Chapter 44

Valley of Death and the Great Palace

I was all the way back at Kasuto's abandoned graveyard, the graveyard just before the gate to the Valley of Death. I had to hack my way past tall grass and weeds, but I was at the gate now. The fence was a tough metal, and there were holy charms hung up everywhere at the top, though I guess that wasn't enough to keep the moas in. The gate itself was old and bent, though it was still holding strong. There was even a sign next to it warning of the dangers beyond the door.

But I already knew, and I wasn't turning back. I pulled the latch and the gate creaked in protest, but it slowly opened, and I stepped inside. The billowing mystery of the Valley of Death wafted out before me, speaking of a forsaken danger. I hesitated, still worried about the future, but I continued on anyway.

…...

The valley was deep and long, it was like I was descending into madness with every step of the way. There were monsters everywhere, lizalfos, moas, girobokku, and I've been caught in more than one ambush. The holy charm I found back in the palace worked well against the main threat of the valley, the moas. As I held it before me, the moas were forced to show themselves. But there were still many of them, too many, and I still had to fight them or chase them away even with having the holy charm.

I was exhausted quickly, but I kept moving, praying that somehow I can reach the Great Palace soon. But the valley roads just went on and on until the mountains hugged tighter and the soil became unsuitable for anything to grow. I even encountered large pools of lava, and these were the popular places for an ambush. Yes, they tried to push me into the pools many times, but I quickly learned these patterns of ambush, so I was prepared for an attack in that kind of place most of the time.

After a while, I gave up trying to find the palace in one day. I was tired, I had used a lot of spells that day, and it was starting to catch up with me. I had to find somewhere to rest, it was too dark out now to continue safely anyway. The night sky and dark roads illuminated the red pools, making them visible many miles away.

There really wasn't anywhere safe, even once I huddled next to some rocks, it took me a while to settle down. Stopping here made me nervous. I pulled the black hood tight around my face, hoping I could just become invisible in the dark. I wished I had a spell that could mend me right into the stone. I sat there worrying if I was doing the right thing or not for a long time, but then my exhaustion kicked in again and I fell right asleep.

…...

The dreams with Ganon have returned ten-fold. I saw him standing before me like there was no doubt it was real. We battled in the presence of the Triforce of Courage, its long shining golden light filled the entire room. There were pillars on either side of it and even a thin red carpet starting from a tall dark door led over to it. My dreams weren't always the same, sometimes it'll happen in different places, sometimes Ganon speaks to me, and other times he doesn't, but they were always focused on the fight. But here, the location was just as vivid as he was.

Even after I slowly came back to consciousness, I remained there behind the rocks, pondering over this dream. I used to shrug these dreams off, or at least, tried to be less afraid of them, but this time I was just curious. Perhaps they're changing slightly because I'm so close to the Great Palace now?

After a while of thought, I noticed something else. It started from far off but soon grew louder. It sounded like the heavy thumping of suits of armor marching on the trail. I quickly sat up and ducked behind the boulder, hoping they would pass without seeing me. As it turned out, they were marching on the road behind me, though luckily, they didn't give me any notice. Once when I knew their backs were turned to me, I peeked out over the rock and watched them leave.

That was curious, they were in heavy armor, and at first, I thought that they were six small Ironknuckles, but I thought otherwise when I saw the weirdly shaped helmets made to fit over a beak, and their long talons were exposed of any armor at all. Those must be fokkas, strong bird-like warriors that were only rumored to exist. I waited until the synchronized clanging of armor slowly became muffled and echoed as they disappeared in a cave ahead, then I could hear them no more. I wondered if they were going to the Great Palace. I watched to see if anyone else was around, and then I followed them into the tunnel.

I didn't have to worry about becoming lost, because there was only one way to go. It was like the only reason for the Valley of Death was to lead me to the Great Palace. There were, however, many more monsters that came to slow me down. After traversing out of that first tunnel, the trail continued for a while before coming to the very next cave. It was like I was stuck in a loop, going from lava lakes to long tunnels. Everything looked the same, and the trail just kept on. I didn't feel like I was making any progress.

