Link pulled the hem of his tunic over his nose as he descended. Zelda's face wrapping already covered her nose, but it wasn't able to completely block out the vile stench.

The further they went down the stairs, the stronger the smell got. They were both breathing through their mouths in a bid to ignore the smell.
The path seemed to go on for an unreasonable amount of time. With each step, the air grew colder.
Link supposed they had travelled for almost a mile straight down the mountain. He hoped to see the end of it soon, the constant spiral was making him dizzy.

Eventually, the air got to be as cold as it was damp. They both reached the bottom of the enormous staircase and found themselves in front of a huge door made of stone.
They sat on the last steps for a moment to have some water and a little food. The repugnant smell made it difficult to have an appetite. Zelda, however, had insisted. If there was to be a challenge of the goddesses behind the doors, then they would need to be in peak condition.
They both ate another of the small brown cubes.

"Hey, do you have a name for these?" Link asked eagerly.

"Oh! Well, the chef that made this just called it 'tablet'" Zelda responded, feeling the name was a bit basic for such a wonderful snack.

"What would you call it? I imagine the chef would be fine if you suggest a name for his creation"

She looked thoughtful for a minute as she finished her piece. Washing it down with some water, she eventually decided.

"No, I think 'tablet' is just fine. When it sets, it certainly looks like one"

Link finished his piece, still trying to breathe through his mouth between chews.
After he was done, he got up and moved to the door. Looking back, he saw that Zelda was already up and close behind him. She nodded to him, indicating she was ready to face whatever was beyond the door.

Link pushed, but found it stubbornly refusing to shift. He saw no locking mechanism or any handles, so he changed his position. As he pushed into the edge of the door, he felt the same resistance, but it seemed a little easier than when he first tried. After a few frustrating minutes, Zelda moved to his side and leaned into the door with her shoulder. In tandem, they both heaved as hard as they could.
The door remained still.

After exhausting their breath, they took a moment to stand back and recover.

"Well... any ideas?" Link asked through deep breaths.

Zelda took a moment to recover her stamina.

"Perhaps you can only pull it?" she said with a shrug.

Link didn't have the energy to laugh. But as he looked over to the door, he noticed that it seemed different.

"Look... there's something on the door now."

They both walked over to look at it. Where there had been a plain smooth stone door, there was now a metal grid over the middle of it.

"Another design of the goddesses perhaps? This would prevent any determined travellers from trying to get inside" Zelda remarked.

Link remembered the architecture of the city in the sky. A lot of areas had similar grids around them where he had managed to use his claw shots to get around.

"I may have an idea. Please step behind me" he said eagerly.

Zelda did so and Link took one of his claw shots out. Standing away from the door, he armed the device and fired it straight into the grid. The claws grasped onto it easily.
He retracted the chain, but was instead pulled forward by the opposite force the huge door provided.
As he recovered from stumbling, he thought more about the problem.

"I think two of these might stand a better chance. Here" he said as he took out and passed Zelda his extra claw shot.

Zelda looked fascinated by seeing the device. She looked it over thoroughly, trying to learn all she could.
After a moment, she put it over her right hand.

"I feel several different levers inside here. Which ones do I need to use?" she said quickly, eager to try it.

"The one under your palm arms it, release it to launch the chain. Then, the switch by your index finger will pull the chain back."

As he took up a stable position, Zelda stood next to him and held out hers.
They armed both of their clawshots and Zelda counted down.

"Three... two... one!"

In tandem, both chains shot out and both claws found their mark. This time, Link leaned back slightly, anticipating the counterforce from the door. As they retracted the chains, the pull on both of them was too much to bear.
They both lost their footing as they were pulled forward by the powerful winch and fell to the floor in front of the stone door, banging their heads together as they landed.

Link's vision flashed white, followed by a rush of intense pain. He held his head, cursing everything he could think of. Zelda meanwhile curled up and moaned, equally as painfully.

A few minutes passed, leaving them both with agonising headaches. Eventually, Link decided to try and get to his feet. Every movement felt like it took three times the effort it normally did. He dared to open his eyes. His vision was blurry but he managed to adjust in a short amount of time.
He helped Zelda stand up who was having a harder time readjusting to her surroundings.

Link had decided to take his whiskey with him, feeling that whatever challenge the goddesses had sent him would require something to help take the nerves away.
He took a generous mouthful from the half-full bottle and then offered it to Zelda.

