Link withdrew his sword, making a face at the lumpy guts that coated the blade.
"Why is it green?" He gagged, wiping it off on the spider's corpse.
Sheik smiled faintly. She slowly made her way towards him on the other side of the corpse. There was the Link that she was more familiar with. Although, it was comforting to know there was a fighting spirit underneath his carefree nature.
He met her eyes and his face dropped. Link dropped his sword to the ground and rushed to her. "Are you okay?" He gently placed a hand on her arm. "You fell kind of hard, do you need to sit or-"
Sheik stepped back, tense. "I'm fine. A bruise, at most." She rubbed her arm where Link had touched. That felt too friendly.
He glanced down and stepped back. "Sorry." He stayed quiet for a moment.
A bit of guilt ate at Sheik. She didn't mean to seem so opposed to him. "Are you alright, too?"
"Me? I'm fine." Link met her eyes again. "I should've done more."
Sheik furrowed her brow. "No, you did fine. I did tell you to go, after all. The fight went much more quickly with you than just me alone."
"Still."
"There's more fights ahead of us. We need to hurry." Sheik picked up Link's fallen sword and held it out to him.
He took it from her and slid it back in its sheath. "More fights?"
"I doubt that spider is the only one to come into contact with the weapon." Sheik surveyed the area. "Where did that monkey go?"
"Oh!" Link pointed. "You were fighting, and I didn't want her get in the way, so I kind of… tied her to a rock." He said sheepishly. Sure enough, there was the monkey, fastened to a rock with his leather belt.
"...Smart." Sheik nodded. Odd idea, but worked.
Link jogged over and undid the belt, earning a high screech from the monkey. It danced in a circle around him.
Sheik sighed and went over to the corpse to retrieve her lost daggers. One by it's jaws, one lodged in the abdomen. She wiped the innards off against the body and slid the knives back into the respective sheaths. Granted, if she couldn't go back for her knives, she could always conjure some. But that required a lot of energy and focus. She avoided using too much energy. Even the simple water spell had drained her.
"Shall we continue?" Sheik asked, motioning towards the light.
Link switched his gaze from the monkey to her. "Yeah, yeah. But keep your weapon out."
Sheik nodded and gripped the handle of a dagger on her hip. She began walking with Link behind her, holding his sword out in front of him. The monkey jumped around some more and then raced ahead of her.
The light was coming from a sharp turn in the tunnel. The monkey rounded the corner and stopped abruptly, just enough that Sheik could still see it's tail. She could've sworn she saw the fur flowing back and forth, as if facing a breeze.
The burst of wind hit Sheik too, when she rounded the corner. She stopped short.
"Why'd you stop-" Link followed, stopping himself. "Oh."
Up above, a break in the cave walls let sunshine pour in. More holes along the sides let sudden bursts of wind push the hair away from Sheik's face. But the main concern was the maze spread before them.
The cave ground level they were on cut off in a jagged cliff. A canyon spread across in front of them, filled with giant stone pillars stemming from the canyon ground. Sheik peeked over to see how far down the canyon floor sunk, but she could only see darkness. If she fell, she was sure to die. On top of the great stone pillars sat small rickety bridges. Each one was extremely short in length and spread out in the pit before them. None of them lined up perfectly with one another, and there seemed to be no clear path. Likely a lot of jumping would be needed to cross from bridge to bridge. That idea alone made her nervous, seeing as how weak the bridges looked.
Along the sides of the caves, small rocky patches of ground hung onto the walls. Small creatures were hopping around, trapped. Sheik peered closer; it appeared to be more monkeys. She internally groaned at the thought of more monkeys tailing behind.
Across the way, the canyon ended and the ground slowly built back up to the original level, about the same height as where they stood now. Another cave lay beyond, with the entrance covered by a thick wall of purple vines. It almost appeared as though there had been some sort of rock path leading to the other side, but had been destroyed, leaving the jagged cliffs.