But the trail did end eventually after several more hours of walking and fighting. There was one more cave, and then I saw it upon coming out. The Great Palace was towering right before my very eyes. The mountains surrounding the trail blotted out a lot of the day's light, making the towers seem dark and intimidating. The already black temple stretched up with its sharp towers and was, in its own way, part of the mountains. Finally, after looking at the tower from the tip down, I stopped at the patio. The swerving blue lines hovering in the air like a wall blocking the way to the elevator. It was the binding force. That wall was the very reason why I had to fight all of the guardians.

I moved slowly forward, with each step my heart pounded louder in my chest until it was all I was able to hear. This was it, I thought, this would decide my fate as well as Zelda's. This may be my last adventure, I may not leave here alive… I stopped right in front of the wall, and the barrier began to change. The blue waves hovering in the air slowed down little by little until it stopped completely, the wall then shrank to the floor. The binding force was no more.

And now I was allowed in.

Out of all of the palaces I have been in, this one looked fresh and new like it hasn't been standing a year before. I wondered if the binding force kept it that protected next to not letting anyone in. I stepped up the first step on the patio, but then I was paralyzed. A voice spoke to me in the depths of my mind, perhaps it wasn't too late to turn around? If I left now, I wouldn't have to confront these fears, I wouldn't have to see the final guardian. If Ganon was somehow down there, then he'll want me to confront him, why should I grant his wish? Just go now, and you might yet save Hyrule from Ganon's wrath.

But I couldn't. I couldn't turn around and go home when the cure to Zelda's curse was right here. I wouldn't be able to live my life with her stuck in a sleep curse, there was no other choice, if I die here, at least I won't have to watch her sleep her life away in that castle. I will give this my all, despite every fear and doubt. She means more to me than Hyrule itself, and so I'll risk it all just for her.

I have made my decision, and though I still trembled as I went for the elevator, I went with a clear mind. Turns out Rebonack was right, I alone am searching for the Triforce of Courage. I may have had help before, but now I only had to rely on myself.

The magical platform moved down smoothly like it wasn't moving at all. Finally, when it stopped on the seemingly new floor, I slowly stepped off and absorbed my surroundings. The perfectly dark walls were untouched by the passage of time, and the palace was finely decorated, complete with a beautiful, and clean, golden carpet. The passage before me was a wide rectangle, more like a room acting as a fat hallway. There were two doors to my left, and one on my right, but the one that held my attention was the door right in front of me. It was bigger than the others and had a golden lock covering the white carved frame. It wasn't hard to realize that the large door was where the last guardian dwelled, and where the Triforce of Courage was. A shiver shook past my spine, was I really that close to the Triforce?

I then noticed that I haven't moved since I came off of the elevator, but rather continued to stare at the temple. I shook my head, reminding myself that I needed to focus, and I glanced back at the rest of the doors lining the walls. Which one should I choose?

I slowly pushed the door on the right forward, expecting a monster to jump at me as soon as the door was open. But, luckily, all was quiet, even the door didn't creak. And when I walked into the chamber beyond, a small corner of the wall was in front of me, and I noticed instantly the hylian words carved in it, but like before, I was able to read it. "Find the silver rupee." I read aloud. That's all it said, there was no other riddle, no description, no warning.

This was a small chamber. The only thing here was a mound of junk, like crates, pots, and broken items that were mostly piled on each other. Next to that was a decent-sized pool. Neither of these things looked important, but maybe there was some kind of secret here.

It made sense to me to start with the mound of junk, but as I began sorting through it, something floated down right before my face. I thought it was a bubble at first, but I saw that the fire was more intense and the skull was bigger and decorated with horns. This was a bigger, more intimidating form of a bubble, like the king of all bubbles. I've never seen anything like this before, and I was worried it'll be hostile towards me. I ducked underneath it, unsheathing my sword and expecting it to attack back, but it just continued to float around, bouncing off the walls and ceiling. I'll have to be careful not to run into it again, but maybe it'll stay passive if I'm away from it.

