Chapter 23: The Depths Below the Desert
Link was thoroughly drenched when they reached Outskirt Stable again. Penn, notably, was not; the water seemed to slide off of his feathers instead of soaking into them.
"Maybe you do have some waterfowl in you after all," he commented, and Penn puffed out his chest proudly.
Link made his way up to the stable's shrine, exhausted from the climb up the Coliseum's ridge but unwilling to forgo rest in a Shrine of Light with a venture into the Depths imminent. It does seem to grant me some resilience to Gloom. I'll need that.
He felt sick at the mere thought. Knowing it was the only way forward, he had avoided dwelling too much on exactly what it would require of him. But he was close now to Gerudo Canyon, and the Skyview Tower that Purah had mentioned could help him find a Chasm. Spreading his sopping clothes out around the shrine so that they would dry while he slept, his mind chased itself around and around in circles. He was torn between hoping there wasn't a Chasm and perhaps trying his luck with the sand shroud, or hoping there was a Chasm. Realistically he knew he wouldn't survive the sand shroud, but the alternative was going down to the Depths using the Chasm he knew about in Hyrule Field. Traveling all that distance in such a hellish place, on foot, sounded like something out of a nightmare.
A Chasm in the Gerudo region… is my best hope, he acknowledged, though his mouth tasted sour.
At dawn, after a brief but restful sleep, Link hiked back down to the stable and fetched Ember, nodding a greeting to Penn as the Rito sat eating breakfast.
"Why do you like sleeping in those weird rocks?" Penn asked around a beakful of rice. "Can't imagine they're actually more comfortable than a bed or a hammock."
"They're comfortable in a different way," Link shrugged, cinching Ember's girth strap tight and giving the horse's chest a bump with his knee. Ember always held his breath when he was being saddled. Always. It was as if he was daring Link to ride with a too-loose saddle and slip sideways halfway to their next destination.
"Hmm," Penn mused, shaking his head slowly. "I'll take your word for it, partner!" He popped a roll into his beak. "So where you headed next? Any chance you'd like to come with me to Riverside Stable?"
"No, I'm… going down south for a bit," he answered, remembering Hudson's reaction and deciding against telling his friend that he was headed to Gerudo Desert. "See what there is to see."
"Ah. Well, happy trails, then," Penn said, lifting a wing in half a salute as Link climbed into Ember's saddle. "Soar long!"
It was a very crisp morning, slow to warm up. Link kept his cloak – still damp from the rain – pulled close around his shoulders, shivering slightly. The shadows of the Gerudo Highlands reached long, keeping the sun's earliest rays from reaching the road winding along the base of the mountains and the Great Plateau.
He encountered another small group of monsters – six bokoblins armed with clubs gathered around a campfire near a rough-looking corral of horses, some still wearing their tack from the riders they'd been stolen from. As soon as the monsters noticed him coming down the road, they leapt up from their fire, hopped onto their horses, and opened the corral, riding out to meet him. Link drew his sword, reining Ember around to meet them. Staying on the fringe of their reach, with his longer blade, he cut off the arms of several, and the remaining two galloped away into the wilderness. Link finished off the four he'd maimed and kept going, starting across the Digdogg Suspension Bridge.
At least they haven't figured out they need to use spears instead of clubs on horseback, Link thought grimly. But… I should probably start keeping a spear with Ember's tack.
Halfway across the bridge, on a small column of land rising up from the lake far below, Link found a small stable like the one in Lookout Landing – no amenities, just a place to board horses.
"Hold up there, traveler," the old man leaning against the fence called, raising a hand as Link neared. "If you're going to Gerudo Canyon for whatever blasted reason, you're not taking your horse with you."
Link frowned, pulling Ember to a stop. "Why not?" he asked uncertainly.
The old man's spotted brow creased, and he squinted. "Hold on a sec… Link, that you?"
Link nodded. "Yeah, it's me," he said. "I thought you were with the Gerudo Canyon Stable."
"Oh – well, I still am. Welcome to the Gerudo Canyon Stable," the man winced, spreading his arms wide and gesturing to the little paddock and five stalls on the small spot of land. "We've… had to relocate, thanks to the weather. Got too hot for the horses during the day. Cold they could've handled, but the heat…" He shook his head sadly. "Pretty tough for the humans to manage, too. Not good. So… closed up shop, set up something here, in case folks still try and get through."
"Do they?" Link asked.
"Mostly just the Zonai Survey Team," the old man answered. He pointed down the bridge towards Gerudo Canyon. "You can just see that ruin way out there – pretty big, too. Bigger than any other ruin except the Ring Ruins in Kakariko, as they're oh-so fond of telling me twenty times a day. But they don't go out into the canyon; they just stay out by the ruins."
Link nodded, squinting. The haze of morning light was fairly thick, but he could just make out a round, uneven shape towards the end of the bridge – something he'd thought was just part of the Gerudo Highlands' silhouette. With a sigh, he hopped down from Ember's back and began transferring the food and water he'd collected to his own back. "I'll need to board my horse, then. That's exactly the direction I'm headed."
The old man grimaced. "Look after yourself, kid," he said with a sigh. Link gave Ember a final treat and started down the rest of the bridge alone.
The ruins were fairly impressive, he acknowledged as he walked through them, passing by the Zonai Survey Team hard at work sketching, cataloging, and building scaffolds to reach the higher segments. It looked as though a portion of a fairly large Zonai building had tumbled from the sky to crash between the sides of the canyon. He could overhear the researchers speculating about what function it had served, what evidence of its use in everyday Zonai life they had uncovered thus far, and felt a fierce pang of longing.
Zelda would love to be a part of this, he thought sadly. She would've been so excited.
He continued past the ruins, into Gerudo Canyon proper, and almost at once he found in the middle of the road the bleached bones of an equine skeleton near the beaten-apart ruins of a wagon, and his stomach clenched.
Too hot for horses indeed, he thought, feeling cold even as the air around him seemed to thicken with heat.
