Chapter 5: Help from the Elders
Behnke and Welborn soon found themselves standing in front of the Elder and Queen Ambi inside the main room of the Elder's House. Guerdan was standing beside Queen Ambi watching.
"I thank you once again for rescuing me and Queen Ambi. Who knows what would have happened if you both haven't rescued us in time." The Elder said.
"Elder, we are glad that you and Queen Ambi are safe. But now we have a much bigger problem on our hands." Behnke said.
The Elder nodded. "Yes. The man you call Khaos has conjured the Age of Shadows that Veran had once did in this age. Not only that, Randolph is still under Khaos' control."
"Exactly. What must we do to free Randolph from Khaos's control?" Welborn asked.
"Chances of doing this quickly are rather slim. As long as that protection is around that tower, Randolph remains helpless. According to history, Link saved Nayru through the means of a weapon called a seed shooter and special purple seeds called Mystery Seeds. Once Link blasted a seed at Nayru's body, the power from the seed exorcised Veran's spirit out of Nayru's body. Then with a special hook, he grabbed the shadow and switched directions with it, forcing the spirit to change into human form. Only then was Link able to damage Veran with his sword." Guerdan replied.
"Where on earth can we find Mystery Seeds, a Seed Shooter, and a Switch hook?" Behnke asked.
"I know of one person, but he resides in Hyrule." Guerdan said.
"LINK!" Behnke and Welborn exclaimed.
Guerdan nodded. "He may be your only hope. Just hope and pray that he still has the items. I take it that you have Randolph's Harp of Ages, correct? You must play the Tune of Echoes near an embedded time portal in the ground and travel to the age of 1400 AD. Find the Oracle of Ages, Nayru who lives at the same spot I live in her age. Have her transport you to Hyrule Castle. There, you will hopefully find Link. Knowing him, he can't stay in one place for too long...."
"How will we be able to break the shadow barrier around the tower to save Randolph?" Welborn asked.
"I believe the Elder of 2009 AD will know the answer to that. You'll have to ask him." The Elder said.
Behnke thoughtfully nodded. "Okay, so before we go to 1400 AD, we must get info on how to break the shadow barrier around the tower from the Elder in our time. Afterwards, we find Nayru in 1400 AD and have her take us to Hyrule Castle to find Link in order to retrieve the mystery seeds, the seed shooter, and the switch hook. Sounds simple enough."
"Your majesty, you and the Elder should stay in your palace. At least you'll have the protection of the guards." Welborn suggested.
Queen Ambi and the Elder nodded. "Okay, we'll go there now. There is little else we can do here. Behnke and Welborn, please be careful and save Randolph as soon as you possibly can! He is counting on you. Come back to us safe!" Queen Ambi said.
"We will, your majesty. You and the Elder be safe as well." Welborn said as he and Behnke bowed before her.
"Rise and go on your quest. We wish you the best. Good luck, ancestors of Link." Queen Ambi said.
The duo rose to their feet. "What about you, Guerdan?" Behnke asked facing him.
"I will also stay in the palace to help protect the Queen as best as I can, if that's okay with you, your majesty." Guerdan said facing her.
Queen Ambi nodded. "Of course, Guerdan. You know that you're always welcome into the palace at any time."
"Thank you your majesty. Behnke and Welborn, good luck to you. If there's anything I can do to help, you know where to find me." Guerdan said facing them.
"Oh, before we forget, where is the closest time portal from your house?" Behnke asked.
"Look on the right side of the house. Embedded in the ground you will find a spiral." Guerdan said.
"Right! Are you ready, Welborn?" Behnke asked.
"Ready when you are amigo!" Welborn exclaimed balling a hand into a fist.
The duo left the Elder's house. When they walked outside, they gasped. Dark clouds had loomed overhead, covering the entire village and extended beyond the Woods of Time. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. The ground, once covered in grass had now become bare and so did the trees surrounding the village. A heavy mist had covered the entire village, either turning people into stone, or turning them into possessed zombies!
"Wh-what is this mist?" Welborn asked in shock. Queen Ambi, the Elder, and Guerdan came out of the Elder's House and looked around in shock.
"The village! The villagers! What's happening?" Queen Ambi asked in horror putting a hand to her mouth.
