This is a short chapter and it still took a whole day to write… I thought it would have more content, but then plot points got all mixed up and streamlined to make more sense. Also the way I wrote the outline took up as much space as the other chapter outlines, but had more detail and therefore less stuff.
Also Stephen Merchant (voice of Wheatley) should be the voice actor for Shad if they did a movie of this particular game. : D
Oh well. We’re getting a bit of a reveal. More next time!
Here’s a cat.
Chapter 14: It’s Always Spiders
Chapter 15: Triumph of the Geeks
They returned to Kakariko Village late in the evening the next day, leaving Saria to watch over the forest. By the time Link got into the hotel from the stable, there was a hum of excitement in the living room.
“What’s going on?” Navi asked, flying above everyone’s heads to where Naeri was already hovering.
“Ilia’s got something,” Naeri said.
“No, no,” Ilia said, wringing her hands. “I think there were monsters, but we all knew that…” She turned to Franz. “Please, sir, I need your help.”
“My help?”
“I don’t want to ask the Hero, he’s too busy. Could you please go to Hyrule Castle Town and ask Telma if there’s anything I might have left behind? Anything at all, without realizing it?”
“I can,” he said, but Jakob clapped him on the shoulder.
“Not without me you aren’t, Your Highness” he said with a hurt glare, and Franz winced.
“I’m sorry, Jakob. I didn’t want to trouble you…”
“Like hell you didn’t! Sir.”
Link laughed. “Guys, hash it out on the way, huh?”
Franz patted Jakob on the back. “I’ll make it up to you, I really will.”
“Is that even possible, Your Highness?”
The two young men left the hotel, still arguing.
“Sorry to get everyone all worked up,” Ilia said. “It wasn’t anything after all.”
“It’s okay,” Beth said. “They’ll help, you’ll see! We’re trying a new thing!”
Link flopped on one of the couches, taking up the whole length of it. Navi fluttered down to land on his chest. “Hello, Shad. Any new clues?”
“Well, not today. I’m still puzzling over…” He frowned and looked up from his book at Link. “That ring in your voice. You found something?”
Link snapped his fingers at Navi, and a moment later was holding the dormant Dominion Rod. “Have a look at this.”
Shad’s eyes almost bugged out of his head, and he clutched his chest. His books and papers went flying everywhere. “My goodness! Don’t give me such a heart attack! But is that… Yes! It really is!”
“It really is,” Link assured him, “and it used to work, back centuries ago.”
“Oh Goddesses, I can’t believe it! Nayru grant me strength… May I touch it?”
“Go on, take it,” Link said. “It’s not much use to me right now, anyway. I probably should have left it in the Temple, but I didn’t think it would power down when I left that time zone.”
“So you did find it in the Temple of Time? Please, tell me everything from the beginning!”
So Link told him in as much detail as he could remember, aided and abetted by Navi and Midna, and Shad brushed the worn, carven shaft of the rod and listened intently.
“And so you say your companion said she was looking for it?” he asked when Link was done.
“As far as I can remember,” Midna said, nodding.
“I wonder why… What sort of person was your companion? She seems very strong willed, to run off into the forest without even saying goodbye.”
Midna smiled wickedly. “Better brace yourself, kiddo, because here comes another whammy.”
“Huh?”
“She’s an Oocca,” Link said. “Named Oocco. She’s travelling with her son around Hyrule for some reason.”
Shad gasped again. “More and more marvellous! I can scarcely believe my ears! You have truly met a real live Oocca; that means that they do exist! And did exist!” He stood and began to pace in excitement, waving the Rod wildly. “It’s one thing to read accounts, that are copies of translations of copies, but to actually speak to an eyewitness! It’s… mind-boggling! My mind is boggled!”
“Sure seems like it,” giggled Navi.
Shad didn’t even hear her. “If you see her again, you must ask her some questions for me. Oh dear Triforce, it’s too much! You are a living magnet of legends!” He turned to Link, all afire, and pushed his glasses up his nose. “You must let me tell you my thesis. My doctoral thesis! It’s fascinating, at least, I think it is.”
“Go ahead,” Link said. “But I’m pretty sleepy tonight, so I might doze off pretty soon.”
