Azzy couldn't meet Link's eye when they walked down the long, wide set of stairs into the new temple. His playful smirk meant her no harm, but the embarrassment of being caught making out with Cami had her cheeks flaming.
"What was the voice you heard like?" He asked curiously to change the subject while they neared the bottom of the steps.
A torch was grabbed from one of the sconces on the wall, and Link held it aloft while the pair scoured their surroundings. The light beige of sandstone surrounded them, but they found themselves not in an open room, but rather a long corridor to the right. To the south, if Azzy had her directions correct.
"He seemed regal but kind. He knew both my name, and my title, which was a bit uncanny. But he assured me I would make it through this alive. Cam just needs to remember that - and to breathe. He worries too much about me."
Link chuckled. "That's not a bad thing. It's endearing that you have a young man who would go to the ends of Hyrule and back for you."
"Like you're doing for the Princess," Azzy reminded him. "We'll find a way to rescue her."
"From your lips to Hylia's ears."
The corridor opened into a large dark room, but the grunting of bokoblins warned them of what was to come before they reached the entryway. Link drew his sword, and Azzy paused before activating her healing magic. Even if she didn't cast it, the white glow was enough to illuminate a larger portion of the room surrounding them, and reveal a telling detail their ears alone hadn't been able to ascertain before the torchlight reached their enemies.
"Link, look out! They're gloomed!"
The Champion leaped back just in time to avoid a sword slash from an enraged, squealing bokoblin that roared in his face, dropping his torch in the process. "Fantastic. I love gloom," he said sarcastically.
Azzy held her magic active in one hand and drew her sword in the other. Having a bit of light was more important than backing Link up with her bow. She stayed a few paces away from him to avoid being hit when he dodged the attacks of the pig-like monsters. They weren't the strongest bokoblins she'd encountered. Heck, the ones on the upper decks of the ship had been stronger. But the added challenge of being coated in gloom was nothing to gloss over.
Link groaned when he took a hit from the flat side of a gloom sword against his bare shin. He noticeably slowed, almost dropping to a knee while he rolled his shoulders away from the sword's second attack. The final monster didn't have another chance to attack though. A blade cleaved through the boko's chest, and it fell dead, vanishing before the body fully hit the ground.
"Thanks, Azzy," he grunted as he pushed himself up using the hilt of his sword for leverage. "Did I mention how much I love gloom? Maybe this ancient tunic, shorts, and sandals wasn't the best choice for this adventure."
"Well, you don't have to worry much about it here." The healer knelt by his leg and pressed her hand against the smoking wound left by the gloom. Under her watchful eye, the smoke dissipated and the skin returned to its normal look. She gazed up at Link with shining pink eyes. "After Zen and Cami both came back with their new abilities, it challenged me to stretch my abilities. I might not be as skilled with combat as the boys, but I can heal. I want to help in the ways that I can."
"Believe me, Azzy, being able to heal gloom injuries is going to come in more handy than you know." Link offered her a hand back up to her feet while she deactivated her magic to give herself a break. "Let's grab another torch and save your healing for when we really need it, hmm?"
"Right," she chirped. She grabbed the now-unlit torch and ran back to where the ones mounted on the wall remained lit. It took only a second to rekindle the flames before she rejoined Link. "Let me carry the light. That way you're ready for whatever monsters we find."
"Good idea. I haven't seen any way out of this room aside from where we came in. But you need to see this. What do you suppose it's for?" Link pointed to a waist-high square pedestal in the middle of the room. Upon closer inspection, it housed a faintly glowing Zonai-style orb nestled into a round dish in the center of the device.
"I'm not sure. It's not fire," Azzy remarked when she lowered the torch near it. "Can you use any of your abilities on it?"
"Let me check." Link pulled up the Purah Pad. One by one he tested each of the abilities he had, but to no avail. "It has to be activated by something. Give me the torch. I'm going to check to see if there's something I might've missed."
She handed it over, slowly circling the pedestal. The Zonaite holding the orb in place radiated with a faint blue glow. On closer inspection, something akin to an inscription appeared to be written along the rim of the bowl housing the orb. Azzy activated her magic to give herself more light, but the moment she got it close enough to decipher if it was a readable language, her magic flickered then engulfed the orb.
She let out a gasp and jumped back when the ball erupted in the white light of her magic, then fired a beam straight up to the ceiling directly above where they stood.
"Whoa." Link was back beside her, and the two stared upwards as the beam activated a plate that slid open beside the opening revealed by the light. A ladder slid down with a faint grinding sound, coming to rest on the sandstone floor a couple paces away.