The sun had yet to fully overcome the shadow of the canyon walls, and nonetheless, he could feel the temperature climbing rapidly. The sight of the horse's skeleton weighed heavily on his mind. As he became uncomfortably aware of the rising heat of his tunic, chainmail, and undershirt over his skin, acutely aware that his undershirt was made of wool, he paused in the road to change his attire, removing everything but the short-sleeved tunic. His cloak, undershirt, and mail he packed away with the rest of his supplies, feeling uncomfortably light without the chainmail over his shoulders but reasoning that it was better than heatstroke.
I shouldn't have to worry about sunburn until the sun is high enough to actually get down into the canyon, he thought, drinking deeply from one of the waterskins. Then I'll pull my cloak back out and… and just deal with it, I guess.
The Gerudo made specific clothing for casual traveling in the desert, of course. But it wasn't particularly useful anywhere else. As such, it was fairly rare to come across anywhere but Gerudo Desert. And with the desert itself inaccessible now, well… it makes sense that people don't just have desert clothing lying around.
He reached a fork in the trail, with a fairly new-looking sign. 'New road (Could be rough),' the sign read, pointing to a rocky path that seemed to be climbing upwards, out of the canyon. 'Old road (Beware of high water!)' read the other branch of the sign, pointing to the usual route.
Purah said to take the new road, he thought, and set out up the rockier path. Looks like I'll have to pull out my cloak sooner rather than later.
He felt somewhat conflicted, leaving the path to water behind. Hot as it is, wouldn't it be smarter to travel near water? But… I don't want to miss the Skyview Tower. And the way this path is looking, might be that the tower is built at the top of one of these ridges. Which… would be fairly difficult to get to from the bottom of the canyon.
There were several groups of fire-breathing lizalfos along the path, and without a horse to simply race away from them, he had to face them head on. The scorching heat of their breath attack was miserable in the already miserably-hot canyon, he successfully dodged around them until they ran out of air, and then in the moment where they panted heavily, struggling to get air back into their lungs, he thrust his sword through their exposed stomachs.
But lizalfos were quick by nature, and outpacing them took energy that the sun's heat rapidly sapped away from Link. Sweat dripped in streams down his face and coated his body in a hot, itchy vise, his tunic trapping all of the discomfort against his skin. His head felt thick and heavy, pulsing lightly despite the water he drank as quickly as he dared. As noonday came and went and the sun pressed fiercely down upon his shoulders, he shed his sodden tunic altogether and pulled out his cloak, lifting the hood over his head and hoping it would at least keep the sun from beating down directly on his skin. He fought a rising sense of frustration, knowing that there were better ways to deal with heat, knowing as well that he had none of the supplies to do so.
His breaths labored, he continued the climb up the new path, his head hanging lower with each group of fire-breathing lizards he encountered. As the sun began at last to set, and after a close call in which one of the lizards caught the hem of his cloak on fire, he packed it away too, relying on the lengthening shadows to protect him from sunburn.
The sun set entirely, and the temperature at once began to drop. Link basked in the chill at first, setting his cloak over the stony ground and leaning his sweat-drenched back against the side of the cliff. Quicky his sweat began to actually do its job, rapidly cooling his body to the point of discomfort, and then he hurriedly pulled all of his layers back on, searched futilely for materials with which to build a campfire, and, empty-handed, resorted to pulling out the ruby amulet from Kheel and huddling around its warmth.
He slept restlessly, awakened at one point by a croak from a lizalfos much too close to where he rested. Looking around, he realized in surprise that there was a pack of ice-breath lizalfos prowling steadily closer to his location. He watched their tongues flick out, scenting the air, and recognized that, sweaty as he'd gotten during the day, his scent would be unfortunately easy for any creature to pick up. He fought them off, and where the fire-breath lizalfos had left his mind swimming dizzily in intensely uncomfortable heat, fighting ice-breath lizalfos left him pressed closely up against the cliffside, shivering violently and struggling to get warm.
What a place, where those two stark opposite creatures both find a home, he thought with a scowl.
When dawn grayed the dark skies, he rose up stiffly from his position curled up against the cliff, stretching with a slight grimace. Already he could feel the temperature climbing unsettlingly fast. He wondered bitterly if it would have been better to travel through the night – he didn't feel like his flimsy attempt to sleep had done a single thing to replenish his strength.
He set out once more, steadily losing layers of clothing as the sun's height and the heat steadily increased, attempting to suffocate him in his own sweat.
But past midday, he spotted at last the shape of the Skyview Tower piecing the clear sky ahead. Purah was right, he realized with immense relief – the new road wound right past the tower, and the scaffolding and pulley system used in its initial construction were still intact. Feeling at once immense relief, he quickened his pace, and he reached the tower before sundown. He spent the night in the small room at the bottom, both for some shelter as well as to discourage any more ice-lizalfos from picking up his scent. He slept better than he had the night before, but jolted awake several times fearing that the Skyview Tower had somehow activated and was sending him rocketing skyward.
In the morning, he felt a mixture of extreme dread and jittery anticipation. Time to see if this trek was worth it, he thought, swallowing as he made sure his supplies were securely attached to his back before pulling out his Purah Pad and scanning it across the terminal. He stepped into the center, flinching slightly as the segmented legs emerged from the base of the launching system and secured him and the Purah Pad using its spool of wire.
A sound like a cannon – and then he was flying, speeding upwards faster than an arrow from a bow, bursting from the top of the tower and soaring higher, higher, past even the clouds. He could feel his trajectory begin to slow; remembering the last time, he spread out his legs and his left arm and carefully pulled the Purah Pad free as it scanned his surroundings. His gut clenched as it processed; he stared at its screen as it revealed the map of the area.
And a black circle ringed in red, some distance south of the tower.
A Chasm, he thought with a grim sense of finality. Well… that's it, then. There is a Chasm close to Gerudo Town. So I'll go down, try and find a statue, hope it leads me somewhere useful.