Sheik pointed over to the vines. "Those don't look right. I think those vines are closer to the whatever creature is behind this and the weapon itself. We'll have to get across somehow."
"What about the other monkeys?" Link asked. The monkey squaked behind him as if in agreement.
"We don't have a lot of time. I suppose we can bring them to this side of the cave. Then they can find their way to the exit."
"How do we get over there, then?"
"We can try jumping from bridge to bridge." Sheik shrugged, stepping lightly onto the bridge before them.
The wind howled in the distance. Sheik turned to Link, motioning him to follow. His face clenched, eyes narrowing at the wind.
"Sheik, I think you should get off-"
The bridge jolted and Sheik felt herself thrown off, down toward the darkness below.
"SHEIK-"
Link watched in horror as the bridge lurched and violently pivoted on its pillar. Sheik's small frame slammed into the weak rails, breaking through and falling off the bridge.
A strangled cry erupted from his throat. Had he just seen his first human death? He knew the bridges looked too flimsy. He knew that the wind was too strong. He knew that the pillars weren't holding the bridges stable.
Panic flooded his body as he waited for the terrible crunch of bones and body against the canyon floor. He turned around, afraid of what he would see.
"Holy fuck, Sheik…" He whispered, holding his hand to his chest.
But no crunch came. Instead, a loud grunt echoed.
He turned back to see Sheik's hands clutching the side of the bridge. She groaned as she pulled her weight back onto the bridge, safe for now.
"Shit, I thought you were dead." Link sighed in relief. He still felt the panicked lump in his throat.
Sheik nodded, breathing heavy. "They're supposed to pivot."
"What?"
"I saw underneath. They're made to pivot. Whoever set these up wanted the wind to move them. They wanted to scramble the maze."
Link looked up at the other bridges scattered. Each one had moved the same direction and the same distance. Each one had turned about ninety degrees. The bridges that faced straight across from the cliffs now faced the sides of the walls. Even the bridge Sheik was on now perfectly lined up with another bridge, leading to the right side wall.
"It's simple. There's a monkey over to the right, and another on the left. I'll take the right." Sheik pushed herself up and walked to the connecting bridge. "When the wind blows again, that first bridge will go straight. Just find a path and keep waiting for the wind to connect you to another bridge."
Link stepped towards the cliff but hesitated. "Won't we fall again?"
Sheik shook her head. "Keep your balance. We know the wind moves the bridges and we get a few seconds after we hear it. Once you hear it, ground your balance. You're heavier. You'll have less trouble."
Link bit his lip, unsure. "Are you sure that'll work-"
The wind howled in the distance. Link's head whipped to Sheik. She dropped to the bridge floor and grasped the planks tightly.
The wind came as sudden as ever and threw all the bridges again. This time, Link was relieved to see that Sheik was still on top and not hanging off the side.
Sheik popped back up, her hair stringy around her face. "See?"
Link nodded and stepped onto the bridge, which now faced him again. "I'm trusting you here. If I die, that's on your conscience."
"I'll take my chances." Came her biting answer.
Link's lips quirked into a smile.
A loud screech behind him echoed and Belinda the monkey thundered her way onto the bridge, racing past him.
"BELINDA NO!" Link bellowed and raced after her, crossing onto another bridge. The monkey jumped across from bridge to bridge with Link in tow. It almost seemed like she knew her way around it. She stopped short at the end of one bridge, turning and patiently staring at him. Link stared back, out of breath.
"Are you both okay?" Sheik shouted across the canyon.
"Yeah, I think so."
"...Belinda?"
He swore he could hear the judgement in her voice. "...So I named the monkey."
"And you named it Belinda."
"Oh, fuck off." Link groaned. Sheik's small laugh echoed around him, somehow both polite and taunting.
Another howl sounded in the distance. Link turned to Sheik and matched her crouched position. The bridge whipped around a few seconds later, as planned. The blood in his head rushed around as the bridge aggressively pivoted.
