Chapter 34

Palace of the Cloaked Wizards

The bridge leading to the maze seemed to increase, becoming twice as long as it was before, and the island twice as sinister. Every step was a fight for me, and I tried not to tremble, even though I still jumped at every sound. But so far, everything was quiet, even after I entered the maze.

But I still stood, right at the entrance, listening and watching for anything suspicious. I remained there for a long time until I was on the edge of paranioa. Then, I finally decided to continue.

I whispered to the pendent as not to be heard, and still winced when the beam obeyed, pointing for the palace. I strongly prayed that no one would see the light, and for a second I was thinking to cancel the command. But the sooner I reach the palace, the better, I didn't want to be stuck here for too long. And maybe Tog was right, I told myself. Maybe the monsters already left. And the further I walked, the more I wanted to believe that.

At one point, I even walked with my sword and shield in hand, even though nothing changed. It was shortly after this when the ocean waves faded out behind me again, like the maze was swallowing me up and locking me here. Now I was stuck once more with the maddening silence. No birds, no waves, no anything. Just the blood rushing in my ears loud and clear, filling in the void for anything else. Even with the bright sun falling through the maze paths, the place still seemed dark and dangerous.

But finally, after what felt like a lifetime, I came across the last turn. The tall spires of the Maze Palace were almost black and had swirls and runes that meant nothing to my knowledge. The palace was narrow to better fit in this corner of the island, but it made up for that by stretching into the sky, and like the others, I'd bet most of it was underground as well. I stood there for some time looking up at the top piercing the sky.

I barely even noticed the light from the pendent shrinking down to nothing. And so, with Rebonack's voice echoing one more time in my head, I stepped up to the dark patio and onto the magic elevator and waited for it to move down. The inside of the palace was as dark as it was outside, but this one was surprisingly well kept. I knew it had to be as old as the other ones, but the walls were clean and still held together, and the windows further up were even decorated with shining stained glass. The elevator stopped on the floor, and left me standing before a huge locked door at the top of some stairs. This was really different from what I was expecting, as the last few temples were worn with time and conditions. I even had to crawl out of the last elevator.

But nothing stirred, even the air remained still. And that door was the only direction to go to, where was the rest of the temple, and where is the key that opens this door? I looked about the chamber carefully until I found my answer; the wall to the left of the elevator was cracked slightly and looked different from the other walls. I took my sword and stabbed at the wall repeatedly with all my strength until it began to crumbled further. The dark wall became weak and soon fell in a heap covered in a sudden dust cloud. It swelled and caught it in my lungs as well as my eyes. I shook the dust away and tried to see beyond the brown particles like fog in the air. The wall was indeed hollow and a long dirt tunnel was behind it.

It continued forward and slowly sank down, was it even in the palace, or was it simply a tunnel nearby? I turned to look at the door behind me. I didn't have much of a choice, seeing the door was locked. I turned back to the tunnel and went through the dirt passage with my candle. It didn't seem to belong to the palace and after every few steps, I felt like I should turn back, but my curiosity kept me going until I came to the end.

The dark dirt passage widened into the size of a small room that stretched far forward in front of me, and I had to look twice to see the rest of the way from here had no floor! I held the candle over the void and tried to see the other side, if there was one.

It was hard to see in the chamber even with the magical light, but I thought I did see ground far ahead. My first thought was to cast "jump", but the distance was a long one, even for the spell. As I looked about nervously trying to decide if I should jump or not, I noticed light that seeped through a small opening in the wall to my right. What was this? I froze as I then heard voices on the other side. There were creatures of some sort past that wall, should I dare look? Deciding it was best to try, I approached the wall and looked in.

The light came from a bright sphere in the center of a large dirt chamber, and figures in long white robes were gathered around it. They were all covered in the same robes that fell over their entire bodies, and a red cross was stretched where their faces would be. They stood nearby in a circle around the light and the robes were outstretched like they held their arms up to their sides. "…Someone has entered the palace." Said one in a deep voice, and he and the rest of them returned their arms back down and turned at each other.