"I guess the voice was right about you needing me here. And Midna knew that Cami wouldn't be any help," Azzy mused. She took a final look around the room then climbed up behind Link.
"Hey Azzy?"
"Yes?"
"It sounds like we've got moblins close by."
It was Azzy's turn to groan. The larger counterparts to the bokoblins were no more difficult to fight in theory. Moblins were slow, but when they landed a kick or a swing with their weapons, it tended to cause more injury than the bokos. "How many of them?"
"That I don't know. I'm in another hallway. The beam of light is still going up through another opening in the ceiling here." Link reached a hand down when her head emerged beside the ladder. "This is an odd setup for a dungeon."
"I'll take your word for it. I'm not in the habit of wandering through dungeons," Azzy reminded him with a slight giggle.
"Appreciate you trusting me," he chuckled. Another torch was grabbed from a wall sconce. "These are rather handy, I will admit."
"Hylia's watching out for us!"
"Mhm." Link held up a hand to stop them two dozen paces further.
Another room was in front of them, and as her companion had surmised, there were moblins inside. When Azzy's eyes adjusted to the dark, she counted four of the monsters coated in gloom.
"Stay toward the wall here. I'm going to use a couple of bomb arrows, and I don't want to risk you getting hit with a flying gloom monster if the explosion knocks them back further than I think," Link advised. "I'm counting on your light too, if you don't mind."
"You got it," she assured him with a smile. "Be careful."
"You know me: perfect example of careful." He dodged the playful blow she aimed at his shoulder with a quiet chuckle.
Azzy's amusement didn't end when he grabbed a bomb arrow from his pack and nocked it on his bow. She stayed back and averted her eyes when the projectile exploded as it hit one of the moblins.
As Link had anticipated, the force of the concussion knocked the monsters away, but only one made it halfway to her. The Champion's sword was in his hand, the bow on his back while he took out the monster before it could get to its feet and attack her. Then he spun, and took the legs out from under the second one.
"Watch your left!" Azzy cried. She swung her magic towards Link, but it was too late for him to avoid taking a blow to his left arm from a gloom-covered club.
Link grunted in pain and shoved his sword through the monster's abdomen, twisted it hard, then wrenched it free. The moblin dropped dead as it hit the floor. But the fight wasn't over. Two moblins remained, and they were both stalking towards the wounded Champion.
"Not on my watch!" Azzy uncharacteristically swore under her breath. She suppressed her magic and grabbed her bow while she heard Link's sword strike against a club. A bomb arrow brought a bit of brightness back to the room. "Get down, Link!"
She saw the faint movement of dodge rolling out of the corner of her eye while she fired at her target. The arrow flew true, hitting its target and killing it upon impact as well, sending the last moblin flying away from Link. She exhaled in relief when her eyes adjusted enough to see him racing over to the last monster. But she rejoiced too soon.
The moblin pushed itself back up to its feet and swept its arm in front of them, sending Link tumbling towards her like a ragdoll, and his sword clattering to the floor. He landed heavily, and it took him several seconds to move. Precious seconds that allowed the monster to stalk over and grab a club off the floor before turning to them.
Link groaned as he slowly pushed himself up. Gloom burns covered his exposed arms, part of his face, and his legs near where the straps of his sandals stopped. His movements were slower, but he still pulled his bow off his back and fumbled for an arrow from his quiver with shaking hands.
Azzy was faster, darting around him while drawing her own arrow. There was a resounding ping when her headshot landed perfectly and the moblin fell backwards to the floor and didn't get up. Smoke exploded before its corpse vanished, leaving the typical entrails, horn, and claw they had come to expect.
"Thank you. I don't think I could've done that without you," Link admitted. He leaned heavily on the wall and grimaced in pain. "Ahhh! Shit, that fucking monster hit hard."
"It's weird to hear you curse," Azzy commented as she ran over to heal his wounds. "I'm used to hearing it from Cam, but I think it's only been a handful of times that I've heard you fully swear."
"You haven't been around when I've been fighting hordes of monsters and trying not to die. Get enough near misses, and the term 'jerk' doesn't feel adequate anymore," he pointed out. He hissed when the warm healing light covered his face to restore his skin. "I see now why you hate moblins. I always thought lizalfos were worse."
"Those are awful too." She made a face when she saw how badly the Champion had been injured. "Hylia, that was a lot of damage!"
"Why do you think I was cursing?" Link replied dryly. He breathed out a sigh of relief when the pain eased. "Thank you."
"Of course. I'm so glad I was able to help. The voice was right. You need me."