She took it nearly instantly and drank a mouthful. Saying nothing, they both decided to sit and take extended breaths to help steel themselves.

More time passed as they kept quiet, letting each long breath refresh their bruised heads.

Eventually, Link felt the web of pain loosen its grip on his mind. It was still tender, but he felt more like himself again.

"Let's do something else next time..." he said dryly.

"Please..." Zelda said with a whimper.

The impact had caused her tears of pain and Link felt guilt twist his stomach. Of course it wouldn't be that easy to open a door that led to a piece of the Triforce.

Thinking more carefully, he realised that he wasn't wrong about using both claw shots. But they still needed a way to keep themselves from being pulled forward.

Then the realisation hit him. How could he have forgotten?

Taking the iron boots out of his pack, he strapped them on. Testing them by waving his legs around, he was quite pleased to find that they were no longer as heavy to him. Though they were not ideal, he could be more mobile with them if the situation required it.

Zelda looked on inquisitively.

"I see that those are weighted boots. You intend to weigh yourself down to try and use those devices again?"

"Yes. The door opened slightly before we smashed our heads together. I think it might work if the boots help keep me in place. I may need your help though" he replied eagerly.

"Oh?" she replied with a raised eyebrow. "What would you have me do?"

"The second I fire both chains, hold on to my waist with both arms and lean back as hard as you can. Anything to help keep me in place."

She looked thoughtful for a moment but quickly nodded in agreement.

Link stood and Zelda offered the claw shot she had tried. Armed with both, Link turned to face the door again.

This time, he bent his knees and leaned back as far as he could, hoping the boots would be able to keep him in place. He felt Zelda wrap her arms around his waist. He felt a little uncomfortable with the close contact, but he knew it would pass.

"I am ready." she said, eager to proceed.

Taking a deep breath, Link armed and aimed both claw shots. Exhaling, he fired both. The small corridor they were in made the noise uncomfortably loud. The claws found their mark, close to the middle of the doors and clamped on.

Within a split second, Link felt the force pulling him mercilessly. His arms strained under the pull but he held on. He felt Zelda pull around his waist and lean back. He felt his breath being squeezed out of him but did his best to persist. It was hard enough to try and ignore the smell of decaying bodies.
Sure enough, his plan and efforts paid off. The doors scraped against the floor loudly as they slowly pulled open.
As they did, a blast of cold air blew into the room, carrying the smell of decay with it.
Eventually, both doors were opened as far as they could be, so Link walked over to the doors and retracted the chains.
He kept one out, putting the other away in his belt as well as the iron boots.

"Excellent idea Link!" Zelda said happily. She looked delighted that they could finally progress.

"No problem. Hopefully, the next problem won't require either of us to get hurt again" he said as he blushed at the compliment.

"Agreed. But for now, we should carry on. I would rather not stay on this mountain for too long."

Link nodded and rolled his shoulders. It was time to claim the first fragment of the Triforce of power.

They both walked through the doors and found themselves in a winding tunnel. They walked for some time, further down the mountain. The smell was getting worse with each minute that passed. They had yet to see a source of the smell and it was concerning to Link. He prayed that they wouldn't find a pile of corpses.

Eventually, they found themselves at the end of the winding path. They stood on a small overhanging cliff that opened up into an enormous cavern. Link couldn't guess how large it was. It looked as if all of Castle Town could fit inside with room to spare.

"Oh no..." Zelda said with a whisper.

Link heard a soft chittering noise before he saw what had Zelda so worried.

Hanging from the cave roof a fair distance away rested a colossal horror. Some sunlight broke through parts of the cave walls enough to illuminate the area and reveal the unnatural monster. Eight long legs, covered in taut and mottled skin, nestled in the rock in the ceiling. The body looked lumpy but had a mouth that was protruding with countless razor-sharp teeth. It seemed to be curled into a permanent smile.

"What...is that?" Link asked, repulsed.

"Link, you could give me a city of researchers and several lifetimes to try and figure out what this is. I still would be unable to give you an answer." she replied, equally as uncomfortable as Link was.

He started looking around and managed to find the source of the smell they had had to deal with. Beneath the creature, some thirty feet or so, was a field of carcasses. From what Link could see in the dim light, there seemed to be nearly every species of mountain dwelling animals strewn about the place. If there was a gap between the bodies, it was filled with bones. All of the corpses were rotting, some of them looked to be half-eaten.
Link suddenly felt as if the smell was even more nauseating. He struggled to clear his mind and ignore his stomach twisting into a knot.
Doing his best to suppress the urge to vomit, he tried to focus on other things.

