Chapter 7
Link carefully stepped down through the dark, spiraling tunnel. A few steps here and there had fallen below, and he passed chunks of them around the corner.
"Watch your step, Link...you don't want to trip on anything," Tael reminded him, flying cautiously above his head.
"You think I don't know that? Why would I want to trip on something! Just shut up and follow meeeeeeee!" Link yelled as his foot fell on a loose stone and he slipped, tumbling head over heels down the twisting corridor. The echo of his shout flew through the hallways ahead of him as he thumped painfully to the bottom of the stairs.
"You idiot! Someone might have heard that!" Tael hissed at him, hovering down through a crack between steps as a shortcut.
"There's no one here, genius! We're in the middle of the desert!"
The sound of a small rock falling to the floor echoed its way down the dark, musty hallway into Link's ears. The two turned to look down the tunnel. The ceiling arched out of view above and met the floor about thirty feet apart. A dull blue carpet stretched along the floor into the darkness.
"Genius indeed," Tael grunted quietly, as Link slowly started going down the tunnel. "Shouldn't you be using your Glode rock?"
"Not now. I can still see down here. I might need it later." Link stopped for a few seconds and then turned around to look at Tael with eyes that clearly said "hello! I need your light over here!"
Tael closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and flew over to Link, lighting up the stone slabs and decaying carpet in front of his feet.
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Myrennia Castle (South Castle), year 132
"Fall back! Fall back!" Karles shouted above the painfully loud screams, explosions, crumbling rock and the clanging of iron against iron. A streak of fire lit up the night sky, and he dove to the ground as a burning chunk of coal exploded into millions of fiery pieces against the stone wall. His blue velvet cape caught fire, and he quickly rolled through an archway into the hall to put it out.
The sound of those dreadful living skeletons filled the hallway, and he could see the light of their torches around the corner. Karles fumbled for his cane, fallen upon the floor a few yards away. The plan had failed. Instead of destroying the Ikanians, the opening of their cursed stone tower had actually strengthened them to some extent, turning them into indestructible living dead.
Of course, he realized that the army of Myrennia was no match for them any more. They had to escape somehow. If only they hadn't been cursed, Myrennia would stand a fighting chance. Ikana had attacked during the night, and the surprised Myrennians had hardly had time to get into armor before the castle walls were demolished. If only they could find the skeletons' weakness!
Determined to get his cane, he continued to drag his weak body along with his hands. Suddenly the sound of footsteps stopped, and a wave of panic washed over him. He barely had time to turn around to look before it happened.
The skeletal body of Igos Du Ikana stood above him, wearing the royal breastplate of Ikana, holding a very long, very sharp spear, drenched in blood. Karles swore he saw the fleshless jaw give a hint of a smirk as he rose the spear above his head with both hands, ready for his chance at revenge.
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"You're sure this is the right way?" Tael asked worriedly as they passed through another small doorway. "It looks the same everywhere we go."
"I'm not sure of anything," Link said, raising his voice a bit louder than he should have. "I don't know a thing about this castle. What, did you expect me to know all its secrets or memorize the blueprint?"
"Well, I assumed it wouldn't take this long."
Link kept walking in stony silence, his teeth clenched to prevent any noise from leaving his mouth. They came to another fork in the tunnels. He turned right, and noticed the light fading away. Looking back, he noticed Tael had gone through the doorway on the other side of the hall.
"Tael! I need you!"
Tael just continued flying. Link bit his lip, looked back and forth between Tael's disappearing glow and the darkness ahead, and then pulled out his Glode rock.
"Idiot," he mumbled as he rubbed the stone against the wall to start it.
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Forest of Fungi, year 132
Gerald glanced back through the trees at the blazing, noisy castle behind. The Myrennians were moving through the forest as fast as the slowest person in the group could go, so as not to leave anyone behind. King Karles had said he'd be fine...said he couldn't leave. It took all Gerald's strength to keep his legs moving forward, deeper into the forest.
The group had escaped through the evacuation tunnel, built from the castle basement out into the forest. Now they were heading for the Amathar mountain range, to the Goron city of Pyrobia, where they would be safe until...well, until it was safe to come out again. Hopefully, the Ikanians would leave, allowing them to rebuild the castle.
He looked back again. They were far enough away to light a Glode rock now. He stopped to rub one on a tree and then caught up with the group, lighting their way through the black forest. A few minutes later, they broke from the trees and came to the mountain base.
Gerald froze. Shouts echoed through the night air. It took him a few seconds to realize that the noise was coming from the tunnel to Pyrobia, and not from behind. He quickly shoved the Glode rock into a deep pocket of his tunic and turned around to face the group.
"I'm going up ahead to see what's going on," he said. "Wait here until I get back...and keep hidden."
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As Link's Glode lit up the hallway, he squinted and looked around. Wooden doors lined the left side. All of them had three iron bars across the windows. He cautiously crept up to one and looked in. Skeletons littered the dusty floor of the small room. One of them wore a decaying blue cape, lying next to a long white staff.
"What the...looks like a king or something..." Link said out loud, confused. He turned around, his eyes searching the walls. Finally he found what he was looking for: a jumble of nails, rotten wood, and keys on the floor against the wall. He ran over to them and bent down, picking out all the key rings so he could try them all in the door.
Through the jingling of the keys, he thought he heard something down the hall. He held the rusty keys still and stared into the darkness, holding up the Glode rock. But there was no more sound.
His own words seemed to echo in his head. "There's no one here, genius! We're in the middle of the desert!" He shook his head and then grunted as he stood. The first key wouldn't go all the way in, so he pulled it out of the hole and dropped it, getting the next one.
It fit in the hole, and when he turned it, there was a click. The door groaned open on its rusty hinges, and Link let go of the key, leaving it in the lock. He knelt down by the skeleton with the cape and looked it over, wary of touching it. It sure looked like some kind of royalty, but he couldn't tell for sure.
He jumped halfway to the ceiling when the sound of a door slamming filled the room. Spinning around, he saw that the door to the cell had closed. There was a click, and his eyes moved toward the barred window. Standing on the other side of the door, his eyes burning a deep red, was the very person he expected. It was Dark Link.
The shadow held up the iron ring with the keys attached, gave them a little jangle, and then smiled, turning to go back down the hallway.
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