"It's all part of the Age of Darkness....its begun to take effect on the people of this village because of the heavy mist...." Guerdan said. Suddenly, his right hand glowed with a gold aura. "Huh? The Triforce crest on my hand is glowing!" Guerdan said in shock. Behnke and Welborn's sacred crests also began glowing gold. The 5 were then engulfed in golden light and shined brightly.
"Of course....The ones who bear the marks of the sacred crest has the protection from the mist. The crests can also sense the ones whom we wish to protect which explains why Queen Ambi and the Elder is glowing as well." Guerdan said in awe.
"Guerdan, hurry and get Queen Ambi and the Elder within the palace walls. We'll go and take care of our task." Behnke said. Guerdan nodded and led Queen Ambi and the Elder towards the palace. After seeing that they were safe within the walls, Behnke and Welborn ran towards the exit of the village for the Woods of Time.
The duo reached Guerdan's house that was made out of a tree. "Man, even the Woods of Time have been affected." Welborn said as he saw that the trees were bare and so was the ground and clouds darkened the sky above them.
"The Age of Darkness is moving quickly. We must hurry." Behnke replied. Welborn nodded and the duo headed for the right side of Guerdan's house. Just like Guerdan said, embedded in the earth was a time portal spiral. Behnke took out the Harp of Ages and played the Tune of Echoes and with a strong voice said, "2009 AD!" The spiral glowed brightly and a time portal opened up before them. The duo jumped inside the time portal and the portal closed.
The time portal opened up seconds later and Behnke and Welborn jumped out as the portal closed behind them. They were standing on the right side of Randolph's house back in their age. The only difference now was that the Forest of Time had also been affected by the mist. Trees were either bare or had died and the ground before them was bare. Mist had covered the entire forest, and it was deathly quiet. Dark clouds loomed overhead and a low rumble of thunder could be heard.
"Looks like the Age of Darkness has already began affecting this age." Welborn said.
"Scooter! What if he's...." Behnke began to ask with his eyes wide.
"Come on!" Welborn said. The duo ran around the side and into Randolph's house and gasped. The house was trashed! The bed was turned over and ripped to shreds, claw marks were scattered all over the walls and the ceiling and books were thrown out of the bookcase and ripped apart. In the center of all the chaos and destruction was Scooter with his back turned.
"Scooter! What happened here? Are you hurt?" Behnke asked. Scooter raised his head and with a low growl turned to face the duo. Behnke and Welborn jumped back in shock. Scooter's eyes had turned bright red and his teeth had grown to the size of Rhinoceros horns and his face was decaying in spots and had grown to a massive size.
"Brainsssss!!!" Scooter hissed as he slowly lumbered towards them.
"Look out!" Welborn shouted as Scooter charged at them and pounced. Behnke and Welborn ran outside and closed the door behind them and heard a loud bang and then barking, growling, and scratching at the door.
"Scooter...." Behnke said staring at the door.
"There's only one way that he'll be returned to normal. Come on dude, we don't have that much time." Welborn said brushing past him and headed through the forest leading towards the exit. Behnke sighed and followed.
About 5 minutes later, the duo were in the promenade shopping center, the mist already affecting it. People were either turned to stone or possessed zombies. Dark clouds hovered above the village.
"Oh man, I hope the Elder is okay..." Welborn said looking around shaking his head.
"As long as the Elder in the past is protected by Guerdan's triforce power, then the elder of this age should be fine." Behnke said.
"Behnke....look over there.....is that what I think it is?" Welborn asked pointing to the center of the village.
Behnke faced towards the center and his eyes grew wide. "Ambi's Tower? Here? How is that even possible?" The tower stood tall and proud like in the age of 500 AD. Green light shot out from the top of the tower and into the heavens above.
"That must be the source of the Age of Darkness." Welborn said staring at the green energy beam.
"We better get to the Elder's house." Behnke said. Welborn nodded and the duo took off running to the edge of the village where the Elder lived. They reached the Elder's House and Behnke knocked on the door twice.
"Enter." an old voice croaked from within. Behnke and Welborn opened the door, walked inside and closed it behind them. Standing before them was the Elder himself, unaffected by the mist.
"Elder, we are glad that you are alive and thank goodness not affected by the mist." Behnke said.
The Elder nodded. "Yes, I am well thanks to Guerdan's protection of my ancestor in 500 AD. I thank you both for saving my ancestor. You have come for an answer on how to break the barrier surrounding Ambi's Tower in order to save Randolph. You will need the help of the Magic Potion."