He stood up, alive and very lightheaded. Belinda was not lightheaded whatsoever and continued racing away and zipping from bridge to bridge. He let out a loud sigh and raced after her.
To his surprise, Belinda led him directly to the stranded monkey. They both screeched happily upon meeting and jumped around, circling and racing around him.
"I think Belinda knows this place!" Link shouted to Sheik.
"I think you have a lot of faith in that monkey."
"Maybe you just have no faith."
"Take them both back to the cliff. I still need to reach mine."
Link nodded and watched gleefully as the monkeys raced onto the bridges. They would stop when they needed to wait for wind, and then continue on. All his work was being done for him. No mind games. He was sure Sheik was having problems, but he sure as hell wasn't.
He reached the cliff and the monkeys raced off to the exit. By now he was definitely confident that these monkeys knew what they were doing. He turned to taunt Sheik and paled at what he saw creeping down from the ceiling.
"Sheik, there's another spider-"
He was too late.
The spider leapt from his web and lunged at her and her monkey. He watched as Sheik let out a yelp and rolled to the other side of the bridge and onto one of the rocky platforms hugging the cave wall. The spider screeched and thundered after her.
Panic bubbled up in his throat again as he reached for his sword. He looked up to watch and then stopped, his hand resting loosely on the handle.
Link had seen her fight earlier, but he was too busy with tying up the monkey to watch her fully. But now, from afar, he could see it all. The precision of her dagger throws. How quick she was, how she dodged and danced around the attacks. She was incredible. Smooth and graceful, yet she hit her targets exactly.
He stared in awe as she dodged the venom spitting at her and dug her dagger into it's thick leg, slicing deeply. The blood poured onto the ground. The spider's screech shook the walls. She stopped and backed up. Why was she backing up? She could easily land another hit. Was she planning something? Did she not know where to hit? Too late. The spider recovered and charged at her, but Sheik seemed ready. With a dagger ready in hand, she ran and slid under the charging spider. Another screech. Did she cut the belly? No. The spider turned and showed another deep cut pouring blood on a back leg. So she had been aiming for balance. She had struck a front leg on one side, and then a back leg on the other. The spider stumbled and tried to charge again, but misjudged heavily. It missed Sheik by a clear few feet and stumbled off the edge, down into the canyon below. Link winced as he heard the crunch of its body.
Sheik was obviously a professional. Now Link felt somewhat ashamed. He was the hero, when talent like that existed? He was amateur. Now his past accomplishments of bokoblins seemed incredibly worthless in comparison.
A howl of wind snapped him out of his thoughts. He stayed silent as he watched Sheik navigate her way back with the monkey in tow.
Link smiled at her when she reached him. Even he could feel that it was an awkward smile. Now he didn't really know how to act. Would she be willing to give him lessons, maybe? Sheik was kind of private. Maybe not.
"Now we need to get to the vines."
"Huh?" Link blinked, lost.
"The vines. Where the weapon should be."
"Oh. yeah." How was she so calm? She was barely even out of breath and now she was ready for the next fight. He must be really out of shape.
The path to the vines was much more difficult to figure out. Unlike the monkeys, where Link could figure it out as he went, this required actual mental work. He lost count of how many times they had to backtrack because they took the wrong bridge. After what felt like hours upon hours of frustration, they finally reached the bridge leading directly in front of the vines.
"God, finally. That took forever." Link groaned.
Sheik gave him a weird look. "It was only fifteen minutes."
"And that is far too long." Link said.
Sheik rolled her eyes. She seemed to be doing that a lot to him.
She turned away from him and toward the vines. Her hand reached out and tapped the edges gently.
"They seem like they can be cut. Try your sword."
Link nodded and pulled his sword from the sheath. A quick strike left a deep cut against one of the thick stalks.
"Perfect! Finally, something easy." Link rejoiced. A smile broke out across his face in relief.
