Chapter 43: Up And Down Again
…
The Yook party escorted Link, Valley, Leynne, and Irleen back into the cloudbank. One side of the mountain bore a cave with a solitary Yook standing watch. This Yook nodded the other twelve in and paid little attention to the Hylian travelers. The opening tunneled into the mountain for a while before widening into a large, circular cavern. Lanterns similar to the kind that the mourning Yook held had been set up along the cavern wall. A number of thick mats had been placed about the floor with a small pack next to each. In spite of the cold, the Hylians found this cave a little more comfortable than the Horizon's Eye's battered remains. The Yook did not say anything else as they found their mats and laid down to sleep. The Hylians were not in a conversational mood either and set up their beds together at the center of the cavern. The late hour and activity of the day aided in simply knocking them out as soon as their heads hit the spare clothing they used as pillows.
Link could not remember his dream. He could not remember waking up, either. Between entering the cave and realizing he was standing on a wooden bridge spanning the gap between two mountains below the raincloud felt like a large blank. The only reason he seemed to snap back to reality was the nice breeze across his wet skin. It reminded him of better times on the Grand Sails. And the time that he had been dunked in a barrel of grog and strung up to a shroud to dry, which had decidedly not been fun. Still, it was a little refreshing to feel the breeze and let his eyes take in the sight of how high he had come. Then he spotted Leynne carrying a visibly frightened Valley on his back and decided to just keep focused on the bridge. After crossing (and prying Valley off), they took a trail up this new mountain.
With Valley prattling on about her fear of heights. Presumably.
"… and after he threw my melon over da cliff, well… da way it splat against da ground made me see how bad heights is."
"Wait, wait!" Leynne finally shouted. "Ah you saying, that afteh almost an houh of listening to you prattle on about youh school life and youh inability to keep a boyfriend, youh reason foh not liking heights is because youh seventeenth boyfriend threw a melon?"
"Yyyyyep," Valley said with a grin. Then she quickly added, "But he was my eighteenth boyfriend."
"Who keeps track of that!?" he shouted, arms wide to indicate his confusion and disbelief.
"I does," Valley said, raising a hand.
"Girl talk much," Link heard Kohg grumble. When he glanced down at Link with an exhausted look, Link could only offer him an understanding smile.
The path they walked began to widen as it led them out of the rainclouds. It became a small plateau before a tall, glittering spire of snow. At different levels, small, oval-shaped holes appeared to have been cut into the spire. A large cavern entrance at the foundation had been decorated with piles of snow like a bottom row of teeth. The smaller Yook who had erected them were shooed away by what Link assumed was a female Yook, a little shorter than the men surrounding him and a body shaped like a pear. Large mounds which appeared to be made of snow dotted the base of the spire. Link concluded that they were homes because that was where families appeared to gather. The whole plateau looked about as large as Whittleton, and the homes were pushed together as best as possible so that a large number of them would fit into as little space as possible. The cloudless sky around them reminded Link of the sky kingdom, and it made him feel that much closer to home. At the top of the spire stood a solitary, white flag bearing a blue diamond with an additional angle intersecting the top half in opposition to the top angle. It flapped in the wind, and Link pulled his compass out of his pocket to see the wind's direction.
"Whoa…" Valley and Irleen awed, Irleen sitting on Link's right shoulder.
"Wind's moving south," Link mumbled to himself.
"Wha?" Irleen asked.
Link replaced his compass. "Nothing. Kohg… how long have you been living here?"
"Birth," the Yook replied.
Link allowed a short chuckle. "No, I mean how long have the Yook been living here?"
"Long time."
"I don't think they have a method foh recohding time, Link," Leynne said as his eyes thoroughly glanced over the area. "Cleahly, it has been some time."
"Since snow go," Kohg said. "Kohg not see snow below."
Link watched as the other Yook in their party walked past them. "Where are they going?"
"Speak leader," Kohg said as he started walking with them. "You follow."
Link turned to look at Leynne, who gave him an uncertain shrug. After Link responded with his own shrug, all four followed behind their Yook escort. There was some hesitation on the part of the Hylians, but they decided to follow the Yook into the cave.