"The Magic Potion? I've never heard of such a potion in our time." Behnke said scratching his head.
The Elder gave him a stern look. "You didn't let me finish young soldier. Geez, young bucks these days grow impatient. Learn to have patience. Doing things in a hurry is a way to get yourself killed."
"Sorry, Elder. It's just that, we really want to rescue our friend....I can't bear to imagine what he's going through just to try to free himself..." Behnke said lowering his head.
"You must take your time. I'm sure Randolph knows that you both are working hard to free him and that it will take time to do. Anyways, the Magic Potion cannot be found in our age. However, in Nayru's time in the Graveyard of Time where the Guardians and Oracles of Ages are buried, an old witch by the name of Syrup lives. Ask her to make you a Magic Potion. She really won't make one unless you have a dire need for one since it is strictly to be used to help to get through shadow barriers."
"So all we have to do is locate Syrup in the Graveyard of Time and ask for a Magic Potion?" Welborn asked unbelievably.
"And with that we can enter the tower and free Randolph?" Behnke added.
The Elder shook his head. "Soldiers, soldiers. That is not all you have to do. Have you forgotten what the Elder in 500 AD has asked you to do in regards to your ancestor? Do you know if Link has the items required to exorcise Khaos from Randolph's body?" The Elder asked raising an eyebrow.
Behnke's heart sank like the Titanic. ".....I had forgotten about that...." Behnke admitted. Welborn lowered his head and shook his head.
The Elder chuckled. "Always remember, young soldiers. Whenever someone is in dire need of help, there is always a test or a trial to see if the hero is ready to take on the source responsible for a kidnapping."
"Oh come on, Elder. I'm sure Link didn't have to go through a test or a trial just to accomplish every mission that he's done." Behnke said rolling his eyes.
"Oh?" The Elder asked raising an eyebrow once again. "Okay then, answer me this. What was it that Link had to do in order to rescue the Oracle of Ages and restore all of time?"
"He had to collect the Eight Essences of Time that were scattered in the ages of 500 AD and 1400 AD." Behnke said with a hint of impatience.
"What was the purpose for that?" The Elder asked smugly.
"So he could get to the highest turret of Ambi's Tower. With the Essences, he was able to cleanse the evil magic surrounding Ambi's Tower. Elder, I know. Welborn and I have heard this story over a million times." Behnke said folding his arms across his chest.
"Okay, did Randolph ever tell you the story of the Oracle of Seasons, and Princess Zelda?" The Elder asked.
"No. But that doesn't have anything to do with this." Welborn said pressing his hands to his eyes.
"Oh but it does. Not long after your ancestor rescued Nayru and restored time, there was another target that he had to rescue from the distant land of Holodrum, Din, the Oracle of Seasons. The General of Darkness, Onox captured her and distorted the seasons and the bountiful gifts of nature. To rescue Din, Link had to gather the Eight Essences of Nature around Holodrum. Like Veran had done to Ambi's Tower, Onox had casted a barrier of shadow around his castle that prevented anyone from entering. With the help of the essences, he was able to cleanse the barrier, defeat Onox and save Din. However, all was not well. Twinrova, the gerudo witches had kidnapped Princess Zelda in an effort to bring back Ganon, the evil Gerudo King. The plan was thwarted by Link and the world saw peace once again." The Elder replied.
"Okay, okay, you're right!" Behnke said exasperatedly.
"Good. Now that you finally figured that out, I would strongly suggest that you get on ahead with your task. But before you go, I would highly recommend that you change into something more suitable, like your Army Combat Uniforms." The Elder replied.
The duo nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Okay, we'll meet in the Forest of Time in front of Randolph's House in 25 minutes, in ACUs, cool?" Behnke asked Welborn.
"Cool, except for one thing. We can't rely on time since it has been corrupted." Welborn reminded him.
"You got a point there. Well, we'll just meet at Randolph's house as soon as we are changed. Then we'll head for 1400 AD, sounds good?" Behnke asked.
"Does to me." Welborn replied.
"Good luck soldiers. Feel free to come here if you need anything. I'm afraid until poor Scooter his back to himself, he won't be of any use." The Elder said as Behnke and Welborn headed for the door.
Welborn opened the door and walked out as Behnke faced the Elder. "So long, Elder, and thanks." Behnke said. Then with a nod and a smile, Behnke walked out of the Elder's House and closed the door behind him.