Tetra and Ciela started on the path towards town. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. If not for her years of balancing on a ship, she probably would have fallen down, but she shifted her balance easily to keep her feet.
"What's that rumbling?" Ciela asked frantically as the shaking stopped. "Another earthquake! So many quakes lately. So many monsters, too!"
"Has it really been as bad as that?" Tetra asked, curious.
"Yeah," Ciela replied. "Bad signs, for sure. And I bet there are even worse things to come!"
"Great," Tetra said as she rolled her eyes. With the shaking stopped, they started back towards the port. Tetra's ears perked at the sound of a waterfall nearby, part of the island's fresh water system.
When they got to the river, they found more bad news. "Oh, heavens!" a woman said, standing on the bank. "That quake just broke the bridge again!"
"You can't be serious!" Tetra exclaimed, despite seeing the rubble sticking out of the river.
"Oh, yes," the woman replied. "So many quakes lately, and the bridge breaks every time there's a big one! There's a second way to get to town, fortunately."
"Really?" Tetra asked, brightening.
The woman nodded. "Unfortunately, it leads through a frightening cave full of monsters."
"Oh, great, now what do we do?" Tetra moaned.
"What to do? Well, wait for the bridge to be fixed, of course!" The woman was very calm about the whole thing, probably because of how much it had already happened.
Dejected, Tetra turned away. As she walked, she pulled out the map, to see just where this other path was. "Looks like it's probably through this pass on the far side of Oshus's house," she thought aloud. Nodding, she put the map away and headed over there.
"Oh, great!" she heard someone yell as she approached the pass. Curious, she walked over to the man, standing at the gate to his yard.
"Is something wrong?" Tetra asked.
"You bet there is," the man replied. "That quake just heaved a bunch of rocks into the middle of my patch! They're not too big, but there's just so many of them! Would you mind helping me clear them out? Just toss them over the fence."
"Uh, sure," Tetra replied, now feeling obligated to help. Sure enough, the rocks weren't too hard to pick up or throw, and they tended to shatter when they hit the ground. She picked up a few Rupees that had somehow been lodged in the stones after they finished.
"Thanks aplenty," the man said gratefully. "You really helped me out there. It's not much, but here's something for your trouble." The man handed her…one rupee. She just stared at him, not sure what to think. "Hey, what's with that look? Think I'm some kind of cheapskate? Ah, well, then here's a hot tip for you. Pull out your map." She unrolled the map, and the man made a mark on the north-eastern part of the island. "There's a big tree over here. Give it a good bash when you get there." Tetra glanced at him awkwardly, but figured it was the best that the poor farmer could do, so she thanked him, rolled up the map, and walked away.
Tetra took little comfort in the sign that was posted by the entrance to the path. It read "Danger! Monsters ahead!" But she walked on anyways, intent on reaching the port.
The pass was narrow, but short, and soon opened out to a field on a bluff looking over the ocean. Several red blob-like monsters were wandering around like they owned the place. "MONSTERS!" Ciela howled, immediately drawing their attention. "Look out, Tetra!" Tetra wasted no time in dashing back through the pass. "It's way too dangerous! You need something to defend yourself with."
"Yeah?" Tetra asked sarcastically. "Like what?"
"I don't know, but for now, we have to go back," Ciela answered. Tetra couldn't do anything but agree, so they returned to Oshus's house.
"Tried the path to the north, did you?" he asked as they entered. "Ciela, don't pretend you forgot I told you never to go that way." He turned to Tetra. "We've seen so many quakes rattle the island lately, Tetra. And monsters have been seen closer and closer to town."
"So we've heard," Tetra replied grimly.
"Be cautious, youngs ones," he admonished them. "That cave up north leads to the port, it's true. But that path will be crawling with monsters. Do not even think of it. I'm sure someone will get around to fixing the bridge again…" Tetra heard the uncertainty in that last statement, though, and walked back out with a groan.
Outside, she sat on the steps to Oshus's house. "He wants us to stay out of trouble, but we HAVE to find Link! Gah! If only I had a sword or something, then I'd show those monsters!" She pulled the map back out, and looked for something else she could do. "Hmm, there's this little cave over here…I guess it's behind those barrels."
"Oh, Grandpa uses that cave for storage," Ciela replied. Then she was struck by a realization. "I think I remember Grandpa storing a sword back there!"
"Why didn't you say so?" Tetra replied, stowing the map. "Let's go!"
They went over to the cave, and Tetra pulled a few barrels out of the way so that she could get in. Getting in wasn't too hard, but a little ways in they came to a very large door.
"Oh, I think the sword is back there," Ciela said. "But how to get this door open? Oh yeah! He just writes a number on this sign here! I haven't seen which, but he mumbled something about the palm trees on the beach when he comes in here."
Tetra didn't even bother saying anything before darting back out of the cave. From atop the barrels, she could easily see the beach, and its trees. "Okay, seven of them." She darted back inside to write it on the signboard. She barely acknowledged that the sign also said "Don't touch my things. Please ask first." with Oshus's signature at the bottom. A moment later, the big door slid down into the ground.
Inside of the safe, a bridge extended across a small pond, and beyond that was a small chest. Tetra ran over and popped it open, pulling out the sword that lay inside.
"You found the sword!" Ciela cheered. "Oooooh, we shouldn't tell Grandpa we're taking it, though. He'd worry himself sick. But now we can defend ourselves from those monsters." Tetra couldn't agree more. She was a pirate, after all, and a bit of petty theft like this didn't mean that much to her. She followed Ciela out of the cave after strapping the sword onto her back.
"You two are proving to be quite a handful." To Tetra's surprise and chagrin, Oshus was waiting right outside the cave. "Isn't that my sword? What do you plan to do with that?"