"I couldn't begin to pretend that I could make it very far in here without you. My strategies for negotiating through the Depths have been primarily stocking up on gloom recovery meals that I've prepared, and attempting to avoid large groups of monsters afflicted with it. It's the only way I've avoided death so far," he admitted. "Having someone able to remove it without forcing myself to eat when I'm not hungry is a blessing from the goddess herself."
"You mean you're not alway hungry?" Azzy teased. The grimace on his face had her laughter quickly fading. "I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you sometimes."
"It's not fun. But I do what needs to be done. It's far more pleasurable when I have company, however. Goes faster too. C'mon. The pedestal there is waiting for your magic, if you can spare a bit more." Link gestured to the new protrusion from the center of the room.
"Of course. I'll need a little break after that before we go into the next room, but I can light the orb without a problem." Azzy walked over to the waiting crystal. Just like before, as soon as her magic was activated close enough to it, it absorbed the light energy and shot a beam straight up to the ceiling where it activated a sliding panel, then continued traveling up to an unseen area.
"Two down." Link joined her in staring upwards for a moment before searching for the ladder. "If I had to guess, we'll have two more before a final boss area. Four puzzles or the like and then the boss is the standard pattern I've noticed in these dungeons."
She sighed and followed him up the ladder. "There'll likely be different monsters in each room, given the pattern of the first two."
"There's a handful to choose from that we haven't already seen. Wizzrobes, Lizalfos, Like-Likes, Taluses, Hinox, Stalnox, Lynels, Horroblins… those are just off the top of my head. Pick your poison. Or gloom, as the case may be." The Champion hesitated at the top of the ladder. "I know that sound. Goddess be with us… it's the lizalfos next."
Azzy pulled herself up to the top behind him and sat on the edge, dangling her legs down the hole they just ascended from. She thought about the scenario for a few moments then smiled brightly at him, her white teeth showing up even in the low light. "Good thing you've got someone who's light on her feet AND knows healing magic, right?"
"Dunno where I'd be without you, Azzy." Link gave her a hug before stretching and bouncing to get his circulation moving again. "Alright. Let's do this!"
Lizalfos were going to be a miserable fight no matter how one approached them. Azzy found herself subconsciously holding her breath when they entered the room. There were three once more, and she counted her blessings that the quantity wasn't higher. On a silent mark from Link, she illuminated the room by activating her magic in the palm of her hand. The action disoriented the monsters long enough for him to sneak attack the first one and kill it before the others could turn on him.
Irritated clicks preceded the all-too-familiar sound of the whipping tongue belonging to the lizard beasts. She leaped to the side to avoid the sharp spikes on the flying appendage. She dimmed then brightened her magic in an instant, creating another bright flash of light that gave Link the opening he needed to kill her would-be assailant with a flying leap.
"You alright? Did it get you?" He asked as he slid to a stop beside her.
"Not at all. My reflexes, and yours, were too fast." She breathed out a slight sigh, her eyes adjusting to hone in on the location of the third and final enemy. "On your right!"
Link raised his shield to block the lashing tongue before it could strike his skin. "Not today, you scaled fiend," he mumbled. His stance returned to guarded, mirroring the lizard's movements, watching carefully in an attempt to anticipate the impending attack.
She kept her eyes on the Champion, holding her breath and her magic. He didn't need to be injured again. Not on her watch. But even if he did? She was there, and he would be just fine.
She let out a soft cheer when he dodged the barbed tongue and landed a flurry rush on the monster. The final blow on the head struck it down, thus clearing the room of monsters with less challenge than the previous room.
"I don't want to do that again," Link mumbled. He rolled his shoulders and stretched. "I want to just keep going. We got another room of mobs, plus whatever boss comes at the end of this temple. The gloom is oppressive, and I want it cleared."
"That makes two of us." Azzy went through the motion of activating the pedestal. It was almost identical to the previous room - almost boringly so. It wasn't a bad thing given where they were within the temple. She stood by the ladder and waited for him to make his move first. "Any guesses or expectations for the final boss?"
"None whatsoever. In a gloom-filled dungeon? I couldn't begin to say. It could be anything." Link took a deep breath and ran the back of his hand over his forehead. "It'll be fine. Hylia's gotten us this far, especially with your assistance."
"Whatever happens, we'll be ready." Azzy's hand rested on his arm. "Do you need a breather?"
"No. We got lucky and killed them before they could attack or injure us. So, I'm good to continue. I can't hear anything in the next area though, and that's a bit worrisome."
She pursed her lips. "So that would mean that either the enemy is asleep, or docile until approached. Neither of that bodes well to me. But Hylia's not going to let us fail. Not when we've come this far," she reminded him.
