With the Skulltula defeated, I could have scaled the walls to cross that last of the gap over to the rest of the room. Experience ensured that in a place like this however, I kept a look out for anything that needed to be taken note of – like a clump of bushes that managed to look out of place, concealing parts of a strip of green stone.
A closer look revealed the bushes were trying to hide a green-framed tunnel, small but not so small I couldn't get through if I flattened myself against the floor. A cold, damp floor that managed to stain my tunic quickly and even manage to get to the padded one beneath the chain-mail.
I'd have complained about it had there been anyone besides Fi to complain to, and besides, Link might have been listening. It also turned out only to be the start. Beyond the tunnel was a tiny chamber, the remains of a tall, jug-like carving supporting another red crystal switch. Up out of reach this time, so I used the slingshot to trigger it. Sounds of rushing water came to me from the main room.
I should know better, I know. I gotta say that first. I went back to that little tunnel to find out where this water was coming from and what it was doing, and before I'd got far I saw my answer splashing toward me. There was no way I could have backed up quickly enough to avoid getting washed back into the little switch room, coughing and choking the water out of my lungs.
Yeah. Shoulda known better.
Once I managed to recover from that I realised I was practically trapped. Holding my breath long enough to dive down and swim back through that tunnel? No chance. The only way out was an opening further up in the wall. Dark lines against the rock suggested that there had recently been vines or something similar there, but were no more.
Of course I climbed the walls, but someone had thought of that as well, and twice on the way up I pulled out solid-looking stones from the wall. At least it gave me hand and footholds, but both times it threw me off. And this is me, soaked and dripping wet we're talking about mark you. That doesn't exactly make it any easier to climb you know.
The opening was a short, dirt corridor leading to another narrow tunnel, which to add further indignity to my situation ended in the main room where I'd expected to – in mid-air. Without enough room to turn around or find a hand hold. For the second time, I crashed noisily to the ground.
More out of curiosity than any real wish not to try and make things any worse for me in this room, I headed back a room to see if the water had risen here too. Not as much as it had in the Skulltula room, but it had risen. And something or someone was also here, because there was also the sound of splashing coming from underneath one of the paths. Ripples in water showed me it was underneath the western door.
Before I'd gotten to the point where I could see what was there, there was a typical Bokoblin cry behind me – and another green Bokoblin coming for me that I could have sworn hadn't been there before! Like the last one though, it didn't take long to defeat.
During that distraction though, not only had the splashes stopped splashing, but the ripples had faded too. If the whatever it was thought it was hiding, it was mistaken. I knew where it was, taking to the water again since I was already wet and swimming to look.
There was nothing there. The water was calm, the area deserted – whatever had been here, wasn't any more. There was, however, another crystal switch that had been concealed under the path. I regarded it for a moment, then out loud said, "If that was you Link, I hope you meant to show me this."
There wasn't any answer. Link rarely did answer while I was in a dungeon. Triggering the switch made a metallic scraping sound come from above, and when I swam out and pulled myself back on to the bridge, defeating yet another waiting Bokoblin (Where did these things keep coming from?) I saw the source was the bars that were no longer blocking the western door.
I took that as a sign to go that way – which suited me just fine. If the monsters came back, I'd rather take this way than go and see the Skulltula again.
It didn't quite work out that way though. I beat up another Bokoblin on the other side, turned to see what else awaited me and came face to face with another Skulltula. On a web. With another one not far behind it.
Unlike the eastern room though, there was no rubble, nothing blocking me from just bypassing them by, say, scrambling over the walls. And there was an opening in the wall that I'd have to go along anyway, which I could have a look at on the way. In the opening was, of all things, yet another crystal switch. Which caused more water to rush into this room.
I carried on, defeating a waiting Deku Baba of a different kind. Unlike the previous ones, it could open its mouth both vertically and horizontally, though not at the same time. Stunning it with a punch defeated it all the same though.
A set of stairs here led back to the central room, where the water had also risen further, putting it just slightly lower than the paths crossing the area. Several logs floated in the water creating new pathways.
But through this door however, I had direct access to a nearby large root, on which there was a large, blue chest, edged and bound in brass polished well enough to look like gold. I rather suspect that only Silver would be able to tell the difference. And inside the chest? A roll of parchment with a map on it.