"Grandpa, I'm sorry," Ciela cried, "but we just had to! We can't abandon her friend, and we can't wait for the bridge!"
Oshus just nodded slowly. "Yes, I understand. But I can't just let you go." Tetra was prepared for some form of rejection, but was surprised with what he said next. "Not without showing you how to handle that sword. Come inside, and I'll teach you."
Tetra wasn't unfamiliar with swords, but at the same time, realized that she was out of practice, and that this was a new blade for her, so some training would definitely be good. "Okay, then let's do it." They filed inside, and Tetra drew the blade comfortably, readying herself for the training.
"I see that you are familiar with swords already," Oshus observed. "Then you should know that even the best swords can be bad, if mishandled. So, let's review the basics of swordplay to see if you are ready. We'll use these targets; much safer than real foes." Oshus tapped his cane on the floor, and four targets appeared around the room.
Over the next half hour, they reviewed the simple strikes that Tetra already knew, and Oshus taught her how to do a Spin Attack. She'd seen Link do it before, but had never mastered it herself until now. "So, how was that?" she asked after slicing one target twice in one spin.
"Superb, child. I can teach you nothing more." Worry creased his face as he continued. "Now you must swim on your own as you venture out among the monsters. If you find yourself struggling, return here and speak with me, and we'll see what we can do."
"Thank you, Oshus!" she called as she ran out the door. "Now to get to that port and find out what that other pirate knows."
Tetra jogged back through the pass, idly slicing at the tall grass along the way. That turned out to be beneficial, as she kept finding lost Rupees hidden in the grass. Returning to the field, she made short work of the red blobs. One of her strikes also hit a strange statue, which wobbled for a moment, and then spoke! "Somersaults can be very useful. Try rolling into this big tree to see what shakes loose."
She wasn't sure quite what it meant, but she did as it said, kicking the tree as she came out of her roll. She stumbled back a bit, but she was rewarded with a red Rupee falling out of the tree. "I'm not sure how you knew that was there, statue, but thanks," she said as she continued on towards the cave.
At first, the cave seemed rather normal, not too wide, but spacious. She found her path blocked by some of the same rocks that she'd cleared out of the man's garden, so she tossed them out of the way, gathering the blue Rupee that fell out of one before moving on. Then, she was surprised by a large door, with a disproportionately large keyhole. "I guess that we need to find the key, then," she presumed, continuing along the path next to the door.
Ahead, she saw what looked almost like an altar, with stairs leading up to a chest at the top. But just as she reached it, more of the red blobs popped out of the ground around her. "An ambush, huh? Bring it!" Like outside, she made short work of these, and then climbed the stairs to the chest. Sure enough, inside was a key, and while it hardly matched the size of the lock on the door, she figured it would at least be worth trying.
Placing the key into the large lock, it somehow caught on something, and vanished from her hand. The cave shook slightly as the door opened itself. "Magic doors. Go figure." She then walked into the room behind the door. At the far side of the room, she saw four levers surrounding a door. Off to the side, a stone tablet stuck out of the floor. There was writing on it, so Tetra decided to read it before going for the levers.
She was glad that she did. "Pull the four levers in the correct order. Or else," she read. "Okay, now to figure out what that order is." Before that came into play, she had to get rid of more red blobs, but by now they were child's play. As she chased them, she noticed that large blocks sealed off paths on each side of the room. After they were gone, she tried pushing the blocks, and was surprised at just how easily they moved. "I bet that the answers are back here," she told Ciela, who was now just watching, baffled by the puzzle.
The room behind the block introduced Tetra to a new enemy. "Bats!" Ciela squealed, hiding behind Tetra. Tetra just laughed and attacked the bats. They evaded better than the red blobs, but were just as weak, and one strike easily knocked them out of the sky. She then found another tablet that told her which switch was to be pulled first.
"Huh, I guess that's it for this side," she observed, looking around the now-empty room. "Hopefully there's more stuff on the other side." Moving the other block, she then took out more bats and found both a third tablet and a treasure chest. Naturally, she went for the chest first, and pulled out a red Rupee. The tablet gave instructions for the second and last switches, therefore indicating the third by process of elimination. She returned to the central room, pulled the switches, and then proceeded up the stairs revealed behind the door.
"Do you hear…squeaking?" Ciela asked as they reached the top of the stairs.
"No, I…okay, now I do," Tetra replied with a chill. She then saw the source of the squeaking poke its head around the corner. "Gah! Rats! I hate rats!"
"Hey, then get rid of it! You've got a sword now!" Ciela urged her.
"I guess…" Tetra said hesitantly. She slowly walked up to the corner. "What's that…clinking sound?"
Celia looked around the corner. "One of the rats is dragging a key tied to its tail."
Tetra groaned. "Then we really do have to do something about the rats, if we want to keep going." She advanced further, and was just about to turn the corner when a rat jumped around it first. "Yeeeeek!" she shrieked, lashing out with the sword. The rat was flung backwards, and vanished in a puff of purple smoke. "Oh. I did it!" Her fear of the rats dispelled somewhat, she proceeded to take out the rest of the rats.
One of them, the one with the key, managed to avoid her, however, though it kept running out onto the floor. But it would vanish into one of two holes in the wall. "Then let's cover one of the holes," Ciela suggested. "This should work," she said, flying over to a block like the ones downstairs. The rat kept running around as Tetra moved the block into place, going in and out of the other hole.
Once the hole was covered, she walked over to the far side of the other hole, and chased the rat the next time he came out. He skidded to a halt when he found his exit hole blocked, and before he could run back to the other one, she smacked him with the sword, and picked up the key after he vanished. "Gotcha!" she shouted triumphantly.
Opening the next door, she worked her way through the rest of the cave. She fought a few bats, but was otherwise home free, and was back out in daylight a few minutes later.