He turned his gaze southward and his insides clenched tightly as he spotted the Chasm easily, down close to the bottom of the Gerudo Highlands on the desert-facing westward side.
Honestly, it's close enough, I could… I could probably fly there. Save a lot of time, avoid the heat of the day…
He felt the wires disconnect themselves. He was losing altitude, but he was still plenty high enough to glide down to the Chasm. Taking a moment to adjust his direction in the sky, he flicked the paraglider open, holding it firmly in both hands and gliding steadily towards the Chasm.
In an attempt to take his mind off of the Gloom rising up from the pit, he turned his gaze out towards the desert itself, finding a view that honestly wasn't much more pleasant. There was a massive cloud of sand blown up all across the desert, shimmering almost like mist in the heat haze rising up from the sands. It reached nearly as high as the vertex of his launch from the Skyview Tower, and seemed to spread almost to the very edge of the desert, where it met Gerudo Canyon. Looking at it from above, he felt a deep sense of dread.
There's… there's no getting through that, he thought somberly. It's too thick, too wide, and if the weather I've been experiencing in the Canyon is actually less extreme than the desert itself…
He swallowed, turning his gaze back to the Chasm. This really is the only way.
Directly above the Chasm itself, he folded the paraglider closed and spread out his arms and legs into his skydiving position, dropping from the sky and descending rapidly into the Depths. His right arm tingled as he drew nearer, and he gasped aloud as the Gloom-drenched sides closed in around him – the sudden darkness and the instant drop in temperature, in stark contrast to the brutal sunlight outside, stole his breath away.
He squinted through the thick black fog and the flying white particulates rushing past him, his pulse pounding faster and faster as he left the surface world far behind.
Calm down, he told himself firmly, gritting his teeth. Got to keep a level head!
His spirits lifted as he spotted the amber glow of a lightroot almost directly beneath the Chasm entrance, and eagerly he angled himself towards it, entertaining the brief hope that perhaps it would illuminate all the way to Gerudo Town.
He flicked out the paraglider and landed lightly on the edge of the ring of light illuminated by the root before jogging closer, grimacing at the unsettling feel of his feet walking through the thick musty plant matter on the cavern floor, muffling his footsteps. Quickly he reached up to the image of a hand hanging down; the amber mass wrapped within the roots burst into pure, white light, dispelling the darkness around it. Not as much as Link would have hoped, he thought as he looked around. Then he stiffened at the sight of a hulking shape carved from sandy stone almost touching the lightroot.
Cautiously he approached it, walking slowly around to see what it looked like from the front. A woman on a pedestal, with long hair, gripping a claymore in both hands with its tip facing downwards. Link remembered Josha's words. She said they found a type of statue that looks like a Gerudo. Well… this certainly looks like a Gerudo.
He turned so that he was facing the same direction as the statue. He could easily see another statue in that direction. I… I think I've found the series. Somehow the thought did nothing to ease the tension holding his spine rigid.
His mouth dry, he set out for the next statue, his skin crawling uneasily, cold sweat prickling down his spine. His right arm felt peculiarly sensitive to touch; he was extremely aware of the copper bands beneath his clothing, even the place where his skin transitioned to the charcoal gray of the corruption's mark to the even darker shade of Rauru's own skin. He thought he could almost feel the corruption itself, lurking in wait in his blood, just waiting for the right opportunity to –
Enough, he told himself firmly, drawing in a deep breath. There's no good that comes from worrying like this. I'll be careful.
He stiffened as he walked between two smaller patches of Gloom, his pulse racing uneasily, memories of grasping hands and debilitating agony and darkness and crimson flashing behind his mind's eye. He quickened his pace and let out a trembling breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding once he was past, a chill dripping down his spine. His right hand clenched and unclenched.
Goddesses, he realized. I'm terrified of this place.
Every time – every time – he had descended into the Depths, he had wound up in excruciating pain that entirely immobilized him. Sheer agony unlike anything he'd ever experienced before, destroying him from within. And so every inch of his body inside and out, from his skin to his bones, reeled at the notion of spending more time there.
He drew in a deep breath, held it a moment, and slowly let it back out. I have to keep going, he told himself sternly. I saw for myself – there's no other way to Gerudo Town. I must make it through.
It didn't exactly help – not at first. But as he continued through the darkness, it seemed almost that there was less Gloom in this part of the Depths than in the others he'd seen. Or, at least, that the route shown by the statues of Gerudo didn't have as much Gloom. Once he noticed that, he felt some of the tension ease from his shoulders.
He learned from his previous ventures into the Depths, trying not to make any sound at all unless he could help it. When he reached the edge of the lightroot's reach, he forced himself to stand still in the darkness for several minutes, waiting for his eyes to adjust as much as they could, until he could make out the thin, spindly shapes of Depths trees, the deliberate form of the Gerudo statues, and the haphazard chunks of ore that so often seemed to draw the attention of Gloom-infested monsters. He could hear them, if he was really listening, though of course their grunts and snorts and the ring of their pickaxes against stone all seemed greatly muffled.
There was an occasional deep tremor that he could feel through his feet as he kept walking. He noticed with some uneasiness that they seemed to be getting stronger as he continued following the statues, but squinting through the darkness he couldn't see anything clearly amiss, and nothing was shaken down from the top of the cavern. He told himself that it was probably just some natural feature of the Depths below Gerudo Desert, nothing to be overly concerned with.
Gloom is my real enemy down here.
Link tried to avoid using brightbloom seeds if he could help it, to help his eyes remain adjusted to the darkness. But as he walked from statue to statue, he found himself at times engulfed by a sudden, deep certainty that he had lost his way, that the shadows he'd been following were just trees or rocks, not the Gerudo statues, and the fear of remaining forever lost in the Depths prompted him to reach trembling fingers into his pouch of brightbloom seeds, pull one out, and throw it at the base of what he thought was a statue. The fourth time he used a seed and confirmed that he was, indeed, still on the right track, he felt the fear begin to lessen. I know what I'm looking for. I'm not lost. I can be confident in that.
