Link's Awakening

Chapter Six: Instruments of the Sirens

I wish I could sit here and tell you that I wasn't afraid as I descended down the ladder into the darkness beneath the hidden sanctuary, but that would be a lie. Between the injuries I had already taken from that spiked turtle, which I later figured out was actually a beetle, and the large monster pursuing me relentlessly, I was quite terrified, even though my youthful pride would have never allowed me to admit it until recently. I was mentally kicking myself the whole time, thinking that I had wandered into this thing's nest like an idiot, but the truth was that this monster was guarding a secret… a big one.

Grabbing onto the sides of the ladder and sliding down as if it were a pole, Link hit the rocky ground hard enough to fall on his back, looking up just in time to see the segmented monster looking down at him. Clicking and buzzing, the creature continued repeating that it was going to kill the outsider, and then it attempted to use the ladder, itself. Unfortunately for the monster, its multiple legs were too short to effectively grab onto the rungs, so it ended up diving head first down toward Link, who managed to roll out of the way just before it hit the ground with a hard thud!

The monster groaned and rolled onto its side, clearly stunned from the fall, and if the young man had a sword or anything else besides just the small shield on his arm, now would have been the perfect time to strike. However, since he didn't have any of those things, and didn't fancy the idea of simply waiting around for it to recover to the chase could resume, Link made a bold move by running toward the monster. Leaping over the smaller section of its tail, he grabbed onto the ladder, and started climbing back up toward the sanctuary, getting about half way there before the monster realized what was happening.

With an echoing wham, the segmented creature rammed its head into the bottom of the ladder, making it shake so badly that the young man nearly lost his grip. Saving himself by looping his arm around the next rung, Link looked down just in time to see the monster jump upward so that it grabbed onto the ladder to start its own climb… only to fall off a moment later. It tried again, growling and snarling as it jumped onto the ladder again, and again, and again, but its legs just weren't long enough to support such an action… the monster was trapped down there.

"It can't climb?" He asked, suddenly filling with renewed confidence. "Hey, you can't climb! Enjoy your new home!"

"Kill outsider!" The segmented creature's words echoed as he reached the top. "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The yelling got quieter once Link was back up in the sanctuary, becoming muffled to the point where he couldn't hear it at all as he tried to find his way back to the surface, but then he realized that he was going the wrong way after finding himself back in the same chamber where the segmented monster had been sleeping. The young man was about to turn around, but then he noticed another doorway on the far side… and a lot more sunlight was coming from the ceiling in there. It would be a shame to go through all that for nothing, so Link walked through the chamber, passing through the open doorway, and discovering a large wooden treasure chest.

A much larger hole had been punched in the ceiling, allowing a large cone of light to completely illuminate the box, and just like with the front door of this place, the lock that once kept it secure was lying on the ground in pieces. Taking a moment to check around the chest for traps, the young man shrugged before pulling open the lid, and there, shimmering in the sunlight in all its magnificence and splendor… was a… cello?

Not rupees, not jewels, not even a sword, which would have been nice, but a large musical instrument that actually looked brand new, in spite of being locked away for years probably. At first glance it didn't seem like anything special, but then again he had almost gotten himself killed to get it, so the young man picked up the instrument, finding it strangely warm to the touch. Was this where the music had been coming from? If so, then who had been playing it, and why?

The sunlight coming in through the holes in the ceiling was continuing to slowly dim, so Link tucked his treasure under his arm, and started walking back toward the surface. The trip was a lot faster without those spiked turtles or a big monster to get in his way, so pretty soon the young man was walking up the last set of stone stairs, and out of the cave entrance, where the sun was much lower in the sky now than it had been when he entered.

"You're alive?!" A new, surprised voice asked. "How did an idiot like you get past the Moldorm?"

Startled by the voice, Link looked around in all directions, but didn't see anyone around… nothing but crashing waves and cawing seagulls… oh wait, that owl was still there, perched on that pole just like before. The animal was just staring at him again, following the young man around with its eyes as he looked around for the owner of that voice. Still, he couldn't even find any tracks in the sand besides his own, so where had it come from, and why wasn't this person showing themselves?