I returned to my sorting and later resorted to smashing the pots, breaking open the crates, and scattering the stacked pile of stuff. But there was nothing important here, there wasn't anything of use at all. I suppose that left me with one thing, the pool.

I came up to the clean water and looked in, there was a lot of space to swim down there and it even led to a wide tunnel, but the pool was deep enough that I couldn't see anything important. But didn't mean it was empty.

The water was chilled, but refreshing as I dove in. To my surprise, I saw a silver glimmer barely in the tunnel. Was that the rupee I was looking for already? That would be too easy, and sure enough, that was exactly what it was. Too easy. As I reached to pick it up, a bony form came out of nowhere and took it before I could.

All that I saw next was a tail fin as it sped away, leaving a trail of bubbles bouncing behind it. I tried my best to follow, but it was fast, and I quickly lost sight of it. I kept on, chasing it down the tunnel, I'll catch up with it eventually. My old fear of watery passages wasn't as scary as it used to be, I only thought of it once, and it was at this point when I was needing to replenish my air.

But I had the Goddesses on my side when the ceiling of the tunnel opened and I swam up to catch my breath. The room I was in was dark, and a stench of old mustiness filled my lungs. I wondered if this was a secret and forgotten room, it didn't look like anyone's been in here for a long time. It was dirty, a complete contrast to the rest of the palace I've seen so far.

The water passage continued, curving to the side and following the wall. Finally, that's where I saw the rupee thief, squirming around on the floor some feet away from the river. It must have been swimming so fast it shot clear out of the water. The rupee sparkled a bright shine in the ribs of the fish.

The bago-bago was bouncing closer and closer to the water edge. Now would be the best time to catch him, because I'll just lose him again in the water otherwise. Still in the water, I swam as quickly as I could to reach it time. But I didn't make it far when a loud screech suddenly ripped the air. My heart leaped in my throat as I scoured the room, trying to see what the cause for such a sound was. I found the source standing on the floor up to my right, for the platform that the bago-bago was on also had a staircase that went up to where this newcomer was standing.

Its fiery body cast a faint red light in the room, and its wings were spread out as it let out another threatening screech. These were rare, intelligent bird-like beasts known as fotails. I've never had to fight one before, but they were reported to be seen flying around some of the mountain tops.

The fotail didn't come for me, to my surprise, it went for the bago-bago. The red, sharp talons opened wide as it then ripped the rupee from the bones then shoved the fish back in the water. The rupee, now in the clutches of the fotail, sparkled its marvelous silver now amplified by the bright flame of the fotail as the bird now returned to the higher floor.

I couldn't believe the fotail just did that! I gritted my teeth in anger and swam forward to the ledge. But as I neared the edge of the fine black brick, apparently the bago-bago either recovered from the fotail's attack or was just waiting for me to come nearer, because I saw it make a break for me once I was close enough. I flinched and brought out my sword, but my hesitation gave the bago-bago the time it needed to attack first. The next thing I knew was the sharp teeth of the undead fish sinking into my thigh. I reacted quickly and out of instinct, my sword splashed down in the water, and slashed at my attacker. My attack was not very strong, and the bago-bago had the strength to keep its lock on me, but perhaps it was still fazed from the fotail's hit, because it let go, and was batted away.

I wasn't about to wait to see if it would come back, so I pulled myself up on the safer ground. And sure enough, the bago-bago was already coming back. I didn't think much about this, as I was already on the land, but I didn't expect the skeletal fish to jump four feet out of the water towards me! I barely had enough time to hold my shield up. The bago-bago crashed against it and landed back in the water. Not wanting to take any more chances with the determined beast, I took my sword and attacked it. It wasn't hard to reach, for it fell near the platform I stood on. The bago-bago was struck hard by the blade and finally was broken into pieces.