He walked past that fourth brightbloom seed he had thrown, only for moments later its light to grow suddenly dim. Frowning, he turned back around, squinting in its direction. There appeared to be a herd of small, round creatures gathered around it, quietly munching on its leaves and the bulb itself. Link felt a deep chill, his first thought that they were some kind of Depths monster that had been hunting him all this time, but as he watched them warily, his heart in his throat, he realized that they didn't seem all that threatening. They had a single bright orange eye and plump, oblong bodies, with tiny, froglike limbs and stubby tusks that, Link realized, looked an awful lot like the tusks of a Dondon.
Are they… Depths Dondons?
They finished devouring the brightbloom seed and the Depths plunged into darkness again. Intrigued, Link pulled out another seed and tossed it out in their direction, a little closer to him than the first was. He heard a soft series of soft, high-pitched barks – a sound he might expect coming from a baby sand seal – and with a chirping like crickets, the herd of little creatures waddled up to the brightbloom and started nibbling away at it again. They didn't have any trace of Gloom across their bodies.
Link's shoulders loosened slightly. Maybe the Depths don't just hold all bad things, he thought, tossing out another brightbloom seed, even closer to him this time. These little guys are actually pretty cute!
The little creatures scampered up to the closer brightbloom, gnawing on it happily. He let the next brightbloom fall directly at his feet, and knelt down with a handful of brightbloom seeds in his hands. Could you be tamed, like dogs? Sure would be nice to have some company down here. Maybe I could figure out a way to bring you to the surface with me. Then I could show you to Zelda – she'd absolutely adore you, I think.
He felt another tremor through the ground, but the creatures didn't seem to mind at all. They waddled up to him, most of them focused entirely on the brightbloom seed at his feet. A couple of them sniffed at his boot, and one opened its mouth surprisingly wide and ran into it repeatedly, trying to swallow it. Another sat itself up on its hind feet and investigated Link's hands, gobbling up the brightbloom seeds before attempting to stuff his whole hand into its mouth – which was mostly just gums, he discovered.
"You're awfully curious," he said gently with a small grin, reaching out with his other hand to try and touch the creature's back. It eyed him skeptically but continued trying without success to eat his hand. "Or… maybe you just really like to eat." The one creature was still attempting to get his boot into its gob. It was now using its little front feet to try and push his foot inside. "Zelda would love you. But… she probably wouldn't want me to take you away from here. I don't think we could be successful at imitating your natural habitat on the surface."
Lots of darkness, fairly cool, with bizarre flora…
"Maybe a cave would work," Link said thoughtfully, lightly running his free hand down the little creature's back. It tensed at first, but then chirped softly around his hand. "Zelda's good with gardening – she could probably figure out how to grow these weird Depths plants." It felt immeasurably good to hear his own voice down here. Even though he was only talking to animals, it helped him feel much less alone.
He felt the tremor again, significantly stronger this time, accompanied by a deep thud. Feeling a prickle of uneasiness, he glanced over his shoulder, peering into the thick darkness now that the little creatures had eaten all of the brightbloom seeds he'd set out for them.
A fierce chill dripped across his skin and he stiffened. There were plenty of dark, strange-looking masses in the Depths, and many that he expected to be some sort of creature ready to attack him. But this was the first time he had actually seen an indeterminate black mass that actually was moving. And it seemed to be moving in synchronization with the tremors reverberating through the ground, steadily growing in intensity.
Swallowing, Link carefully pulled a brightbloom out of his pouch and hurled it in the creature's direction. When it blossomed, it revealed a creature easily the size of a hill, with a single large, orange eye, two brutal-looking tusks, froglike limbs, and a fairly thick, rotund body.
The creature paused to eat the brightbloom seed he had thrown. Then it continued slowly, steadily lumbering closer.
Link gulped, looking down at the suddenly far more sinister-looking little creatures around him. Ah. You're just the offspring.
Carefully he pushed to his feet, and all but one of the baby creatures scattered – the one still hanging onto his hand with its mouth. "C'mon," he whispered coaxingly, his heart thudding in time to the oncoming tremors. "You've got to let go… I don't want to be here when your mother arrives…" He tried easing it off of his hand, but it wriggled and bit tighter with its soft gums, emitting an indignant squeak. Grimacing, he gave his hand a light shake –
And the creature popped free, landing rather hard on the ground below. At once it opened its mouth wide, letting out a very pitiful – and loud – squeak of protest.
Teeth clenched, Link glanced behind him as the tremors suddenly deepened rapidly, and his heart lurched as he spotted the massive adult creature lumbering much more quickly towards him, far faster than it should have been able to for its size. With a jolt of fear he set off running in the opposite direction, his blood surging hot and fast through his veins as the ground beneath his feet shook violently, threatening to knock him off balance with each frantic step.
Then the tremors suddenly ceased entirely.
Link looked over his shoulder, and a cry of terror tore from his throat as he saw the hulking thing in the air, leaping after him. It crashed some distance away from him, sending a fierce shockwave through the ground that bowled him easily off his feet. With a grunt he pushed himself desperately upright, glancing back in time to see it leap again, jumping like some terrible giant frog and closing the distance much more effectively. Heart racing, he burst into a rapid sprint, only for the monster to crash back to the earth and send him tumbling painfully head over heels across the Depths' deceptively hard carpet of obscure plant matter. His heart lurched as he realized that his hands were pressed up into a familiar viscous, bloodred substance – Gloom!
But there wasn't the accompanying flare of agony, the writhing of the corruption in his blood. Instead there was a bright glow from the amulet beneath his tunic, shining a fierce, determined green. But the light was fading, and as it faded, he could feel the corruption in his blood fighting for control, pulsing through his arm.