The entrance was a wide, flat floor illuminated by a single chandelier suspended in the middle of the ceiling. The chandelier appeared to be made of silver, but it actually did not hold any sort of candles or active illumination. Instead, most of the light appeared to enter through some of the windows on the far side. Strong beams of sunlight shined on the dust which covered the floor, and that appeared to be enough to spread light around the room.
Leynne stopped to stoop and picked up a handful of the dust. "What is this?"
Kohg stopped and turned to usher Valley and Link along to the stairs on the far side of the room. "Dust."
Leynne opened his mouth to clarify the question, but then he thought better of it and dropped the dust in his hand. "Ask a foolish question…" he mumbled as he quickened his pace.
The stairs, made of stone dug into the wall and without any sort of handrail, led up to a similar chamber. Valley visibly shivered and wrapped her arms around her. Link could understand why; this room felt as cold as the outside. Here, the walls appeared thicker, and there was not as much light because there were fewer windows. The dust from the lower room was nowhere to be found, the room's floor bare rock with piles of meat here and there.
"W-wh-w-w-w-wh-w-w-wh-w-wh-wha?" Valley chattered as Leynne's head poked up through the floor.
"Cold save meat," one of the other Yook commented.
"Meat for food," Kohg said as he started nudging Link and Valley with a single hand.
Leynne wrinkled his face as he thought. "Interesting…"
The stairs continued to the next level. This was another brilliantly-lit room thanks to the same dust from the entrance as well as numerous windows in the wall. A thick ladder, which appeared to be made of bones, led to the next room up. The Yook escorts filed into the room and lined up along the wall on either side of what looked like a throne covered in dark-furred Wolfos pelts and sitting on the other side of the room from the stairs. When the Hylians entered the room, a large Yook, larger than any of the males that had already entered, stood up. This Yook had grey fur and could probably touch the ceiling with a hand. Link's eyes took in the number of blunt weapons on the wall behind the throne before Kohg nudged him toward the center of the room. Link took a few timid steps of his own, Valley and Leynne flanking him, until he stopped.
The large Yook held up a hand and motioned. "Closer," he said with a deep voice.
Link gulped. As much as he did not want to approach this Yook, he felt that he did not want to anger him, either. This Yook appeared to have a permanent scowl on his face, and the red eyes did nothing to produce a nicer image. Link stepped forward until the Yook stopped gesturing. He found that he stood in the center of the room. He also found that he was not sure what to say or do.
"Who are you?" the large Yook asked.
Link drew himself up and answered, "I am Lieutenant Link of the Skyrider Company."
The Yook blinked at him. "Long name. You have shorter name?"
"Link," he answered. "J-just call me Link." He saw the Yook's eyes wander to Leynne and Valley standing behind him. He turned and used a hand as he offered introductions. "Uh… this is Leynne, and she's Valley. And, um…" He started glancing around.
"Up here," a small voice said above Link's head.
Link glanced up at the ceiling, then pointed out the small dot of green light. "That's Irleen."
The Yook gave a satisfied nod. "I am Soog, leader of Yook. Why are you here?"
"W-we came… we came here to find the ship. The airship on the neighboring mountain."
"You know dead?"
Link stammered for a moment, trying to process the question. "Know de—know the dea—yes! Uh, yes. One of the dead was… well, he was a member of my crew. My… former crew…"
"His death brings you sadness."
Link nodded. "Albert. I was his captain, his leader."
"Sad for young to see death," Soog told him. "Leader may see death at any time. You must understand."
Link scratched his head. "I know. I mean… I thought I knew. I wasn't a leader for very long."
"You give up?"
"No." He took in a deep breath. "I am—was… I was captain of a ship. My ship was destroyed."
Soog indicated Valley and Leynne with a hand. "But you are still leader."
Link turned around for a moment. "N-not exactly. I-I—"
"I's just following him!" Valley offered in a voice which caused some of the other Yook to flinch. "He's my research!" Link slapped a hand over his face.
"To Link's credit," Leynne offered, casting Valley a brief glare, "I would not have come this fah if he did not want to find the ship. Without him, I wouldn't have made it heh."