"Do you believe it's the chosen one?" Asked another. They didn't sound inhuman. Who were these people? And why were they here in the palace? I've only seen monsters in these places.

"I don't know," The first one admitted. "But even if it is, we still have a job to do. Protect the palace from outsiders, and give the chosen one a challenge to show his worth and either he dies and the Triforce of Courage will remain hidden, or he'll become stronger and find it."

The others seemed to be in agreement, but one was distracted, and looking this way. "Wait, what's that light?" He asked and pointed to the hole I was looking in, and the light he spoke of was of my candle. I was such an idiot! I quickly moved away from the wall and turned back to the gap in the floor. I had to act fast, they were onto me!

"Go check it out." The voice behind the wall replied. Looks like I have no choice but to try and leap over the pit. I exhaled and tried to relax after I casted the spell. Then I backed up as much as I could, but still was I intimidated by the long distance.

Finally, I pushed off from the wall, sprinted, and leaped! I worried for just a second about crashing into the ceiling, but I was still too far from reaching the other side. I reached out for the approaching ground and tried desperately to grab it, but it was too late.

I was trying not to scream real loud as the darkness rushed by. The only thing I could see beyond the dark veil were the flanks of the wall surrounding me. Then, to my horror, the candle slipped from my hands and the light fell below me for a while before it burned out.

But luckily, when the ground actually did rise up to greet me, the spell absorbed most of the shock upon landing on it, and I was lying on another dirt floor. Yet another cloud of dust puffed all around me. It was stagnite and dirty in here, and I would like to think it was still part of this natural cave, but it was still too dark to tell.

I lifted my head and saw my candle resting just a few feet away from me. I reached for it, but the floor began to crack and soon crumbled slowly around me. I scrambled to my feet and ran forward, grabbing my candle as I went, but the crumbling caught up to me and the ground left my feet. I held onto the ledge that was left, but that also fell apart in my fingers and I was falling yet again.

I landed on yet another dirt floor, and I quickly regained my senses and moved to my feet, thinking this floor would break as well, but this one was more solid, more stable. I was brushing off the dirt from my tunic when someone crept up to me.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

I turned around and saw one of the strange people in the long white cloaks. His face still remained completely hidden. He patiently waited for an answer.

I didn't know how to respond. No one in the palaces has ever stopped to talk with me before. They were followers of the guardian, challenging any who enters to a fight. They weren't supposed to do much else, why was he even bothering to talk to me?

Then suddenly, he gasped and backed off before exclaiming. "You... You're the chosen one! Ah, finally!" He cried happily. I suppose he noticed the now shining Triforce on the back of my hand. "We've been waiting for you for so long! For thousands of years as a matter of fact!"

For thousands of years? If he was indeed hylian, then there was some strong magic involved here, that or these were decendents of the first people here. "Who are you?" I asked. "Are you hylian?"

He regarded me for a second before answering vaguely. "We are the protectors of the Maze Palace. And now comes a test, Chosen One. I pray you give me a formidable challenge I could remember for all time." Then his robed arms slowly raised over his head.

"Do we have to fight? Wouldn't the battle with the guardian prove enough?" I asked, trying to stop whatever he was fixing to do. I found myself not wanting to fight this man to the death.

"We mustn't let the Triforce go into the wrong hands. It is what the old king wished long ago." He replied, not changing his mind or moving away. "Please, for both our sakes, do not go easy on me."

And so I was forced to draw my shield and sword. In all these dungeons and palaces, I've always faught monsters, or minions with evil intentions. But here it occurred to me, this man had to be hylian, and he was tied to the palace's rules more so than I was. He was innocent, and now I was forced to kill him. Even before either of us moved, my heart was racing, my conscience screaming. I was the hero on a quest, aiming to kill an innocent man!

Finally, he was ready for his first move.

He threw his arms in front of him before he merged into thin air. The spell he released was one of an unnatural wind with strong force. I tried to avoid it, but I was unprepared, and the wind that struck my legs flipped me over on the hard ground.