Shaking his head, disoriented as the tremors continued stronger than ever, he lurched back to his feet and stumbled away from the Gloom, only for a fierce gust of air to engulf him, sucking him rapidly towards the creature's widely-gaping maw. Goddesses –! Desperate, his feet dragged along the ground by the force of the creature's breath, he drew his sword and thrust it deep into the ground with a grunt, gripping the hilt with all of his might as it dragged along through the soil for several feet before catching on some buried rock and holding fast. Breathing hard he clung to the buried sword, praying it would hold. He yelped as his feet left the ground, dangling behind him as the monster continued its attempt to suck him down its gullet; he felt his clammy hands slipping slightly on the hilt of his blade as the metal Fused with lizalfos horn began to bend, and then suddenly it broke entirely under the pressure and he tumbled towards the creature's mouth –
And then it let its head droop, its mouth falling closed as it panted heavily. Shuddering with fear and adrenaline, Link shifted his grip on the broken remnant of his sword and started running again, with swiftly dwindling hope that he would escape. The monster swatted the ground just behind him, the force of its broad paw against the ground knocking him tumbling through the darkness with a startled yell, before he landed hard on his side and rolled some distance before coming to a halt.
Winded, Link fought to get his hands under himself and push himself up, feeling already the ground shaking as the monster continued its pursuit. One hand clutching his aching side, he looked around for the monster, his blood surging in a panic that he realized he couldn't see it at all – he could only feel it coming.
Wait – that means – must've fallen over a ridge – or something. Cover!
Reaching out blindly with trembling hands, he found the edge of the short rise he'd fallen over. His mouth dry, he pressed himself against it, shivering, praying that it would be enough to hide him from the monster's view, or at least protect him from its devastating breath attack.
The tremors grew ever closer, shaking dust and small stones from the edge of the rise over onto Link's body. He lay still, fighting to slow his rapid breaths and keep quiet. He could hear the monster's own deep, heavy breaths, and the rough scratch of its thickly-padded feet over the ground. Carefully moving only his head, he chanced a glance out of the corner of his eyes above him, his breath freezing in his lungs as he saw the craggy underside of its chin directly above him. Link bit his teeth firmly together, hardly able to breathe at all as his heart pounded desperately against the side of his throat.
The creature let out a heavy, rattling breath, almost like a growl, before turning completely around with a single hop, its tail smacking down over the ridge where Link was hiding and partially collapsing it on top of him. He remained still, listening carefully as he felt the tremors begin to fade into the distance. Then, slowly, he crawled out from the dirt and small chunks of stone that had crumbled over him, rising to his feet.
He could still see it, not far from him, the fiery orange of its eye unmistakable in the darkness. Beyond it, he could see the amber glow of a lightroot. With a quick glance behind him, he could see in the distance the ring of light of the first lightroot he'd activated, and the line of statues he'd followed.
I could still be on track. Or not. I don't see any statues nearby. Either way, I need to get out of here. And I need to not get lost.
He blinked, struck by a sudden idea, and pulled out the Purah Pad. He flipped towards the map, zooming in on his current location in relation to Gerudo Town. Then he glanced up at the inactivated lightroot in the distance. Anxiously he licked his dry lips. It… it seems to be in the right direction. I could make my way over there, see if I can find another statue, get back on the trail.
Putting the Purah Pad away, he warily studied the hulking monster's position again. It's in the way. Damnit.
He rubbed a weary hand over his face, letting out a quiet sigh. The adrenaline was fading, but the fear had yet to disappear entirely, leaving him shaky and exhausted and tense. I have to… lure it away somehow. Without luring it to me. I wonder… His gaze shifted to his pouch. Even the adult liked to eat brightbloom seeds.
Holding his breath, he reached into his quiver and withdrew an arrow. Then he pulled out and strung his bow, and grabbed a brightbloom seed from his pouch. He Fused it to the arrowhead, hoping that it would still burst into light when it struck the ground. Nocking the arrow, he pulled the bowstring back and aimed far off to the left of the lightroot in the distance. He let the arrow fly and watched its trajectory; he saw the seed burst into bloom on the ground, and then at once the large creature flopped to face it, and started drawing nearer to investigate it.
Link burst into a desperate run, his ears strained to pick up any sign that it had gotten back on his trail, sprinting just as fast as he could manage over the springy ground towards the lightroot. His breaths came in short spurts, his heart hammering hard as a Goron's fist against his ribcage as he stared fixedly at his destination. He ran until he felt that his legs would give out and continued past that point, the lightroot drawing steadily closer and closer, until at last he stumbled breathlessly into its golden ring of light, dripping with sweat and heaving for breath. Trembling, he staggered sideways and leaned up against one of the roots, pausing a moment to try and catch his breath as his racing heart sent blood pounding through his ears.
The tremors hadn't followed. The monster hadn't noticed his flight.
Taking a deep drink from his waterskin, he reached up to activate the lightroot, bathing the surrounding area in soothing light. Looking out across the flat expanse he'd run across, he could see that he'd gotten back onto the trail marked by the statues without even realizing it, and that, indeed, it seemed that the statues' route was relatively devoid of Gloom. He'd merely been unlucky when the monster's earthquakes knocked him into a patch of the vile substance.
Thank the Goddesses for that stone amulet, Link thought, wiping sweat from his brow. He felt relieved that his initial impressions, that it would combat the Gloom somehow, had been proven correct. It… delayed the Gloom, it seemed. I don't think I'd be able to just walk straight through it and be fine. But if I ended up in some Gloom on accident, like what happened with this monster, and what happened with the moblin my first time down here, I'd be able to get myself out.
He swallowed, leaning his forehead wearily against the side of the lightroot. He looked down at the remnants of his sword in his hand, feeling a twinge of regret. Basically useless, now, he thought glumly. Digging it into the ground to keep from getting sucked up into the monster's maw had saved his life, but now he didn't have a sword at all. This day just keeps getting better.