"And he saved my life!" Valley said.
Soog glanced up at Irleen. In response, she slowly spiraled down. "Link's… he's the only friend I have. Without him, I'd be lost in this world."
"Link is still leader," Soog said with an approving nod. "Humble. Not yet strong. But you can become strong. Soog live long time. I become strong even now. You still have time."
Link was not sure how to respond, so he just said, "Th-thank you."
"What you do for other dead?"
Valley removed her pack and dug into it for a moment. She pulled out her assignment journal and turned through its pages for a moment. "We has deir names," she said, showing the page covered in scribbling. Because the Sorian writing had been difficult to try to reproduce (even for Irleen), she had placed each of the tags under a few pages in her assignment journal and scribbled over the top of them so that the names stood out. "Link goes back to da sky? He takes dese names with him."
Soog nodded. "Wise." He glanced around at the other Yook. Then he gave a grunt, and the room emptied except for the Hylian group and Kohg. "You free Yook from obligation. Thank you."
Link nodded. "Thank you for caring for them."
Soog indicated Kohg. "Kohg will take you into his home. Stay as long as you wish. Link, Valley, Irleen, and Leynne are friends to Yook."
"Soog," Leynne spoke up. "Link injuhed himself two days prioh. I wondeh if you have any medicines to treat Wolfos bites."
"It isn't bothering me, Leynne," Link whispered to him.
A large hand wrapped around Link's arm. "Wife help," Kohg said.
…
"YAAAAAAH!" Link wailed as the ice-cold rag of Wolfos skin was slapped over his shin. But he could not move from the chair, his shoulders held down by Kohg while his wife, a round Yook with ice-blue fur, carefully rubbed the rag on Link's scabbed-over wounds.
"Link feel good?" Kohg asked.
"Agh! Trying to…" Link squirmed, but between Kohg pushing him down into the fur-covered chair and Kohg's wife keeping one hand clamped on his foot, he could not stand to run away like he wanted. He attempted to keep himself still, but the cold applied directly to his wounds hurt.
"Try not to move so much," Leynne, sitting on the couple's bed-mat, said as he rolled a piece of paper around a small amount of the same ointment Kohg's wife was using. "You need something to help with infection. This might wohk."
"Aaaaah…" Link breathed when the rag was removed from his leg. His shin felt numb; he could not even feel Kohg's wife probe his skin with her thick fingers. "Thank you."
"Mohk not know Hylian," Kohg said. "I tell later."
"Okay." Mohk released his leg, and Link settled it against the stone floor of their home. He looked around to better take in their humble existence. The walls, contrary to the snow on the outside, were actually made of ice. Other than the chair Link used, Kohg only had another chair and the mat he and his wife would sleep on. A wooden chest sat opposite the doorway, and Link ventured a guess that they kept their other possessions in it.
"We get food," Kohg said. Then he grunted at his wife, and the both of them left.
"So what do you want to do now?" Leynne asked him. "We've found the aihship. The Yook ah willing to put up with us, but we've no fuhtheh reason to be heh."
"I know," Link said with a nod. His pack sat next to him on the floor, and he pulled open the top. "This would be a good time to look around, but I suppose we should consider getting back to Library Town."
"It's still kind of shocking to find a Sorian ship down here," Irleen said as she hovered over Leynne's head. "I wonder what happened to the rest of the crew."
Link pulled out his journal and opened it on his lap. "So do I. Line, Flower, and Leonard are out there, too."
"And your princess."
Link paused before pulling his pen from his pack. "Yeah. I wonder what she thinks of me now."
Leynne shrugged. "Pehhaps she'll not fault you foh trying." He stood up. "I'm going to look around."
Link nodded as he left and scribbled on the page a bit before writing.
~~Day 16
~~I found out last night that Line might be alive, and I have reason to believe that he took the Horizon's Eye for a final voyage before it was scuttled. Now that I think about it, I wonder if the ship made Autumn Island before it got down here. It might not be much, but it's enough that I want to get back up there a whole lot more.