"I don't suppose you see the fragment anywhere? The sooner we can get out of here, the better."

Zelda nodded and looked around. Her shoulders slumped slightly.

"I do not. I have a bad feeling that we may need to defeat that creature to reveal it."

Link's courage was already being tested, but his determination to help Ilia and his child would not let it fail.

"Alright. With legs as long as those, it will be able to cover a great distance in a short amount of time. It stands to reason that it will have a way to lift up those corpses for...food. Either that or weapons that can impale."

He put a palm to his chin as he pondered. Zelda was deep in thought as she tried to establish any weaknesses.

"I believe you may be able to outmanoeuvre it. Can you see the ceiling?" she asked.

Link squinted as he tried to look. As his eyes adjusted, he was just able to make out a vast network of vines covering the ceiling and knew he would at least be able to stay mobile.

Rapidly, a plan formed in his mind. He whispered it to Zelda and she listened carefully. He outlined several steps of his plan and at which points she would have to do something herself.

"... and only then" he finished.

Zelda nodded. She took out her bow, closed her eyes and whispered to the goddesses whilst holding the bow up in the air.
As soon as she uttered the last whisper, her eyes opened and the bow began to glow with radiant light.
Holy energy began to pour into the bow from all directions. As it did, it began to change its shape. The tips curled, shining gold coated the handle and the string looked almost ghost-like as it took on new properties.
The weapon seemed to double in size and became far more ornate looking.
As the radiant light began to recede, it revealed a beautiful and deadly looking weapon. It had taken the form of the bow of light that Zelda had used against Gannondorf during the pursuit across Hyrule field.

Link was awestruck. He hadn't had the time to pay attention to it previously, but now he committed every curve and detail to his memory. The limbs looked impossibly strong. Zelda's holy weapon had shifted its form into a recurved bow. Instinctively, Link knew the bow would have much higher power than his own. The silky and ghostly-looking string was braided and waxed to such a fine degree, it reflected light.
A pang of jealousy washed over him but he quickly dismissed it.

"It's beautiful..." he said quietly.

Zelda smiled warmly.

"I agree. No smith we know could reproduce such a weapon." she said equally as quietly.

She focused now, taking her role seriously.

"Link, please do be careful up there. Your idea carries a great deal of risk for yourself whilst I get to remain safe here. I feel as if I should be doing more to help."

Honesty suited her. She had seemed to be far more relaxed than Link had ever seen her. But she underestimated her own role. That would stop with more experience, he thought.

"You will be the one who kills it. I'd say you're doing the most helpful thing here."

She let her eyes wander over to the horror nesting in the ceiling. Taking a moment to think, she cleared her doubts. This was a challenge of the goddesses and the poor wildlife of the mountain had all suffered greatly.

"You are correct. Thank you Link. I suppose I am just not as experienced in this. Perhaps self-doubt will stop if I continue to help you".

He was a little unnerved at her being able to say exactly what he was thinking, but he was learning to be more comfortable with it.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded wordlessly, moved to the edge of the chasm and readied an arrow.

Link felt as ready as he could be, even though the abomination hadn't even moved yet. He equipped one of the claw shots and prayed his idea would work.

Aiming for some of the closer vines on the top of the cave, he fired and soon after felt the chain pull him upwards. As soon as he felt he wasn't accelerating, he pulled hard on the chain and was relieved to feel the claw break away from the vine network. The first part of his plan had worked. He kept his momentum and was flying through the air towards the creature's side.

The chain had retracted, so he armed it and aimed further ahead, intending to swing again. As the claw crashed into the vines, a loud metallic clang echoed around the chamber. A high-pitched screech tore through the vile air, making Link's ears ring. As he flew towards the rooted claw, he dared to look towards the creature and immediately regretted doing so.

The lumpy skin was host to many sets of pitch black eyes, all of which were focused on Link. The creature, despite its size, was able to move alarmingly quickly as its long spiny legs quickly rooted around the cave walls to reposition its body. It seemed aware that it could not catch such a fast moving target with whatever appendages it had, so it was moving itself towards him, mouth open.

Link felt himself lose momentum and pulled the chain once again. The claw broke free and he continued sailing through the air. He aimed again, looking to put some distance between him and the wretched oozing maw coming ever closer. As the claw shot found its new mark and pulled him out of harm's way, Link felt a rush of wind behind his head and a loud clack of teeth biting down, thankfully missing him.

