Hey again, Mimi and Birdie! Glad you're both still enjoying – and appreciate the revised danger levels! =D Poor old mogmas, indeed.
I figure the whole game only really makes sense if Fi is permanently intangible. It might be cool and all if she could interact with the environment, but, like you say, Birdie, it just opens a huge can of worms over why she wouldn't help out. So the most interacting we will ever see this Fi do is that she makes faint ripples in particularly magically charged water, or similar: she can interact with purely magical things, but not much else. Her only physical existence is the sword itself… and that, and even certain aspects of her appearance (like the lack of hands), are absolutely deliberate choices on Hylia's part.
Hylia did not want to make another Ghirahim…
(Eventually, we might even hear this from partly-her! But we might not, and it's pretty deducible from Out of Time anyway, although I don't think I actually directly say it. She did not want to make a sword that could Fall; she did not want to make a weapon that could wield itself.)
Chapter 25: Alternate Routes
Link gazed dubiously at the smaller peak before him, a silent mirror in miniature of the gigantic mountain on whose side he stood. A crack in one side yawned open, dark and imposing, and long-congealed rock coated its sides, maybe formed its sides. Lava parted around it, flowing sluggishly from above to split into two streams, fanning out from each other as they descended. Link had crossed one of those lava rivers on the advice of another mogma, who – after determining to his own satisfaction that Link wasn't ugly enough to be a "red creep" – had taught him about the deadly flowers that grew on the mountainside. Fi had explained it, more or less: that the plants absorbed explosive materials from the volcanic soil and concentrated them as a means of defence against predators, and Link could certainly agree that nothing would ever try to eat a "bomb flower" twice. On the mogma's, Kortz's, advice, he'd risked picking one and hastily tossing it at the base of an unstable-looking boulder, bringing it – and a cascade of others that had piled up behind it – down into the lava. The crude bridge hadn't lasted long, but it had been enough protection for Link to get across.
And he'd had to get across, because Fi had finally sensed Zelda's signature on the other side – not the spell or whatever it had been that she'd first sensed, but actual traces of her passage. They were right on her trail, and getting closer… if only they could catch up.
"She definitely went… in there?" Link's voice was harsh and dry. His throat felt like sandpaper, and he was rationing his water before he ran out altogether.
Floating beside him, Fi inclined her head in a graceful nod, unperturbed by the heat or the gritty, foul-tasting air. "Yes, Master. The traces of her aura lead directly downwards within the cone. I calculate a 75% probability that she entered in the hope of using the subterranean passages which once fed it to bypass the lava blocking her path."
"Fed it?"
"Analysis of its structure confirms that this is a flank vent, Master. Cones such as this one form when magma from the magma chamber beneath the volcano has found an alternate route to the surface. It appears that this cone is dormant. A visual analysis of the erosion of the surface rock and biological growths upon it such as the lichens indicates that it has not erupted for at least two decades. Considering the current activity of Eldin Volcano, I predict that the passage through which magma entered this cone is currently blocked." She turned in her hover to face him, impassive. "The dangers of entering are still significant, Master. It is extremely difficult to accurately predict volcanic activity. I cannot confirm your safety in this region."
Link gave a slow, uncomfortable shrug, resigning himself to the choice he was about to make. "Zelda's down there… and she doesn't have you to help her."
Fi nodded, once. It probably wasn't any different to any of her other motions of assent, but Link still interpreted it as gravely. He certainly felt that way.
He did not want to clamber into the darkness of the lower peak. He definitely did not want to descend into the bowels of the volcano, ever closer to the "magma chamber" Fi had mentioned. But whatever was driving her, his friend was down there. He had to go.
He took a hasty sip of warm, ash-tasting water, and started walking.
. . .
Link was about halfway up the small cone, looking wearily at the steep, rocky climb that was his final ascent to the crack in its side, when a voice called out from behind him.
"Chosen One!"
He spun around with a gasp, registering the words half a heartbeat behind the sound that meant someone or something was behind him. Further downslope, off the small cone and on the side of the volcano proper, a shadowy shape waved at him. Deep red-brown against dark red-brown rock, if they hadn't been moving then he might not have seen them at all through his smeared, streaked flight goggles. Link hunted about for a name, found it.
"Davar?"