"I don't suppose you saw anyone, did you?" Link asked the owl, laughing a bit. "You think they're scared of me?"

"Oh yeah, everyone's real scared of you, boy." The owl replied, making him jump a bit. "I mean, who wouldn't be after hearing those battle cries of yours that sounded like a frightened girl, right? I don't know how you dumb-lucked your way through the Tail Cave like that, but somehow you got the Full Moon Cello in your hands, so I guess flying all the way out here wasn't a complete waste of time after all."

Full Moon Cello, Link wondered? Looking down at the large musical instrument in his hands, he had to admit that there didn't appear to be anything remarkable about it, but then the owl's eyes widened a bit when the young man explained that he found it by following some strange music that he kept hearing. Shaking its head and letting out a soft hoot that sounded irritated, the owl explained that the Full Moon Cello was one of the most precious artifacts on Koholint Island; a rare treasure that a lot of people and creatures were willing to kill for, so Link better watch his step.

"That there is one of the Instruments of the Sirens." The animal continued as he looked at it again. "I thought someone was pulling my leg when I heard that some jerk washed up on the beach, but… no one from Koholint Island can get those instruments, so… it must be true. Seriously, though… what kind of a moron goes into a dark, scary cave unarmed and without a light? At this rate you're not gonna survive long enough to wake the Wind Fish at all."

"Wind… Fish?" The young man asked. "What's that?"

In response, the owl touched the end of its wing to its head as if the animal had a headache, it gave him the final advice going to the library and trying to learn a thing or two about the island instead of just running around like a chicken with its head cut off. This was good advice, even though Link didn't care for the animal's attitude toward him, so he said that he would do that, and then the owl simply flew away. Oh damn it, he completely forgot to ask the animal about Agahnim, but the young man was stopped from calling out to the owl when he saw what it had been perched on the whole time.

This wasn't a pole at all that was sticking out of the sand… it was the handle of a sword. Walking over to it and grabbing the hilt, Link discovered that it was his sword, since his name was engraved onto the guard… thank you, mother. The blade was slightly dulled and rusted, but that could be fixed in an hour, provided that Mabe Village had a sharpening stone, and now the young man felt a lot better about his chances on the island once his weapon was back in its sheath where it belonged. It wasn't some illustrious silver blade like the one his father carried, but it was enough to get the job done… it would have to be.

Well, he couldn't just stand there on the beach waiting for nightfall, especially if this cello really was one of the most precious things on the island, so Link headed back toward town, where a very pleasant smell was waiting for him. Apparently, he had been right about Marin and her father making a living by cooking mushrooms and other things, and now it looked like the whole town was partaking, kind of like a miniature supper time festival… wait, Link, you can't just go over there with the cello in your hands… idiot.

Yes, after everything the owl told him about it being precious, the young man had been fully prepared to just walk into the center of Mabe Village for everyone to see it… so what was he supposed to do with it? Without a lot of options, and a growling hunger pain in his stomach, the only thing Link could come up with was to go back into Marin's house and hide the instrument as far back underneath her father's bed as possible. There was so much junk under there that hopefully no one would find it, and now it was time to join in the festival, or whatever it was.

"You're just in time for supper, Link." The young woman said happily, making him a small plate when he arrived. "Oh… did you find your friend?"

"No, I didn't… but there's still hope." He replied as they sat down together. "And speaking of searching around, do you know if the shop in town has a lantern? I need to do some reading in the library tonight, and I'll probably be up pretty late."

She answered that the shop had things like that available, but that if he wanted, Link could just use hers… yes, that might have saved him a lot of trouble in the Tail Cave, if he had thought to ask before… but for now the young man was just going to enjoy dinner along with Marin's company. Where he had originally thought that Koholint Island was just another middle of nowhere place, it was rapidly becoming a lot more complicated… although it made him wonder… was this what it was like to start an adventure?