With the fear of his desperate escape finally beginning to fade, and the last of the adrenaline gone with it, he felt a great weight behind his eyes and on his shoulders, informing him of just how tired he was. How… how long has it been? he wondered. Has it been a full day? Seems like it…
He consulted the Purah Pad's map again, looking out over the Depths in the direction of Gerudo Town. He could see another stretch of darkness, and beyond it, a partially illuminated vertical column rising dramatically upwards. His heart lifted. An Ascend Point! And… it looks like it's in the right direction. Still… still quite some distance away. Maybe… maybe I should try and see about stopping for the night.
Uneasily he looked around at the various ridges and shallow rises around the lightroot. There wasn't that much shelter here; this portion of the Depths was relatively flat. His skin crawled at the idea of trying to find sleep out in the open in this nightmarish place, where Gloom Hands and that monster and any number of Gloom-infested monsters could easily see him from some distance away.
Honestly, the lightroot itself is probably the safest place for me to sleep, he thought, glancing up at the structure. Is there any way for me to get up off the ground?
He noticed that the roots at its base twisted together into a sort of nest just beneath the glowing amber mass. With a slight shrug, flexing the clawed fingers of his right hand, he started climbing up the lightroot into the 'nest,' finding a decent spot where he could cram himself up between two of the roots.
As good as I'll get, he thought with a slight grimace, slipping his pack off of his shoulders and pushing it into place to act as a sort of pillow. His spine tingled in discomfort as he lay down, the brightness of the lightroot and the stiff feeling of the gnarled roots around him and the overall chill, musty atmosphere of the Depths assuring him that what sleep he got this night wouldn't end up rejuvenating him nearly enough.
He lay awake with his eyes closed for an indeterminate amount of time, a gnawing sense of discomfort and lingering fear keeping his mind from truly shutting off despite his fatigue. At several points it was only after he jerked awake that he realized he'd been sleeping at all. He dreamed of laying among the roots beneath the glowing amber, trying to sleep and being unable to, until at last his body gave in to sheer exhaustion and he didn't dream at all.
Then he jolted awake again, and this time it was from the sound of soft voices – human voices. At once he felt fully alert, although he remained still between the roots, listening intently as the voices drew nearer.
"Yeah… the lightroot's the source of the new extra light, that's for sure," a grim male murmured. "Something must've happened to it."
"That can't be good," another, younger, voice chimed in. "Nothing in this damned place ends up turning out good."
"Well, the extra light will make it easier to see, at least," the first voice sighed. "We won't get surprised by some monster again."
Link's brow furrowed as he listened, confusion welling in his mind. Are they… from the Zonai Survey Team? Who else is investigating the Depths? But wouldn't Josha have told me if there was an expedition out here, in Gerudo Desert?
"Hey, look at this," the younger voice called, sounding as though he was coming from directly beneath the lightroot. "You know how the other ones have that green hand thing hanging down? This one doesn't!"
"Wha… huh, you're right. What's that mean, I wonder…"
"Well, there's those other hand symbols back at base. Master Khoga thinks there must be some way of touching it that activates them." The voice continued, but Link stopped listening for a moment, his mind spinning.
Khoga! So these… these people are Yiga Clan? What are they doing down here? And – they had mentioned hand symbols. Are they talking about dragon rings?
"So you think someone else is out here, activating the hand symbols of the lightroots?" the older voice asked, sounding unsettled.
"Yeah!" the younger gibbered, frightened now. "C-could it be the ghosts of the Gerudo? I – I mean, we are camped right beneath their town…"
"No, that's stupid," the older Yiga huffed. "There's no such thing as ghosts."
"But – but what about those blue wispy things? Don't tell me you haven't seen them!"
Link grit his teeth tightly, his heart beating faster. Their 'base' is under Gerudo Town. Goddesses… what a mess. And I'd be a fool to assume there's only a couple people at this base of theirs. No… there'll be a whole group of them. If they're anywhere close to the Ascend Point I need…
He closed his eyes for a moment. I can't take on a whole fortress full of Yiga – not on my own. Not without backup. But I am on my own, and there's no backup at all. So… so I'd have to make sure I don't get caught. I can be fairly quiet, but… could I be that quiet?
He let out a soft breath. There's one thing that could work without any problem at all, he thought, his lip curling at the sour taste it filled his mouth with. Don't think I have another choice.
Link unsheathed the jagged remnants of his sword and leapt down from his hiding place, thrusting the tip of the blade forward and burying it in the closest Yiga's heart. Then Link lunged for the second Yiga before he had a chance to draw a weapon, driving his fist firmly into the man's throat. As the Yiga staggered back, wheezing, Link darted behind him, locked his arms around the man's neck, and twisted sharply to the side.
The bodies of the two Yiga fell limp around him. Wincing in discomfort, Link quickly stole the uniform off of the man whose neck he'd broken – the uniform without blood. Then he undressed himself, placing his own clothes on the dead Yiga and pulling on the Yiga uniform himself. It was a little loose in the wrists and ankles, thanks to his much shorter height, but he hoped no one would pay quite that much attention. Scowling, he placed the mask bearing the upside-down Sheikah crest over his face.
Disgusting, he thought. Can't believe I'm doing this. Goddesses willing, this actually does what I need it to.
He belted the Yiga assassin's short eightfold blade and his quiver of arrows around his waist, already missing the elegant shape and length of his lizalfos sword. He kept the Purah Pad in its pouch, along with his paraglider, the remaining brightbloom seeds, some food, and a couple of waterskins. Then he headed out, his back and shoulders feeling disconcertingly light bearing only his bow, and none of the rest of his gear.
The Yiga uniform wasn't quite as uncomfortable as he'd feared, though he couldn't shake the feeling of wearing a dead man's skin, particularly with the way the tight fabric seemed to cling to his body, particularly across his chest, shoulders, and thighs – places, he assumed, where he was broader than the Yiga assassin he'd killed. The amulet with the green stone he'd found with the Zonai Survey Team created a disconcerting lump on his sternum, which he hoped didn't draw too much attention. As he walked towards the Ascend Point in the distance, following the Gerudo statues, he grew more accustomed to the way it felt.