~~We discovered that the Yook had buried the bodies of the Sorian airmen and Airman Albert from my crew. The fact that there were so many other airmen missing has to mean that they are alive somewhere else. Though it's occurred to me that they may just as well be dead wherever they are, I'm trying to keep positive. The Yook brought us to their village, I guess you can call it. It's almost as large as Whittleton, yet they've crammed all of their people onto this one plateau on top of the mountain neighboring where the ship crashed. They're a lot nicer than Leynne made them sound. I have to admit that, for a moment back on that other plateau, I was worried we'd be getting into another fight. I think I've had enough battle wounds for now. I sure don't want to have any more treated; all the treatments I've received so far feel like they hurt before they get better. It's like they all went to the same school of medicine and pain. It has made me miss the days when I would just bang my head on something.
~~Everything around me feels like such a mess. I want to get back to the sky, and I know I have to in order to help Irleen. But all I seem to be doing so far is touring the surface. Now that I think about it, Luggard joked that we'd probably be going to the Fire Realm soon. I wonder if it might be true. I suppose, if there's another Archit—
"Hey, Link?" Link glanced around, realizing that Irleen had moved. "Is it natural for a mountain to be on fire at this height?"
Link found her floating in front of the doorway. "What do you mean?"
"There's a mountain over here, and its top is covered with thick smoke."
Link stood up. "What?"
"You've gotta see it for yourself."
Link turned, dropped his journal and pen on the chair, and slipped his sock and boot back on. Although it stung to walk without his bandage, he followed Irleen out of the house. She rounded the house and dodged through the narrow spaces between the other homes. Link noticed that they were going towards the back side of the mountain from the trail. When she stopped, Link found Valley and Leynne standing on the edge of the plateau.
They were looking out at the larger mountains further out. Irleen was right; one of them was on fire. Thick, grey smoke billowed and bubbled around the top of a mountain not far from the Yook's home mountain. It was as if it had grown its own cloud. One whole side of the mountain was colored lighter than the edges.
"You weren't kidding," Link said in awe. "What is that?"
"It's called a volcano," Leynne told him. "A vault of temperamental eahth waiting to go up in what would likely be a spectaculah explosion."
"I has read about dem," Valley said, "but I has never seen one before. It looks a little… scary."
"And it should," Leynne said with a nod. "While we'h feeling temperatuhes that would leave us blocks of ice in the middle of nowheh, that mountain will be hot enough to melt a train engine."
"A hot mountain? In the Snow Realm?" Irleen asked.
Leynne gave a grin. "This place has had its practice in contradiction."
Valley slowly turned to Leynne and Link. "A hot mountain in the Snow Realm!" she declared.
"I think we got it, Valley," Link told her.
"No, no, think about it. Da Snow Realm is always raining, right?"
"That's what we've been told," Irleen said, hovering next to Valley's face.
"But why it rains?"
Leynne exchanged a look with Link. "Well, generally, it's because the weatheh is too wahm foh snow to fohm. It's been that way foh yeahs."
Valley pointed a finger at him. "Dat's it," she said. "It's too warm!" Then she indicated the volcano. "And dat's why!"
Leynne frowned and glanced out at the volcano again. Then he looked up the spire of the Yook's home. "Link, you checked the wind direction eahlieh, didn't you?"
"Yeah. The wind's blowing south."
Leynne nodded. "So if it's the prevalent wind in this area… I suppose it's possible that the volcano could be the cause of the rainfall."
Link glanced out to the volcano again. "Leynne, do you have your duoscope with you?"
"Right heh," he answered, holding the device out. "Why?"
Link took the duoscope and looked through it. From where they stood, the grey substance covering the side of the mountain looked like dark snow. A shadow at the base of the volcano caught his attention, and he stared at it for a moment, ignoring Leynne's questions.
"Leynne, what's that grey stuff out there?"
"Most likely ash," Leynne said. "I suppose the wind coming from the nohth all the time protects the ash on this side of the volcano."
"It's covering something."
Leynne shrugged. "Paht of the volcano."
"No, more than that. There's something manmade down there."
"How do you know?"
Link passed the duoscope back to Leynne. "Because it's square."