"Not so fast." Sheik called his attention back to the vines. The cut he had made was quickly healing. Moments later, it looked as though it had never even been nicked.
Link paused. "I am the most unlucky person to ever walk this earth." He hung his head, sighing loudly enough for it to echo.
Sheik rolled her eyes but he saw a small smile form beneath her mask.
"You could try the fire magic again?" Link suggested.
Sheik nodded. She pressed her hands together for a moment and closed her eyes. Her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched. A minute passed and a tiny bead of sweat fell from her forehead.
The burst of flame she conjured was much smaller than the one at the entrance. More sweat dripped down and her breathing got heavy and loud. Link didn't realize how much effort this needed. Maybe she was tired out from the earlier fights.
She pressed her hands against vines and they caught fire. Within seconds, the vines shriveled onto the ground below.
"I don't think they'll heal after that." Link joked. He turned to Sheik, who was now crouched over and fighting to catch her breath. He watched as Sheik pulled out a small canteen clipped to her waistband. "Do you want a break?"
"Just a minute." She croaked out, leaning heavily on the rocky sides.
Link nodded. She hadn't seemed nearly as tired as before when she used magic earlier. Perhaps she was a lot more exhausted than she let on.
He turned to what lay beyond the now-shriveled vines. A low arch had been carved into the rock to create a small entrance. He figured he could make it if he crouched, but whatever created the entrance was pretty small. It was an awful entrance. Lots of sharp rocks and uneven edges. It just looked like someone angry had punched a hole in the wall. That was likely, considering the whole weapon corruption thing Sheik had told him about.
"What do you think we're dealing with?" Link studied the entrance. It was pretty thick rock. Whatever made it must have been powerful.
Sheik turned toward the entrance as well. "Small. We've been running into a lot of spiders. Their venom is acidic, they might have been able to corrode through the rock."
"How do you know it's acidic?"
Sheik pulled her mask down a little and exposed a dark blistered burn on her cheek. "I was able to dodge it mostly, but not completely."
"Let me see." Link rushed over to her, gently grabbing her chin and turning her cheek towards him. He felt her face tense at his touch, but she didn't pull away. He took the chance to study the injury. The mark was about the size of his fingernail. It was a dark red with two small blisters beginning to bubble. "It looks bad. Does it hurt?"
"It's fine." Her voice sounded tight. Link took the hint and let go, taking a step back. He saw Sheik visibly relax and pull her mask back up, higher than it had been before. Link's hands balled into fists against his sides; he wasn't so bad. Why the hell was she so wary of him?
He rolled his eyes and turned away. "You ready?"
"Yes." She walked ahead of him, not bothering to look back.
Sheik was a similar height to him but much smaller in frame. She simply crouched down and passed through the entrance fairly easily. He had a much more difficult time squeezing his shoulders between the tiny arch.
He emerged in a new cave, much darker than the rest. Sheik stood off to the side nearby. He tossed a quick glance in her direction. She didn't bother making eye contact. Link held back a scoff. She really didn't give a shit. No information, and touchy as hell. Best for him to get this whole mess over with and split up. Once he got the weapon, this whole buddy system thing would be done.
Link pulled out his sword and flipped the handle over in his hand, stepping ahead of Sheik.
"Wait." Her cold voice sounded behind him.
He reluctantly stopped and bit the inside of his cheek.
He heard her soft steps catch up to him. "Look around first. It seems oddly dark in here, doesn't it?"
Link surveyed the room. It had a similar build to the other caves they'd looked at. The main difference was the light moss covering the ground. The other paths had been mostly dirt and earth. But Sheik had a point. While there were just as many breaks and holes in the walls as the other rooms, the light seemed much dimmer. The air around seemed hazy, too. He could feel his eyes straining to see beyond the thick air. He could swear he felt his head start to ache, but it was a mystery to whether that was from Sheik or from the room.
"The weapon is in here. I can feel it."