Would've been nice if the Yiga Clan actually wore armor, he thought glumly. Although I guess it does make my job easier that they don't.
As he drew closer to the Ascend Point, the ground began to slope downwards, gradually revealing more and more of some sort of settlement, with several taller buildings reaching towards the top of the cavern without quite touching it. There was a circular central area with what appeared to be a large stone funnel directly above it, as well as a wide, empty platform raised up out of the ground that looked concerningly like a combat arena. The Ascend Point, Link noticed with plummeting hopes, was on the northern end of the arena, and the whole area was well lit, and surrounded by Yiga.
There were Yiga patrolling on foot, around the central area and the arena. And there were Yiga standing guard in peculiar hovering boxes made with the distinct green of Zonai devices, though they were devices Link hadn't encountered yet. Several of those, he realized bitterly, were directly next to the Ascend Point. Still more Yiga patrolled in the skies, riding wings like the one Link had used to reach Gorondia, circling widely above the settlement. And a couple even drove strange three-wheeled constructs from other new Zonai devices, heavily armored and with bright lights shining on the front.
A fortress, indeed, he noted bitterly, walking closer through the darkness. But… it'll be alright. I just have to make it up to the Ascend Point. There's no way they can follow me past that.
He chewed his lip thoughtfully, slowing his pace. Although… it looks like they've got the Ascend Point specifically sectioned off. It… might raise some red flags if I just try and walk right up to it. I could always just try.
But if something were to go wrong, he reminded himself, he would have to contend with fifty or more Yiga assassins all thirsty for his blood.
Could there be a way to… drive them away? Or perhaps… lure them with something else?
His brow furrowed as he considered what he'd overheard from the two Yiga he'd killed. They were sent to investigate. They'll be expected to return, probably soon.
Link's thoughts turned to the Yiga he'd encountered in the Zonai Survey Team's cave, the way that one of the assassins had essentially sacrificed himself so that his companion could go warn Khoga. A grim smile stretched across his lips. Now… there's an idea.
He started jogging quickly towards the Yiga fortress. As he neared, he started waving his hands above his head, trying to get the attention of one of the lookouts. "Hey!" he shouted. "They're in trouble! Hey!"
It wasn't long before several of the perimeter guards noticed, and directed their Zonai devices towards him.
"What? What's going on?" one asked urgently.
"The scouts – back at the lightroot that suddenly started glowing," Link panted, feigning shortness of breath. "We've got to go after them! It's – it's Link; he ambushed them over by the lightroot – we have to help them!"
The Yiga exchanged startled glances. "Go tell Master Khoga," one said excitedly. "This could be big – if he's in the Depths, we've got him! There's no way he could get out! The rest of you, go round up everyone you can and let's get going!"
The others nodded fervently, starting up their Zonai devices with a whir and driving or gliding out towards the rest of the guards. The Yiga who had spoken placed a firm hand on Link's shoulder. "He's at the lightroot right now? You're sure?"
"I came as quickly as I could," Link said breathlessly. "I'm sure it was him!"
"Excellent work," the Yiga nodded. "Go help yourself to a couple bananas – you've earned it! Then get some rest; you're clearly worn out. With any luck we'll be back within the day, with Link's head on a platter!"
"Great!" Link cheered, rolling his eyes beneath his mask and pumping a fist in the air. And as the Yiga around him bustled about, some already setting off towards the lightroot and others snatching supplies, he started towards the Ascend Point. This… this is actually working!
Before long the fortress was left with a mere skeleton of the forces it had initially boasted – including, to Link's dismay, two guards in hovering boxes by the Ascend Point. Fine. Two I can handle, he thought, walking out onto the arena. He slipped his bow from his back.
"Hey, what're you doing?" one of the guards asked as Link drew nearer, nocking an arrow. "Seriously – quit messing around! What's your plan?"
Link shrugged, drawing the bowstring back and aiming at first for a random spot out in the Depths. Then he pivoted, aimed quickly, and loosed his arrow at the nearest of the Yiga. The arrow buried in his chest and the man lurched backwards with a grunt, his hovering box crashing to the ground.
The other Yiga yelped, jabbing at something in his own hovering box, and at once a jet of flame spewed forth from its rim – without enough range to come even remotely close to Link. Link drew back and fired an arrow into his chest.
His blood chilled at the sound of a slow clap coming from behind, and at once walls of sparking blue energy shot up around the edge of the arena, closing him in. Link spun around, sucking in a sharp breath at the sight of one of the armored Zonai vehicles across from him in the arena, taller than the others, with a protective iron casing around the steering stick. The exterior of the vehicle was coated in deadly-looking spikes on the front and the sides, but Link couldn't see the back end.
"We meet again at last," a familiar voice called from within the vehicle, and in an opening between the metal plates for visibility, Link could see the flame-like tendrils of Master Khoga's mask. Din's fire – how is he not dead? He nocked another arrow, his lip curling in distaste. …Could I land a shot in that opening? Honestly… probably not.
"Nothing to say, eh?" Khoga chuckled. "Surprised to see me? You thought you were rid of me, didn't you? Little did you know that it takes more than a fall down a Chasm to eliminate me!"
"Clearly," Link muttered under his breath, eyeing the small slit between metal plates through which Khoga was visible. Small target. It's worth a shot. He felt painfully aware that every moment he wasn't Ascending up towards Gerudo Town, the Yiga who had vacated their fortress could be on their way back.
He pulled back his bowstring, and Khoga yelped, ducking out of sight. In the next instant bright lights flashed on at the front of the vehicle, and Link flinched, releasing the bowstring and sending the arrow off wildly to one side.
"You'll find I'm a hard man to kill, Link," Khoga growled, the vehicle whirring. "But you… I've got you right where I want you, penned in with nowhere to run! Enjoy the Gloomdredger while you last!"