Leynne gave Link an intrigued look before putting the duoscope to his eyes. "You'h kidding…"
"Down at the base of the volcano. It's on the right side of the ash, just before it ends."
Leynne looked in silence for a moment. "Yeah… yeah, I see it now. What is that?"
"I don't know," Link said, watching as Valley formed her hands into circles and look through them as if they were another duoscope. Then he had an idea. "But I bet I know someone who does."
"Who?" Valley asked.
"Just wait here," Link said as he spun around. "I'll be right back."
"Wait up!" Irleen called as she flew after Link.
Link moved with a quick pace through the homes. When he reached the open area of the plateau, he broke into a run against the pain of his boot rubbing his leg. He rounded to the entrance of the spire. Yook just leaving through the large entrance gave him growls of annoyance as he ran past. Up the stairs, past the meat storage and into Soog's room.
Soog turned his head in surprise, having been occupied with a sight out his window moments before. "Link?" he asked.
"Soog," Link said, crossing the room. "Where did you learn to speak Hylian?"
Soog turned completely to him. "Learn from friend. Hylian friend. I teach other Yook to speak."
"Is this friend here anymore?"
"Thanks for waiting up," Irleen said as she caught up with Link.
Soog shook his head. "He leave long time. Go to mountain god home."
"Mountain god home?" Link asked.
Soog nodded his head. "Fire mountain. Mountain god punish Yook. Yook come here. Mountain god think Yook abandon mountain god. Punish by making mountain burn. Mountain burn. Make old home rain. Make Yook live on this mountain."
"So your friend went to the volcano?"
"Volcano… that is his word for fire mountain."
"You mean someone went into that thing?" Irleen asked, circling Link's head.
"He go with other Hylians," Soog said. "Not see for years."
"Who was he?" Link asked.
"His name is… Meat… Head?"
"Meathead?" Irleen asked.
"Neektam," Soog corrected himself. "He take strange object. Say he can make machine that stop mountain god."
Link paused for a second to let his excitement turn into coherent thought. "Irleen, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I think so, Link, but does a mountain god actually take sacrifices nowadays? It seems like a cliché…"
"Wha—no, not that! Think about it! It's a Hylian who builds machines!"
"You're right. He's probably important enough to calm the god. But then… well, if he makes machines, then the mountain god might find it offensive an—"
Link shook. "No, Irleen! He's an Architect! Neektam's an Architect!"
"Oh." Silence. "Oh~!" Link waited until the realization settled in. "Ooooooh! All right!" She started spiraling higher.
"We need to get to that volcano." He immediately turned and started across the room.
"Wait," Soog said. Link stopped at the top of the stairs and watched Soog step to his throne. He reached behind it and appeared to open it. "Take this."
Link met Soog in the middle of the room and accepted a blue, triangular piece of cloth. He glanced it over for a moment. "What is it?"
"Yook charm. Wear on arm. Protect from heat."
Link shrugged and slipped it under his right arm. He tried to tie it, but he found it difficult to use just one hand. "I-Irleen, do you mind?"
"Oh, right." Irleen dropped down and grabbed one of the corners. The tinkling sound her wings made grew stronger as she pulled hard against Link. Link managed a double knot and turned so that he could see the diamond. "Will that work?"
"That'll do," he said. He nodded at Soog. "Thanks. We'll be back as soon as we can."
Soog stepped over to one window and pointed. "Path on side go to fire mountain. Good luck."
…
Link ran back to Kohg's home and emptied his bag of everything except rations. Kohg invited him to at least have a quick meal before leaving, which Link decided to partake in since they had forgotten to each breakfast. When Leynne questioned him, Link said he was going to the volcano to find an Architect. Naturally, this had Leynne a little worried. He explained that the volcano could be hazardous with lava flows and pure heat. Unnaturally, Valley begged to come along. Link tried to explain to her that it could be dangerous, as Leynne had explained.
Unfortunately, Valley had chosen that point in the conversation to feign deafness. Link trudged along the muddy path trying not to appear miserable.
"Is you okay, Link?" Valley asked him about halfway down the mountain. "You has been very quiet."
"I really wish you'd stayed with Leynne," Link groaned.