The Sheikah hastened towards him, another, shorter shape following behind. Link waited, letting them come to him. As before, they were all but masked, only their eyes visible behind carefully wound cloth, and he realised as they stopped before him that they were both out of breath.
"We are grateful you waited," Davar told him. "We saw the spirit of the sword beside you, there," and he gestured back to the rock Link had been standing on to look at the peak, "and hurried to catch up. We feared we would miss your passage."
Link smiled faintly beneath his scarf. They might still be all but strangers, but they were unquestionably allies, and kind with it. "I'm glad to see you." The dryness of his throat made his voice rasp uncomfortably, and he glanced back and up to the last several metres' climb ahead of him. "Fi says Zelda went in there, so we're going after her."
He was sure the expression that creased the bridge of Ireya's nose was a grimace.
"Do you have protections against the volcano's dangers, chosen one?" she asked.
"Some," Link admitted. "Against the heat, at least." He coughed, his parched throat complaining. "Sorry."
"Then we may offer you this." Davar sounded pleased, even almost grateful, glad to be of use as he took something from a pouch and held it out. Link accepted it gingerly, aware of how filthy he was, fingers staining everything he touched with ash and grime. The Goddess Sword was the only thing left that was still clean, incongruously unmarred by the scorched and blasted mountainside.
"It will protect you against the foul airs of the volcano," Ireya explained. "Tie it snugly across your mouth and nose, and you will be safe from them. There are many such dangers in this place, some utterly invisible. You should not go unprotected."
Link winced slightly, looking at the thing in his hands. A piece of shaped cloth tapering to long strings, it had complex patterns sewn into the sides, and bore the weeping-eye symbol the Sheikah all seemed to adorn themselves with stitched into it in a subtly different shade of rocky reddish-grey.
"Fi warned me, but I don't have much –" he coughed again "– choice. Zelda's in there right now, and she doesn't have anything like this. Fi can tell me if I'm about to walk into bad air, so…" It wasn't enough, and he knew it, and knew they knew it: the half-justifications of a student in over his head. But somehow Fi thought he was the only one who could do it, Fi said that the goddess had chosen him – and she would know – and even Headmaster Gaepora believed her utterly. He'd done all he could, as best he knew how.
"You are brave, chosen one," Ireya said softly. "Brave and determined. We pray that your courage will stand through whatever trials lie ahead."
It wasn't what he'd expected to hear, and he felt unexpectedly touched.
"Now, fasten the mask on," she added, her tone reverting to instruction, and Link smiled a little beneath his scarf.
"Okay."
He unwound the scarf from his face, taking a deep breath of ash-flecked air as it came off and coughing again, leaving the two Sheikah looking at him with what might have been concern. Link waved it away firmly but gratefully: he was fine. He turned the mask in his hands: sewn to fit the contours of a human face, it was fairly clear which way it should attach, and as he settled it in place the air he was breathing seemed to clear. He froze, the strings still in his hands just brushing his ears, and focused on a long, slow breath. It was still warm, there was no changing that, but the grit and dust and taste of ash – other than the grit and ash already in his mouth – had gone. It was almost pure.
"Is it aiding you?" Davar asked, and Link nodded.
"It's incredible." He moved again, tying the strings firmly in place at the back of his neck. Only on an island the size of Skyloft could you ever meet someone who might not have known how to tie a wide variety of complicated knots by the age of five. "Thank you, again."
Davar's eyes seemed to show a smile. "It is our role, chosen one."
"You must take this, as well," Ireya added, offering him her own water bottle. Link's eyes widened, but she shook her head firmly before he could refuse. "Davar and I, we can leave this place instantly if we need to. You have seen this. You cannot, so you will need it far more than we. In this heat, you must be sure to drink enough."
You sound like Henya. Link smiled, taking it. "All right. Thanks. But be careful. Don't stay here if it would put you in danger." He looped it onto his belt beside his own as he spoke, half by feel.
Ireya raised her eyebrows. "Life is danger, chosen one. We accept this."
"It is our duty to face these dangers," Davar added, with a certainty nothing could shake.
"Yeah, well… Be careful." Link half-turned, looking back up to the crack and the shadows within. "Zelda went that way, and I know she's going to be trying to find her way up past all this." He waved a hand towards the nearest river of sluggish lava. "Do you know if this 'vent' comes out again anywhere else?"
"We do not, chosen one," Davar admitted. "The volcano changes each day, each month. It is a dangerous place."