This was not just a map. It clearly marked doors, chests – though not the one it had been contained in – red crosses that marked the crystal switches, bird statues, locked doors and, where other Heroes would expect to see the traditional skull symbol, Zelda's face.
According to the map I'd missed a chest in the eastern room – not surprising since I hadn't bothered to go back there after the first time the water rose – and had at least three more to find. Through the northern locked door in the central room was a massive round chamber that was greyed out. A room I'd been to was shaded to give me an idea of what a top-down view of it would reveal.
Oddly, there was a marking for a door in the middle of that round chamber. Where that led wasn't apparent. Another route led west from it with a bird statue outside, a crystal switch and a chest down that way, a locked door east passed through a chamber with nothing apparently special about it, to a larger room that held two more chests and one more bird statue, and the door to Zelda.
For a dungeon map, this was actually rather detailed. Knowing I'd only get wetter still, it was stored in the pouch for later.
With the higher water level and the logs floating in it, I was able to reach a set of vines without needing to fall back on my own capabilities, shooting down a tiny Skulltula just in case before I scaled it and headed through the door, taking me to the eastern room again – on the side I'd earlier decided not to visit.
Another Skulltula hung from a thread here, and with the benefit of prior experience this time it wasn't much of a problem. The chest the map had shown was quickly found, hidden behind bars in an alcove that had a pair of eyes on them. Standing between them and repeating the earlier trick defeated them both at the same time, removing the bars and letting me retrieve my first ever small silver key from the chest.
Not that it lasted long, of course. I had a place to use it, and nowhere else I either hadn't been, or hadn't collected something. What the map showed as a large, grey, round room turned out not to be a room, but an area open to the sky. The reason for the mysterious door in the middle of the room became clear with the immense stone structure rising out of the ground, carvings turned pale yellow by the light.
Off to one side I could already see another Skulltula, and flapping about above were many Keese. The map-marked door was of course straight ahead, and in following the example of almost every other door in the temple it was barred off. Bars that soon retracted as I shot the crystal switch above it. Eventually. My aim needed work, and the Keese really needed to learn not to get too close when I'm trying to aim.
Aside from a part of the wall that had fallen out into the outside area, the other side of the door was just a carven dome. Bushes and blue mushrooms lined the edges. A pile of bones lay in the middle, a pair of massive swords tangled among them and the remains of a helmet tipped just slightly off the skull.
The sound of metal grating on stone came from behind me. I didn't bother to look to see that I'd just been locked in. There was something in here that I'd have to deal with in order to get out, unless I wanted to try going for the gap. I just couldn't see what.
At least until the skeleton untangled and assembled itself, taking up the swords and gaining a red glow to the eye sockets. I quickly drew my own sword and even shook my shield into hand – it did have twice the weaponry, and had a far better reach as well.
It didn't rush me, just approached with one sword held defensively, the other ready to strike. I made a strike for an unprotected area and one sword shot down to block. I aimed a punch and it twisted back, able to use the lack of flesh on its bleached bones to easily avoid my strike.
Then it struck back, the sword stopped only by the chain-mail. The force of the blow still made me stumble back, narrowly avoiding a second strike by blocking with the shield just in time. It made a third strike, only this time I was ready for it and braced myself against the blow on the shield – and the shock of impact made it's arm fall off entirely! The bony arm that had managed such a powerful blow just fell off!
The animated skeleton seemed just as surprised as I was, but I responded first. I struck upward with my sword, slashing at the joint still holding its other arm on to make that one also part company. Then I struck quickly and often, alternating between punching at bones with my fist and striking with the flat of the blade. Bones cracked and broke under the onslaught, the skeleton now reeling back. The arms started creeping along the floor, rising up in an attempt to rejoin the body. I stamped on one to hold it down, slashing at the other to sever the arm at the elbow, then the wrist.
The skeleton, despite having no arms, took advantage of that to slam into me bodily. The cracked edges of the bones tore more holes in my tunic, scraping over the mail, but quickly stopped when I kicked its pelvis, shattering it. The legs fell out from under it, the body followed suit, and the skull rolled off. Just for good measure, I stomped on the skull and crushed it.
With its defeat I stood for a few moments, breathing heavily. Getting thrown to the ground, almost drowned, soaking wet and then attacked by a heap of bones... Heroing is hard work at first. While I recovered, a golden flash occurred where the skeleton had started, clearing to leave behind another chest.
I regarded it critically, then said, "At least I'm being rewarded for this."