“Well, I can give you the short version tonight and the long version tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Midna said, and curled up on a pillow, yawning and stretching.
The scholar didn’t even notice. “Well, once upon a time, there was a race of extremely intelligent beings. They even pre-date the Hylians! The Goddesses made them, it is said, to prepare the land for Hylian settlement. When their work was completed, they relocated to a city in the sky, never to be seen again, but their work is everywhere. Why, practically every major landmark or ancient artifact bears witness to their activity! But the Dominion Rod is one of the few artifacts that was proven to be of Oocco origin, partly because it was lost so long ago and was not so badly distorted in folk lore.”
“Wait,” Link interrupted, somewhat late. “What was that about a city in the sky?”
“You would like to hear more about it? Well, it’s said to be a paradise, where the best food grows all year round, and endless springs produce waterfalls of the water of eternal life… Folk lore, as I said, and probably not true. One book goes so far as to speculate that the Temple of Time itself was once part of this city. The part that I believe to be at least partly true are the parts that claim the city is full of amazing technology, far beyond our comprehension. Why, even this thing…” He waved the Dominion Rod around, and suddenly gave a little shriek that woke Link up with a sleepy grunt.
“I do apologize. You must have been travelling all day. Why don’t you go up to your room and sleep more comfortably?”
“’Kay,” Link answered, and hauled himself to his feet. “What was the panic?”
“No panic. I think I remember something in my notes that may help us with this. Ah… may I borrow it?”
“Sure, go ahead. See you tomorrow.”
“Don’t forget to sleep, yourself!” Navi called to Shad, who was already laying out scribbled-over sheets of paper as Link climbed the stairs.
Before he went to his own room, he checked on Rana. She was already asleep, breathing evenly, lying haphazardly across the blankets. It was too warm for blankets, certainly. He couldn’t tell if she had been crying again. But he felt like he was intruding, so withdrew quickly and went to his own room.
By the next morning, Shad had made a huge paper-y mess of the living area. Link blinked; it looked like a slightly sepia-toned blizzard had struck. The Rod of Dominion lay on a low table in the middle of everything. “Shad?”
Shad appeared from behind the armchair, a quill stuck behind his ear and his hair all mussed up. “What is it?”
“What happened here?”
The scholar’s face lit up. “I was looking for the word of Power that will activate this again! I know I have it somewhere, or at least a fragment… something that I can experiment with to find the true word of Power. But…” his face fell again. “I can’t seem to find it. I’m find all sorts of other things that suddenly make shocking amounts of sense, but I think this is in one of the writings I left in Hyrule Castle Town. I shall have to return and get them.” He sighed.
“Well, first, could you tell me more about what you know about the city in the sky? How did the Oocca travel to and from it?”
Shad looked delighted he had asked. “Well! I shall tell you all I know! As a rough overview, there are statues of birds scattered across Hyrule. The Dominion Rod is able to commune with these statues, although some of my sources suggest that a prayer is also necessary to activate them. They don’t describe what happens when activated, but these statues are said to hide secret messages, call tornadoes, send messages to the Goddesses, and many other things, if you know how. Somehow, some people used them to gain access to the sky, although nothing says how, which is quite frustrating. Although, there is also mention of a thing called a Sky Cannon, which was supposedly built here in Eldin Province… Ah, you had better get breakfast before I really get started, because we shall be here quite a while…”
Shad talked for hours, and sometimes Link’s attention wandered, but it was interesting, and he needed to learn things, even if he was learning about an extremely esoteric subject that no one else but Shad would be interested in. Navi was not so interested, and went to spend time with Colin and Ralis. Rana wandered by, stayed to listen to a story about the previous Hero and some mythical miniature people, and then wandered out again.
Link also managed to catch up with some of the other people in Kakariko, particularly Malo, who had opened the shop next to the hotel and was making plans to expand to a branch in Hyrule Castle Town itself. It was impressive.
It was late afternoon when Franz and Jakob returned. Link was doing his sword exercises. They seemed to have stopped arguing, or at least Franz had his usual friendly smile on, and Jakob was no longer shouting at him, and went to take care of the horses while Franz hurried inside.