This time, he turned his body around to get a better view of the creature, trusting in the claw shot.
He drew his sword and waited for the momentum to slow down. He ignored his doubts, even as the creature drew closer. Its mouth hung open as it moved, dangling with each swing. Then Link saw his chance. The creature moved one of its long legs to reposition itself. Link felt his speed diminish and then pulled hard.

As it reset, he aimed behind the creature. It was still moving its long legs and trying to keep itself balanced.

The claw clutched onto the vines and he retracted the chain. As he flew towards the gaping maw of the beast, he tensed his arm and began to wind up a big swing. The moment came as he felt himself lose momentum again, so he pulled hard on the chain.
As the claw ripped from the vines, he was free falling towards the horror and it saw him. However, it had not positioned itself in time to defend against the blow.

Link swung the Master Sword over his head as hard as he could. He sliced into the leg joint of the beast, cleaving acidic smelling flesh through the bone. The sword severed the entire long limb from the beast as it cried a high wail that pierced Link's ears. He had to fight the reflex to cover them as he was still in mid-flight. Nearly deafened, he remembered he was still in free fall and quickly aimed the claw shot back in the direction where Zelda was waiting.

Before the claw shot found its mark, two things happened. The creature's leg finally fell to the ground, crushing several rotting corpses and reverberating a sickening sound around the area. The other thing worried Link. His left arm was getting hotter, impossibly so. He had put some distance between himself and the abomination, but he still smelled something acidic.

Looking at his shoulder, he saw it coated in a thick yellow liquid that bubbled on his tunic. It was dissolving the material and eating through the chain mail he wore beneath it. Panicking slightly, he sheathed the Master Sword and withdrew his hunting knife. As carefully as he could, he sliced away at the fabric as he flew along with the claw shot. The bubbling liquid stuck to the tip of the blade, quickly warping and dulling it.
He managed to slice through most of the fabric and to his relief, the strip flew away with the leftover yellow substance.
His arm was beginning to sting viciously. The cold air in the cave made it worse, igniting his senses even further. He could still move though. Telling himself that he would look at the wound later, he reached the edge of the cave, ready to shout to Zelda.

Before he could, one of the creature's legs swung around from his right side and smacked into him at high speed. The blow wasn't deadly, but it was still strong enough to knock him into the cave wall.
As the vines absorbed the blow, the wind was driven from him as a wave of agonising pain shot through his entire side.

Crying aloud, his mind and instinct reminded him that he still wasn't safe and had to move quickly. So doing his best to ignore the pain, he aimed the claw shot once again and let it find its mark. The creature had closed the gap between them, its terrible razor tooth lined mouth opening wide to crush and pierce him instantly.
Closing his eyes and praying, he felt himself being pulled out of harm's way as the terrible jaws snapped shut on empty air.

Filling his lungs with fear, he exhaled. Opening his eyes, he saw the scene rushing past as he flew close to Zelda's position. He would need to act quickly if the plan was to succeed. Link pulled on the device once again and felt the claw give way in the vines. Twisting himself around, he let his momentum carry him through the air. He armed both of the claw shots and fired them both straight upwards, a bit further behind him. He had not seen vines on the roof near the entrance they both came from, so he hoped luck would allow him to continue. The horror was more agitated now. The chittering coming from the mouth was louder and more rapid.

Both claws had thankfully found their mark. He did not retract them, but let his momentum slow as he rode the dual chains backwards and started to swing up on them. The creature, furious, was making for him as fast as it could. It did not seem aware that Link was baiting it.

It wasn't quite the right time for Zelda to act. He had one more thing to do. He hoped that Zelda could forgive him for being so reckless. Mustering every ounce of bravery he had in every bone in his body, he let his emotions wash over his mind. The adrenaline and fear combined were potent. In the haze of chaos in his mind, he thought of Midna, Ilia and his child all at once. He channelled it into his Triforce piece once more, silently uttering his wish.
The creature was closing the gap now that he was slowing down. It was perfect. There was no way he could miss.

Link tucked his legs together and forced them out as straight as he could. Somewhere in the distance, he heard Zelda cry his name in desperation. He ignored it, hoping she would be able to take the chance he was about to give her.