"I isn't staying with Mister Grouchface," Valley told him with a huff. "I isn't supposed to be following him. How cans I does my research?"
"It wasn't like you couldn't see us walk down the path," Irleen told her.
"Why is you going, Irleen?" Valley asked. "You is small. Dere is things around here dat eats bugs smaller dan you."
Irleen flew angry circles around Valley's head. "I'm not small! I'm just temporarily under-size! Temporarily!"
"Da Keese," Valley said. "Dere's probably Keese in dat volcano."
"Oh, come on! You can't tell me that Fire Keese actually exist."
"I isn't saying 'Fire' Keese. Regular Keese. Dey eats anything. Dey likes bugs."
"I'm stuck in the body of a fairy."
"You's shiny-shiny. Dey sees food."
"Would you stop trying to convince me I'm going to get eaten!"
"I's just saying you's in bigger danger dan me."
"Valley, watch ou—" Too late. Link's warning about a small dip in the slope did not make it out of his mouth in time. Valley's foot fell farther than she expected, and she dropped face-first into the mud. Link slapped a hand over his face, sighed, and said, "Never mind. You found it."
"Somehow, that felt a little satisfying," Irleen said, hovering over Valley as she recovered.
"Come on, Irleen, that's not nice."
Valley spat mud from her mouth. "I's okay."
"Do you fall down a lot?" Link asked her.
"No, noes before coming here." She used a jacket sleeve to wipe her face off. "I noes knows. I thinks mud just noes likes me."
"Well, at least you're not hurt."
"Yyyyyep, but my clothes is all muddy again. And it isn't raining down here."
"You know, she's right," Irleen said. "It isn't raining down here."
"I think it's because the rain's over there," Link said, pointing in the opposite direction from the volcano. He indicated the mountains to the south, partially shrouded by the rain.
"Oh," Valley uttered, standing. "Well, I supposes I gets to take a nice bath back in Library Town."
"How nice," Irleen commented in a flat voice, "but that's days away."
"It's something to look forward to."
"Let's keep moving," Link said. "I think I'd prefer to get back to the Yook's settlement instead of spending the night near a volcano."
"Yyyyyep."
Link, Valley, and Irleen continued down the mountain into a small area of wetlands below. After trudging over the muddy path, they found themselves standing on the far side of the trail leading to the volcano. From here, the trio looked up at the volcano's menacing presence. Link felt quite small, especially since the late afternoon sun had cast a shadow on them from a small mountain to the west. As expected, the ground was covered in ash all the way to the beginning of the path. Even now, a thin fall of ash added to the ground around them. Perhaps the most surprising of this area was how warm it was. Valley had to ask Link to wait up while she removed the warm clothing she had borrowed from him.
It was during this time when Link noticed that they were not alone. The path to the doors at the base of the volcano was level and straight, confirming Link's belief that there were manmade structures here. Ledges lined the path, and on either side of that ledge was a slope leading further down into a field of black rock. Link peered down one side to get an idea of what was down there, and he saw a large pair of eyes staring back at him from the ash on the ledge.
"Yikes!" Link shouted, jumping backwards. At the same time, a large blob of grey slime stood straight up out of the ash. It wobbled for a moment, as if standing had disoriented it. Then its eyes focused on Link. "What the…?"
"Oh, hey, a Chuchu," Valley said, shouldering her backpack again. "Dat's rare."
"Really?" Link asked.
"Yyyyyep. Dey's funny, but dey's harmless."
The Chuchu formed a seam under its eyes and gave Link a large, toothless grin. "Why-why is it smiling?" Link asked, his left hand resting on his sword.
Valley giggled at him. "I thinks he likes you."
"Is that good?"
She shrugged. "It noes cans be bad."
"There's another," Irleen spoke up. Link and Valley turned to look down the trail they had just used, in the same direction Irleen's voice had come from. Another Chuchu had stood up at about where ash met mud, also flashing them a smile.
"Oh, look," Valley said, pointing at the first Chuchu. "He has a buddy." Link turned back to see another Chuchu standing next to the first one.
