of course, in the room that had held all of those blocks, and blue bubbles, there was another eye-switch, which he might as well examine. Then, he could, he hoped, return to this room, and continue on.
He returned to the bottom of the red poe sister's room. This room had only three of the portraits. Link, once again, started with the highest of the portraits, and worked his way down. It would be easier for him, at least, to fight them in the opener area at the base of the stairs. At the top of the stairs, she would have the advantage, as his movement would be limited by the railing, and the stairs, whereas she, being able to fly, would be unhindered.
He notched another arrow as soon as he'd hit the third painting (his aim was nearing the centre of the paintings, but still not as good as it needed to be. He foresaw much time spent practising in the near future).
He drew back the bow, aiming for the poe sister, and let fly as she was floating near the door. She turned to face him, disappeared, and swung the red torch around, whirling in circles towards him, before she reappeared. It was just like fighting that other ghost, "Beth". He waited only for her to regain visibility (because, naturally, while she was attacking, she couldn't be harmed), and then fired a second arrow. These poe sisters were easier opponents than the stalfoi. It made him wonder if they were evil at all, or if they were simply the spirits of the forest, forced into villainy by Ganondorf.
He aimed the bow for Beth again, as she reappeared. As long as he stayed far enough away, he was in no danger even from her whirling attack. He felt a sense of…pity for the poe sisters. He wouldn't admit it to Navi, though.
After he had hit her ten times, she threw up her hands, as blue flames consumed her. Navi flew back over, halo turning blue again as she flew back to land upon his shoulder once more. The red flame returned to the fancy brazier standing near the door. Navi fluttered over it it, as if considering. But, they were both distracted by the appearance of two more treasure chests. One near the staircase held more arrows; he reached in to withdraw fifteen of them, and then put the remaining five back in. Then, he went to the other small chest, which he kicked open to find another small key.