The momentum stopped. Now, he was swinging downwards, straight towards the creature's mouth. The horror slowed and opened its mouth wide. As Link gained speed, he felt the radiant energy of the Triforce rush into both of his claw shots. They shined brightly in the dim cave, illuminating it with a platinum light. He was ready.

He gained more speed and the creature was still now, its maw gaping. Taking a deep breath, Link closed his eyes and extended his legs forward as hard as he could.
He swung straight into the mouth of the creature.
The entire cave had a vile stench of death but inside the wet gaping mouth, it was far worse. The creature closed its mouth with him inside it.
Link was disgusted to feel several tongues trying to shove him into the side of the mouth so that he could be chewed.
But now he was ready.

He retracted both of the claw shots.
Bracing himself, he felt his shoulders nearly snap as the chains pulled him back.
He had enchanted the claw shots to pull him with ten times the force. Within a second, he smashed through the mouth, creating a cloud of shrapnel and several full-sized teeth.
As he flew backwards, he felt one of the teeth dig into his shoulder and pierce the muscles. He cried in agony as he lost all sensation but furious pain in his arm, shoulder and neck. The cloud of teeth shrapnel cut at him as he flew by, out of the creature's mouth.

Link screamed as the pain intensified. His sensations became sharper as he felt acid burning in his shoulder wound. He bled freely from more wounds than he had time to count.
Before he could do much else, the great horror shrieked in agony as well.
Looking over, Link saw that his plan had worked. He had broken through the wide bank of teeth, leaving a sizeable hole, smeared in yellow blood. The shock of the pain had caused it to flinch reflexively and it lost its footing on all of its legs.
It fell quickly, smashing into the pile of carcasses below it.
It opened its mouth wide to wail in pain. Its body was trembling in agony, its legs twitching.

"NOW" Link screamed as he struggled to keep his vision from fading from the shock.

Within a second, radiant light illuminated the entire cave from behind him. His right arm useless and his left close to failing, he looked down, wanting to see what happened.

An arrowhead of pure radiant energy burst forth with devastating power, leaving a trail of light behind it.
It passed through the sizeable gap Link had made in the monster's mouth and found its mark in the back of its throat. It screamed harshly for less than a second.
A bright flash of pale light and a deafening sonic boom erupted from the creature as its ugly body was ripped apart from a detonation. Chunks of viscera were scattered around, a sea of acidic yellow blood sprayed onto the pile of corpses below and fragments of bone were cast about in the bloody explosion.

As the mess began to settle, Link felt his good arm close to surrendering. He had to reach Zelda. He could let go of the claw shots, but then would have no way to get them back.
Desperately trying to fight off becoming unconscious from the pain, he gritted his teeth. He had not retracted the chains all of the way and still had momentum. With great effort, he managed to free his bad arm from the claw shot by rolling the right side of his body around. His numb fingers offered no resistance as the useless arm flopped out of the armoured glove. As his bad arm settled, a fresh wave of pain shot through him. Doing everything in his power to ignore it, he still had to swing over to the other side of the chasm.
He needed help.
The small amount of momentum was just barely enough. On the swing forward from the remaining claw shot, he extended the chain as far as he could. At its full length, Link was still high above the floor.

"Couldn't get much worse..." he told himself.

He didn't see Zelda, but she'd probably see him fall. At least he hoped.
Surrendering to hopeful thoughts, he pulled hard on the glove and just barely had enough strength to pull the claw from the vines he had latched on to.
As he started to fall, he surrendered to his vision failing. All he thought of was sleep. Every instinct he had told him that having a sleep would be so truly wonderful. Surely he deserved that much, he thought.
He managed a small smile as his eyes shut.
Then he fell to the ground, smacking his head off of the hard stone floor.

-Zelda-

Zelda was already running as fast as she could. She had seen what Link had done with her own eyes and yet still swore it was a trick of the mind. Link had told her to wait for him to knock the vile beast to the floor and not to fire an arrow of light until she had a very clear shot at it. After seeing him burst through the teeth of the beast, she stood still, utterly dumbfounded. Either Link was insane, or he truly believed that was his only option at the time.

The notion that she could not have predicted his actions irritated her. Reading people had been a skill she had relied on for her entire life. Was she losing her touch? Now that Ganondorf was dead, did she have no purpose to the goddesses? Shaking her head, she perished the thought as she had seen Link fall to the floor, looking grievously wounded.

