Chapter 33: Aquatic Worm Tubula

At the bottom of the passageway, Zelda Impa and Lana found themselves in a circular room with three passages leading off in different directions and several ChuChus lurking on the floor while more Biri floated above. While Lana used her magic to take care of the ChuChus and Biri, Impa and Zelda decided to split up into two of the three passages. The one Zelda went into turned out to be a dead-end, but then a massive cloud of steam burst forth from a hidden vent. Outrunning it, Zelda managed to make it back into the main room where Lana had defeated most of the creatures revealing a large golden chest. Meanwhile, Impa came out of the second passage with a silver key in hand. Zelda then opened up the golden chest and produced a large gold key.

After an uneasy climb back up to the original fork, Zelda unlocked the second door with the silver lock and stood before a large hole with steam constantly billowing upward. On the other side there was a dark hallway. Before anyone could object, Zelda leaped over the hole before the next burst of steam came up. Next, Zelda took out her lantern and lit it with one of the few matches she had left. There was a shriek at the other end of the dark hallway, and then a gigantic spider-like creature crawled forward that was bright orange with fiery red eyes and sharp feet.

"It's Spyre!" Lana exclaimed. "Wasn't he killed off long ago?"

"It seems he survived," Impa said and leaped over to join Zelda.

"I've got this, Impa," Zelda said and held up the Bellow of Frost. "I know just what to do."

Before the giant spider could attack, Zelda used the Bellow of Frost to blow cold air onto the creature which froze him in place. While this happened, Impa used brute force to hit Spyre while Zelda fired several rounds with the Sheikah Silencer. Unfortunately, Spyre used a fire that spewed from its mouth to melt the ice and attack the two once more. So they went underneath its legs and faced its rear. As it turned, Zelda used the Bellow of Frost on Spyre again while Impa continued to hit it with brute force. When it melted the ice this time, Spyre curled itself up and rolled toward Impa and Zelda. The two ran to the end of the dark hallway, but upon discovering a dead-end they got out of the way as Spyre rolled into the wall and collapsed onto its back. While its legs were flailing in the air, Zelda used the last of the Sheikah Silencer bullets on it which caused it to stop twitching and vanish. At the dead-end there was a door with a golden lock on it.

Once Lana had jumped over, they used the golden key to unlock the door which in turn led to an open pool that was steaming hot with stone piers all along it. But upon approaching the pool, something emerged from it. The thing resembled a worm, but with three heads that were bright red and there was no tail end. There were black stripes along its three necks and its lip-like mouths were swollen. It turned each of its heads toward the three women and then a fourth head popped up out of the water, carrying an unconscious Sheik in its mouth. As it plopped Sheik's body onto the ground before the women, the other three heads let out clouds of billowing smoke from their mouths. While the three women ducked, the smoke left intense burn marks on the stone walls.

"What is that?" Impa wondered out loud.

"Volcanic smoke," Zelda answered.

"That's correct," Lana said. "Tubula is known for its fiery breath, but its fire resembles the kind that comes from volcanoes and not burning hearths."

"So how do we beat it?" Impa asked as she and the others dodged Tubula's smoke blasts.

"With this and a little teamwork," Zelda said pulling out the Bellow of Frost.

As Impa and Lana kept two of the heads busy, Zelda froze one head with the Bellow of Frost and used her Wind Parasol like a bat and pummeled the head till it sank below the pool's surface. With this strategy, the three women were able to defeat the three prominent heads that billowed smoke until the fourth head reared up and out of the pool making it difficult for Zelda to hit the thing accurately with the Bellow of Frost.

"What should I do?" Zelda asked nervously, becoming increasingly frustrated.

"Freeze the pool when the head pops up," Lana suggested. "Then let's all attack it together."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Impa said, cracking her knuckles.

So Zelda froze the pool's surface with the Bellow of Frost, causing the fourth head to wiggle in place unable to retreat back into the water. Lana cast fire spells upon it while Impa bashed its neck several times with her fist and then Zelda delivered a finishing blow with her Wind Parasol by bringing it down on top of Tubula's head. This caused it to faint and plop down on the pool's surface where it coughed up a Shadow Crystal. Seeing it, Lana immediately levitated the crystal toward her as Tubula's head retracted through the hole in the icy pool. Then to the women's amazement, the ice melted on its own, the steam in the room evaporated, and a fountain appeared that was shaped like Tubula with an oboe made from black wood with metallic keys that shimmered like water carved into its mid-drift.

"The Oboe of the East," Lana said with amazement as the instrument emerged from the fountain carving and floated into Zelda's hands. "Legend says that a Zora with musical talent carved it from petrified wood near the shore, but little did he know that the wood had magical properties and thus the oboe had the power to enchant every creature that heard its music. Unfortunately, the magic seemed to die when the Zora died of old age."

"Well, let's hope that it still works," Zelda said. "But what song should I play to summon the Light Spirit?"

"The Reverie…of the Sea Breeze," Sheik said, regaining consciousness.

To be continued…