Yeah… "Can you get across those rivers of lava?"
They both nodded, Ireya volunteering a soft "Of course."
"Okay. Then… I've got to follow Zelda's trail, or I'll lose her. Can you two go ahead and see if you can find anywhere this might lead to? Or at least see if you can see any sign of her? If you need to come after me, I'll leave marks so you can find me down there."
"We can," Ireya said, with a nod. "If you are certain that you will not need our aid below?"
Link smiled with a confidence he did not entirely feel. "I'll be all right. I've got Fi." He glanced upwards again, upwards and onwards. "Zelda's on her own. I know you said before you had people out looking for her, but unless someone's found her…"
Ireya and Davar shook their heads, the subtle motion almost in unison.
"Then I think that's the best way you can help me right now. And – I know you'll say you have to do this, but you don't, and I – I'm really grateful. Thank you."
The Sheikah smiled, visible at the edges of their eyes, and bowed to him, hands to their hearts.
"We will see you on the other side, chosen one. May the goddess' blessings light your path."
"Yours, too."
Link watched for a few moments as the duo hurried back down the side of the small peak, taking another precious sip of his water, then turned back to the climb ahead. He would find her. He was gaining. There was so much he wanted, needed, to ask them; to ask Fi – but there would be time for all of that later. He'd already taken far too long, lost the previous evening: he could have been here ahead of her, though he and Fi might not have known that, if he'd only been able to descend the night before. He wouldn't have been ready until it was already growing dark, he knew it, with how long it had taken even the Knight Commander to find everything he needed; he'd never have made the flight in daylight even if he hadn't been searching for Kukiel, and yet, even so…
What was done, was done. Link hauled himself up another step, reaching for a further handhold, the rock sharp and jagged under his grimy fingers. The crack was so near: little more than a couple of times his own height away. At this point, whatever impossibilities or horrors lay beyond it didn't matter, his mind numbed to the looming unknown by all he'd already faced. Whatever was down there, he'd get through it or he would not – and since he had to get through it, he resolutely refused to consider what would happen if he didn't.
Scrambling into the crack, Link breathed a sigh of relief through the blissfully clean air of the Sheikah mask, balancing for a moment between its rocky edges before bracing himself between them and edging on: it had no floor, but tapered to a jagged point, making climbing through it awkward, but not too difficult. Dulled, shadowy daylight filtered down ahead, showing him a wide cylindrical cavity, and as he came to the crack's other end, he leant forward and looked… down.
Down, and down, into some sort of cavern far below, below the base of the cone he'd climbed up; a cavern somewhere in the volcano. As he looked into the gloom, he felt his chest tighten, a dull echo of the dread he'd felt as he stood, frozen, atop the Goddess Statue's stone hands; the dread he'd felt falling through the clouds for the first time into the open pit with its caged evil. Teeth clenched, determined, he fought it back, leaning forwards still further to try and plan out a route down.
Was there a route down?
"Fi," he murmured, almost whispering, jaw tight, "do you think I can use my sailcloth in here?"
Fi seemed to consider for a moment, and he got the sense that she was analysing everything he could see and then some in rapid detail.
Yes. However, the margin for error will be minimal. You must be sure to leap into the middle of the shaft before releasing the sailcloth.
"Or it'll hit the sides…"
Fi said nothing. There wasn't a better option. Link turned sideways inside the crack, braced his feet against one wall and his back against the other to extract the sailcloth from its pouch. He was suddenly very glad that he'd taken the time to fold it properly after he landed.
"I'm coming, Zelda…" he whispered.
I hope everyone who has a holiday at this time of year is enjoying their holiday! And anyone who doesn't enjoys whatever holiday they have coming up next!
This time: Ardil reads about BASE jumping and learns that the lowest you can get away with opening a parachute can be as low as ~30 metres, which means (especially with magic) that it actually is viable to try skydiving down this volcanic hole. I mean, apart from the whole volcanic hole bit.
Patch Notes:
- Sheikah still exist in numbers greater than 1.
- Necessary protection not plausibly providable from Skyloft provided elsewhere.
- Concerns about delay moved from person with no suitable justification for having them to person with actual reasons to have them.
I almost certainly won't be posting a chapter next week, I have a big weekend event on. So we will return to Link's adventures in two weeks!
As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride over this last year!