Squinting, Link strained to see through the blinding light, his heart lurching as he spotted the vehicle's hulking shape moving towards him. He jogged out of its trajectory, only for Khoga to turn the steering stick and direct it towards him once again, proving that despite its bulk, the armored vehicle was every bit as maneuverable – if not more so – than the wing Link had piloted on Death Mountain. Gritting his teeth, Link ran out of the way again, veering away from the hissing, sparking wall of blue energy, only to find Khoga's vehicle cutting him off, its massive wheels grinding over the ancient stone of the arena floor. Wheels – I can do something about that – right?
"I can do this all day, hero," Khoga taunted. "This doesn't take an ounce of my own energy. But you – you'll get tired eventually! I've got you right where I want you!"
Link swallowed, running in front of the machine. He's – he's got a point, his mind pointed out unhelpfully. But Khoga was, it seemed, limited to attacking with the machine itself. There were no arrows flying towards him from henchmen on the sides, nor giant spiked orbs tumbling down onto his head. Khoga's sole weapon was the vehicle, and the spikes across its surface. And it wasn't particularly fast, Link noticed quickly, managing without much exertion to keep just ahead of it. I – I could keep this pace for a while –
Khoga suddenly yanked the steering stick to one side, almost crashing into the sparking blue wall and cutting Link off. "That's it, that's it!" Khoga exclaimed. "Almost there – no! Stop – stop dodging, you rotten little mouse!" Link skidded to a stop and spun around, dashing the opposite direction as Khoga repositioned the vehicle and came after him again.
"Aha! Yes!" Khoga yelled. "My men are on their way back – we've got this in the bag!"
Link's blood ran cold, and against his better judgment his gaze snapped upward, towards the distant glow of the lightroot, and his stomach jolted sickeningly at the sight of a swarm of distant green specks – the light from the Yiga-piloted Zonai devices. Out of time!
"Too smart for you!" Khoga cackled, and Link threw himself out of the way as the vehicle came up behind him, much too close – he could see reflected across the spikes the flash of red from his stolen Yiga uniform. Heart in his throat Link scrambled away from the machine, breathing hard. Got to stop it – how?
Wheels – wheels didn't work if things got caught in them. Racing ahead of Khoga's machine, Link frantically scanned the arena floor, his spirits lifting when he caught sight of a chunk of stone. He bent down to snatch it and his fingers came away empty and badly scraped – Not useful; just part of the arena!
Gritting his teeth, his pulse hammering faster against his throat, he sprinted for the opposite side of the arena, scouring the ground for something, anything –
"No, no – damnit, where was that button…" Khoga laughed. "Yes! That!" There was a sudden deep boom. With a gasp Link whirled around, his eyes wide as he spotted two iron arms unfolding from the sides of the vehicle, with tapered Zonai devices attached beneath them, a bright green jet of flame blazing out behind them. With a sound like cannon fire the vehicle raced towards him, and Link sprinted to the side in desperation –
One of the iron arms clipped the side of his head and he crumpled, stars splitting blindingly across his vision, his body numb as his head exploded with pain. Groaning, he clumsily reached out on either side of him, finding solid ground that seemed to be tilting violently beneath his hands, along with white shards. For a moment he thought in horror that his skull had shattered – then he realized it was just the white Yiga mask he'd been wearing.
Clutching his head with his left hand, he staggered to his feet, feeling at once the ground slide dramatically beneath him. Swaying, throwing out his right hand at a feeble attempt at balance, he spotted Khoga backing up his vehicle from the wall it had collided in, ready to get it back into position. A quick glance upwards revealed that the green specks – Khoga's forces – were drawing ever closer. Link's heart spiked in a panic – I won't be able to run or fight like this!
Fumbling at his belt, he snatched the short eightfold blade he'd stolen, forcing himself to run up towards Khoga's machine, readying Zonai magic in his right arm. Just as the wheels began to roll forward, Link plunged the eightfold blade into the nearest wheel, Fusing them together with the hilt of the blade sticking out from the rim of the wheel. The wheel continued to roll forward, yanking the blade from his grasp and throwing him down onto his back, but once the hilt of the blade struck the ground, it stopped moving altogether.
"What – ?" Khoga yelped in surprise, and Link felt a surge of relief as he clambered back to his feet. He rushed around to the back of the vehicle – the only side not covered in spikes, with instead a ramp leading up to Khoga's perch with the steering stick. Link paused a moment, gritting his teeth, his blood surging in his veins.
"Gah!" Khoga yelped, backing up against the walls of iron around the steering stick, trembling with poorly-suppressed terror.
I've got a chance to kill him now. Link didn't have a sword anymore, now that it was stuck to Khoga's wheel, keeping the vehicle from moving forward anymore. I could – I could strangle him, like that other Yiga –
But he could hear the distant whirring of Zonai devices as Khoga's hoard neared the fort. He exhaled frustratedly through his teeth. No. I have to get out of here!
Link scrambled to the top of the machine and flicked open the paraglider. He leapt from the top towards the glowing blue wall of the arena, attempting to pull his knees up high enough that he could get over it –
His feet collided with the sparking wall and he shouted at the tingling surge of white-hot energy that shot through him from the contact, sending him tumbling over the edge of the wall and landing with a thud in a bruised heap on the ground. Grunting, Link staggered back to his feet, wincing as his head flared with pain, his vision doubled for a dizzying moment. Clutching the side of his head, he stumbled towards the Ascend Point, so close now that he could see the rings at the base of the column of stone above it. Almost – almost!
"Over here! Over here!" Khoga was howling. "Get him! He's over there!"
Link glanced over his shoulder, sucking in a harsh breath at the sight of several Yiga on wings gliding down towards him, close enough he could see their bows drawn and ready. No!
He burst into a run, biting down on the bile threatening to rise up in his gut from the pulsing pain in his head. Breathing hard through gritted teeth he scrambled up the stairs, flinching as arrows clattered against the stone around him. And then he was standing beneath the stone column of the Ascend Point, dark rings in the stone above him; as the next volley of arrows flew he Fused himself up into the stone and began the long climb upwards.