"Amen to that." Link led them to the next darkened doorway and paused. "Oh, goddess above…"
"What is it?" Azzy felt her heart in her throat again. His tone had her stomach twisting in nervousness as well.
He gestured to the uneven protrusion rising from the center of the dimly lit room. "Gloom Talus. Dormant until approached. Covered in gloom so I can't climb it to destroy the gemstone weak spot. We have to clean it off before killing it."
"If you can distract it, I can sneak around and use my magic to clear some of the gloom. Then you can mount it and we should be okay. When you're ready." Azzy exhaled and moved to the left side of the room. If this worked, it wouldn't be as difficult as some of the other rooms they had faced.
Link circled his sword once in his hand before striding purposefully up towards the motionless boulder. When he was about a dozen paces away, the ground shook as the monster rumbled to life, stretching up on small boulders as tall as the pair coming to fight it. Massive boulder arms hung at its sides, and as it shifted, Azzy saw the precious gemstone tower on the Talus's back - their target. But as expected, the majority of the rock was covered in the noxious dark purple of the gloom.
Azzy waited til Link rolled to his side to avoid a thrown portion of arm before she darted close with her magic activated in her hand. Her palm pressed straight against the section he would need to grab first to climb up on the Talus's back. She had to race to the far wall when the rock monster stumbled backwards, planting a foot where she'd been standing mere seconds before.
"You alright?" Link called while his blade was slashing at the legs in an attempt to knock it off its feet.
"I'm fine. Just another spot or two and you should be able to at least climb onto it. I don't know how you're going to avoid standing on it!" She eyed it analytically, watching the movements and discerning the pattern on the rocky surface of its back.
"Don't worry about that. Worst case, I stand in the stuff and you heal me when I'm down. It's not ideal, but it'll work in a pinch."
"Good idea." Azzy activated her secondary special ability - her super speed. She moved like a blur, running her magic-covered hand over the back and the upper rim of the stone. She skidded to a stop back by the doorway when the monster flopped forward towards Link. "Watch out!"
He ran towards her in the nick of time, narrowly missing the arm of the monster as it collapsed on the ground in front of them with an impact that shook the entire temple around them. Seizing his opportunity, he raced back and took a flying leap onto the half-gloom covered back. He took the hilt of his sword in both hands, slammed it into the monster's back and launched into a strong, rapid spin attack.
Azzy held her breath as she watched the gloom start creeping from his feet up his ankles. He had to be in massive pain! Yet he didn't let up til his strength waned, landing a final, powerful blow at the end of his charged spin.
The gemstone stack exploded into pieces, and the Talus shuddered before disappearing in a giant puff of purple smoke. Link landed hard, his knees giving out when he made contact with the floor. He sat panting and groaned as Azzy ran over to heal him.
"You did it! Great job," she murmured while she poured her healing magic into both of his legs and feet. "Standing in that gloom must've been awful."
"Yeah, I don't plan on repeating that again anytime soon if I can help it." He hissed and mumbled another string of curses under his breath. "Hurts like not much else has."
"Rest for a few minutes," she advised. "You've more than earned it."
"Thanks. Don't know how I would face off against the boss if I didn't rest. So I'll do my best." He grabbed a couple of hearty rice balls from his inventory and handed her one. "Here. You'll need your strength up too."
Azzy gratefully accepted it and settled down beside him with her back against the wall. "I appreciate that. I'm glad we're almost done. I don't know how you manage to do so many of these."
"Sheer necessity. I have to, if I'm going to be stronger, or find out where to find my Princess," he murmured. He paused to take a couple of bites of his food before he dropped his head between his knees. "Azzy, I'm tired. So tired…"
She scooted over to put an arm around his shoulder. "I know, Link. But you'll save her. I just know you will!" she said emphatically. "But you need to rest when you need it too. You're not meant to go continually without stopping."
"The longer I take, Hylia only knows what's happening to her. There's been reported sightings but I've never had an opportunity to get close enough to see if it's her or simply an illusion because everyone wants her to be back… nobody more than me."
Azzy didn't hesitate. She tugged him closer until his head rested on her shoulder and she could wrap her other arm around him in a tight hug. "She's going to be okay. I promise, Link. Hylia will protect her, and you'll find her soon. She might be our princess, but she was yours first, and she always will be. It's going to be okay."
He nodded silently before a faint shudder wracked his body and he let out a choked sob. Azzy's fingers brushed through his hair in gentle, soothing strokes. He was like a brother to her, and had been even before she reconnected with her twin, Zen. The blond Champion was strong, but not infallible, and as the Goddess had allowed her a chance to support him, she would do so in every possible way. Even a hero needed a light to shine through the darkness and offer hope.