She climbed down to the platform where Link had fallen, and the sight was making her feel sick.
The smell of dissolving flesh stuck in her nose. He was bleeding freely over most of his body and it looked as if he had a collapsed lung. His chest caved in slightly on one side. Furious that the creature had brought such devastating harm to the Hero of the Twilight crisis, she swore she would do everything in her power to help him recover, costs be damned.

Though her knowledge of medicines and clinical practices was not complete, she knew she could channel healing power through her piece of the Triforce.

As she came closer to his body, she felt a tear welling up in her eye. Link looked far worse than she had assumed. The long tooth sticking out of his shoulder had melted away the skin and liquefied some of his chainmail. Metal now sat intertwined with bubbling flesh and it was difficult to look at.
His tunic was almost shredded. The cloud of shrapnel from the creature's teeth had lacerated almost his entire torso. Blood was pooling around him far quicker than she had initially thought.

"Focus now..." she said to herself as she tried to clear her mind.

She knelt beside him and placed her ungloved hand over his chest, ignoring her squeamishness at the mangled flesh before her.
She knew that if she was to succeed, she must maintain calm. It was hard to do however. She was not as used to gore whereas Link seemed to have no such issues.

"Link...just how much have you suffered until now?" she wondered aloud.

The thought that this was what Link constantly dealt with worried her. He was truly worthy of the Triforce of Courage. However, she despised that it meant he would be constantly beset by horrors like this. It was cruel. It was unfair. Did the goddesses have no other recourse than to allow Link to suffer? Her frustration was building rapidly.
She did not fight it, however. She needed the raw emotion to help power her Triforce spell.
As she allowed her anxieties to surface, she let them run through her mind and amplify themselves. As soon as it felt like she wanted to scream from the chaos, she channelled the emotion to her Triforce piece.

Just like when Link did the same thing, the symbol on her hand began to glow.

"Smooth the torn fat, knit the sundered flesh, let the blood vessels be whole, replenish the skin and let his blood be rejuvenated. Make him whole once more!"

As the last word left her lips, the power rushed from her hand and radiated outwards. The second a wisp of power touched Link, he began to glow too. Broken parts recovered themselves, torn skin was set whole and colour began to return to him.

She dared to breathe a sigh of relief. She knew the power of the Triforce of Wisdom would allow the idea to work. But she did not think she could ever forget the sight of him almost torn apart.

As the Light continued to suffuse him, she left him for a moment to look to the other side of the chasm.
The mangled corpse of the horror lay still, to her great relief. She wondered how old the creature was and just how many poor animals it had consumed over its life.
Still, for all of its grotesque features, devastating power and position on the food chain, Link had dispatched it within minutes.
She managed a small smile, whilst being eternally grateful that Link was capable of such heroics.

She looked over him as he lay there sleeping. His body was whole once again, but she knew his mind would need to rest after everything they had done so far. She suppressed a laugh to herself as she recounted being surrounded by wolves, climbing an ice cliff as it fell and opening the door to the very cave she was in.

This had only taken a day to achieve. She wondered quietly at the scope of his adventures during the Twilight crisis. She had supposed his original path would have taken him all over Hyrule, but not the particular details.
She had heard from Renado the healer of how many times he had needed emergency medical care during his travels.

As she sat still, trying to process the things Link must have done, she felt tears welling in her eyes. It was too cruel for any one man to bear. Gratitude welled up inside her and admiration too. Her position at court was not without its perils. But here, they seemed trivial in comparison.

Councillors who were ambitious would look for any weakness she displayed to exploit it. Some were even brazen enough to try and sabotage her efforts in the past, to create weaknesses to exploit. Though she was no fool.
Her uncanny wisdom allowed her to see through most plots, and most of the councillors who conspired against her were nowhere near as perceptive. Still, having to deal with it exhausted her regularly.

Yet here was Link. A man so selfless that he would instantly risk his life if it meant protecting another. He would bear the horrors of the world so that not a single other soul would ever have to.
Her tears began to flow now.

She unpacked some cloth meant for a tent canopy and made an improvised bed from it. Very carefully, as to not disturb him, she gently rolled Link over onto the soft fabric.
Though he was utterly unconscious, his expression softened. She smiled to herself, feeling pleased that she could alleviate even a small portion of his burdens.

After a moment, she stood. Stretching her tired limbs, she knew she had to go and look for water. Neither of them had drank anything but whisky in the past day. With the first challenge over, they could now afford to recuperate. She set about the cave, trying to find a water source that did not flow through the sickening pile of gore in the cave.