Now that the undead fish will bother me no longer, I could now rush up after the fotail. I ran up the stairs and wasn't surprised to see the fotail standing there, taunting me. It showed me once more of the silver rupee in its talon before it tossed the money behind it and screeched. I took the challenge and held my sword vertically before me.

The fiery bird immediately fluttered its wings and flew forward, sharp talons leading. I held my shield close and allowed it to come near. I held my position until the last second before ducking low and out of the way. The bird continued, and I turned so I could attack the fire beast.

My sword slashed successfully across its flank, freeing some of the blood-red feathers as I regained my posture and brought my sword back close. The fotail was shocked by the attack but wasn't seriously injured. It turned and I could see the rising intelligence in its magical eyes, but what came next I wasn't expecting. It opened its beak as if to release yet another screech, but this time, bursts of fire came out.

I jumped to the side to avoid it and tried to edge close enough to strike again, but the flames prevented me from getting close enough in time. I stabbed forward, but the fotail saw it coming and first leaned back to avoid the weapon, and then quickly leaned forward to peck me. Luckily, I was already holding my shield close, and the dangerous beck landed painfully against the red-painted cross. This time, the bird was close enough for me to attack, and I did just that. The fotail was too focused and fazed from smashing its face into my shield to notice my sword in time.

More feathers flew free and a wound opened up near the front of the chest, but still, the magical bird had strength. It jumped back out of my range, spread its wings, and continued to jump as it… danced? It showed off its gorgeous fire wingspan and it twirled and jumped. It was really quite majestic, but I knew this had to be some sort of attack. And sure enough, the beak opened once more and bursts of fire flew out, but this time, the fire was absolutely everywhere! The beast continued to dance as it spit flames faster than it did last time, it was like a fountain of fire.

I could do nothing but hold my shield up over my head to protect myself from the fire rain. At first, I waited to see if the bird would become tired, but after waiting for several minutes, I realized that it had the strength and energy to go on forever! I kept the shield up and walked low towards the monster, but the fotail was too smart to fall for such a trick. Still dancing, the bird let some of the flames drop onto the ground, but it didn't stop there. The fire on the floor slowly was finding its way to me. I took my steps back, stood straight, and tried to dodge the fires landing on my head as I also tried to snuff out the fire on the ground with my shield.

The ground fires quickly died when met with the magical barrier, and I was far back enough so the rest of the fires couldn't reach me. I stared at the still dancing fotail for a moment longer. In order to reach it, I thought, I would have to attack quickly, but how? I didn't have a lot of spells that would have helped me, for 'fire' probably wouldn't have affected the beast, and 'thunder' was the strongest spell I had, and one I didn't think I had the ability to cast.

That left me with one choice, it was time to see what I could do with this so-called greatest spell of all.

I watched the flames dance along with the bird's graceful movements as I positioned myself from my next plan. The fotail never seemed to tire from its antics and it occurred to me that it didn't plan on changing its strategy anytime soon. The fires that flew in the air and burned without a source to fuel it protected the fotail well, like a highly dangerous shield. But I saw its single flaw. I waited for my time to strike, and when I finally saw the opportunity, I didn't hesitate.

I broke into a sudden sprint and ran safely right into the gap the fotail was missing with its flames every few seconds. I held my sword horizontally next to my side and stabbed the surprised fotail. My sword slid right through its chest and the bird's relentless attacks were finally over. The fotail gave one final screech and burned to cinders until nothing was left. My sword still right where the bird used to be, I stared down where soon even the embers burned away, leaving nothing but the memory that the fiery bird even existed.

I sheathed my weapon and picked up the rupee the fotail tried to keep from me. I held the sparkling money up to my eyes. I then carefully placed it away with the others and swam back the way I came when I saw that this room was a dead end.

One challenge was finally clear, and I was one step closer to fighting the toughest battle of my life.