Link saw two more pop up on the opposite ledge. "Um… Val-Valley? What, uh… what do Chuchu eat?"
Valley frowned as she thought. "You knows something? I noes really knows. I never saw Chuchu dis big before."
More started to appear from the ash behind Valley. "Um… I'm not sure if I like this…" Irleen said, her voice uncomfortable.
Valley produced a pencil from her pocket and used it to tickle one of the nearby Chuchu. "D'aaaw. How bad cans dey be?"
The Chuchu suddenly leaned over and bit the pencil with its toothless mouth. Valley quickly pulled her hand away and took a step back. She, Link, and Irleen watched in horror as the Chuchu's translucent body dissolved the pencil in a second.
"Okay, maybe dat bad," Valley said to herself.
"You said they were harmless!" Irleen snapped.
"I thought dey was!"
"Forget it," Link said. "Let's just get—" But as he turned toward the volcano, he tripped over a mound hidden in the ash.
"Link!" Irleen cried out.
Valley started forward to help him up, but then she saw what Link had tripped over. "Uh oh," she uttered.
She looked up from the skull half buried in the ash to the Chuchu around them. As if knowing that their sinister cover was blown, the Chuchu's eyes switched from idiotic abandon to evil intent to accompany their permanent grins.
"Run for it!" Irleen screamed.
The Chuchu lunged for the Hylians. Link had already kicked against the ground to get him started in his run. Valley ducked under one and dodged around another that had dove for Link. They ran toward the mountain at full speed, Link having a good lead on Valley. Irleen tailed them at a higher altitude so she was out of the Chuchu's reach. But as they ran, more Chuchu started revealing themselves along the path. Link drew his sword and swatted at some of them as he ran, hoping to reduce the chances that they would jump at him or Valley.
"Wah—ugh!" Valley fell against the ground. The sound of her grunt caused Link to slide to a stop and turn. The Chuchu were bearing down on her, hopping along the path from behind her and simply walking from ahead. Link dashed back in her direction, swinging his sword to take out more Chuchu as he passed.
He stopped next to Valley and helped haul her to her feet by her shoulder. "Hurry! Go!" he urged, swinging his blade at one just inside his reach. Valley started running again, and Link followed close behind. He got a view past her to see that the Chuchu were putting up a wall ahead of them. Thinking quickly, he pulled out his boomerang and popped it open. Hoping that the boomerang would not get stuck in one, he slid in front of her and threw. The boomerang curved a bit, and Link was worried that it would fly over the side. But it produced a solid hit on one Chuchu, bounced into another, and hit the ground just behind them. Both Chuchu wobbled in place with dazed looks, and Link swung his sword at the first one. The Chuchu was sliced in half and disappeared into a grey puddle. Link and Valley then dodged past the next one, and Link swiped up his boomerang on the way.
They made it to the doors Link had seen from the Yook's mountain. It was a pair of double doors with a down-pointed triangle atop a pair of wings carved in the center. They both pushed on the left door, but they found it far too heavy to move. "Come on, open!" Link demanded as he and Valley switched to the other door.
"It isn't opening!" Valley cried. Link reared back and speared the tip of his sword into the doors' gap.
"Switch, switch!" Irleen cried out, hovering near the front of the doorframe. Valley peered around the corner. She saw what looked like a bunch of meaningless curves carved into the outside. Irleen hovered in front of one of the shapes made by those curves, and Valley realized that it had seams around it. She tried pressing with her fingers, then she braced one palm against it with the other on top and pushed hard. The stone sank in, and Link jumped away as the doors opened outward with a gravelly growl. They both looked back to find the Chuchu still chasing them and ducked into the doors.
"Close it, close it!" Irleen chanted as they followed.
"How?" Link asked.
Valley looked along the wall next to her, a flat surface of red rock with similar markings. She noticed a wedge of stone protruding from the wall and pushed. The doors immediately reversed until they closed. One of the Chuchu had gotten trapped in the door, and its existence ended with a slam which oozed the remains of its body through the seam in the doors.
Both Valley and Link heaved a relieved sigh. "That was close," Link told her.
She grinned at him, huffing to catch her breath. "Dat… was awesome."