By the time I stood back up, he was back and he threw his hands above his head once more. I brought my shield in front of me and waited for the strong wind. I then rushed into the spell and it broke up on the barrier, Now I slashed at the wizard with my sword, but to my surprise, the blade went right through the cloak and he remained unharmed! He didn't even flinch from my attack and vanished from sight yet again.

What happened? Was he not human? "You can't be hylian!" I cried in frustration. "What are you?!"

But he didn't answer, and he didn't hesitate. Then I remembered what the wise man told me back in Darunia. The wizards in the Maze Palace were undefeated, only their own magic had the power of reaching them. This man is one of those wizards, I had forgotten!

But now this is going to be difficult. I needed to cast this new spell all the while dodging his attacks. I've struggled before with casting magic I knew in front of opposing groups. But maybe I had a chance since there was only one wizard? I had to try, my life depended on it.

It helped that my shield protected me from the magic he threw at me, unlike the whizzrobes' magic that erupted around it. And since this guy didn't have much in the ways of melee combat, I didn't have to dodge very much, all I needed to do was tp hold my shield out toward him. It took me a while to get it right, as it was still very distracting. But I kept to it, knowing I couldn't do anything else.

But then, the wizard changed his tactics. He started to disappear longer, but then reappear behind me where I couldn't see him. And instead of the wind magic, he was sending out bolts of lightening. They shot in several directions at once, and either broke on my shield, or cracked the ground dangerously close to me. I needed to seek cover, even just for a minute.

And so I dove for a nearby scrapped boulder, and focused hard again. The bolts cracked and boomed into the rock, but even so, my shield responded to the finished spell. It shined with a magical polish upon its surface that glowed white even in the dark tunnel.

Now with the spell casted, I crawled from the shelter and simply waited for the wizard to show himself. When he did, I held my shield up and he wasted no time to summon his magic my way again, and the strike bounced of my shield and rushed back to its master, cackling and dancing. It zapped right into him, and he recoiled silently. Why wasn't he screaming? Then, the robed figure flopped forward before he suddenly disappeared while still in the air. The long white cloak drifted to the ground.

My still confused head raced in utter shock. Where did he go? Is this another spell, perhaps a trick of some sort? Cautious, I approached the robe. But still nothing stopped me from picking it up. It looked like an ordinary cloak from what I could tell. But why did the wizard leave it here? If he was teleporting away like he was earlier, he would have took it with him. Unless this was a sign that I won?

None of this gave me any answer, so I had no choice but to move on. Holding onto the robe for now, I turned, scouring the ground for my missing candle. It didn't take me long to find it, as it was lying not far from where I landed. I sighed with relief when I picked it up, as I was worried it might be damaged. Luckily, it didn't look any different.

But before I lit the fire, I went back to the robe in my hands. Is it possible I could use this as a disguise? Would I be able to move along the tunnels, tricking them into thinking I'm one of them? It was worth a try, I suppose. Lifting it above my head, I let the robe fall over me. The head was actually a seperate piece from the rest of it, as I now realized that after it fell off and plopped on the dirt. I picked it back up and fitted it around my face. The robe was big and stuffy, and it was also way bigger on me than on any of the other wizards. But at the same time, I felt safe and hidden away, I only hoped it would confuse them, at least for a while.

I would still need the candle to continue though, as it was still pretty dark down here. Of course, this may also attract the wizards to my location, but as of the moment, I had no other choice unless I go on in the dark, and I wasn't about to trip down another black pit.

Now that the fire was lit and I could see better, I adjusted the fabric on my face. The cloth obstructed my vision quite a bit, but I was able to see enough to finally take in where I was. This was a small, flat arena. It wasn't anything impressive. There were, of course, the broken boulders lying around, and scattered pebbles and flying debris from the cracked ceiling where I came in. Ahead of me, the cave tightened into a dark tunnel. And so I continued on, hiding under a wizard's robe. Will the disguise work, or will I have to fight for survival as I hunted the next guardian? Only until my next encounter can I know for sure. I only prayed it wouldn't be too late if it didn't.