“Where’s Ilia?” he asked eagerly. “We may have found something.”
Ilia came running downstairs, and Navi too came in a hurry. “What? What did you find?”
Franz held out a small wooden rod. “Apparently you gave this to the doctor, and he attempted to pay part of his tab at Telma’s with it. Does it help?”
Ilia took it, and as Link came closer, he saw it was actually a carved statuette with the Eye of Truth carved at the top. Ilia stared at it, wide-eyed, and her breathing went still.
“Ilia?” asked Link, taking a step closer.
She looked up at him with her mouth hanging open. “There were monsters, but an old lady saved me… We were in a hidden village, somewhere to the north. She risked her life to set me on the path to Hyrule Castle Town… She gave me this to help me get people to listen to me. She must still be in danger!”
“We’ll go at once,” Franz promised. “Jakob! Don’t unsaddle the horses!”
“Yes, sir,” came a distant shout from outside.
“I’ll help,” Link said.
“And if I may take advantage of your escort for part of the way,” Shad said. “I must go back to Hyrule Castle Town for the rest of my notes. You may take your time, Link, until I return. I will help you solve the puzzle of the sky, rest assured.”
“Yes, you can come along,” Link said. “You have a horse?”
“Not personally, no… I’m not actually very good with them, either. But I won’t fall off…”
“Perhaps you can borrow Rana’s,” Franz suggested.
“She’ll probably want to come,” Navi pointed out, “but you can ask her.”
“I will go ask her.”
“You know where she is?” Link asked.
“She’ll be at her watch post south of town,” Franz answered, already jogging down the street.
“I just need my bow,” Link said, and darted upstairs momentarily. Shad began shovelling papers into a satchel and tucked the Dominion Rod under his arm.
Franz was back in a moment, all out of breath, and nodded to Shad. “She says you can go with her horse. It was surprisingly easy to talk her into it… I wonder what she’s up to?”
“Do you know where to go?” Ilia asked. “All I remember is that it was on the north road. I think she said it was a Sheikah village.”
“Shad?” Franz inquired.
“A Sheikah village?” Shad asked Ilia. “The Sheikah aren’t my realm of study, so I can’t tell you much about that. All I know is some vague story about how someone who was possibly the first Sheikah chieftain saved the Sky Maid from the Imprisoner, a dragon that wanted to eat her. It’s rather confusing and has nothing to do with our current destination.”
Link turned to Ilia and frowned. “I thought the only surviving Sheikah was Impa, and she’s not old. She has silver hair, but she’s not old.”
“I don’t know her name. I still can’t remember! But she was definitely old. She looked almost old enough to be my great-grandmother.”
“Well, we’ll save her, don’t worry,” Navi told her.
Ten minutes later, the four men were headed north at a fast clip. The sun was beginning to go down but they still had enough daylight to get to the north road and back.
When they entered the first canyon, Link, Franz, and Jakob slowed a bit to watch for signs of a village, but Shad went ahead on his own.
“You’ll be all right?” Link asked before he did.
“Yes, I’m sure I will. I will find an escort for the journey back, as well. Do not worry about me. Good luck against the monsters! I hope Miss Ilia gets better.”
Link waved.
Navi fluttered onto his head. “Hey, you know what you could do? If you’re so good at tracking things, why not be a wolf and track Ilia’s trail?”
“I can try,” Link said. “Although I don’t know if Midna came along, and the trial might be too old.”
“I’m here,” Midna said, twisting around Epona’s front leg. The horse snorted in surprise. “I’m always here. But I can’t help you with the second thing.”
“I’ll try it,” Link said. “One minute, Midna.” He dismounted. “All right, I’m ready.”
She touched the Wolf Stone to his forehead, and he collapsed to all fours. Jakob started, but Franz held up a hand to calm his guard.
“Hello, Master!” Epona whinnied. “What’s going on, exactly?”
“You remember Ilia, right?”
“Yes! Of course! She’s super nice to me.”
“Well, she was in this area…”
“I was in this area! Come on, I’ll show you where I escaped.”
“If it brings us closer to where Ilia escaped, then go ahead.”
“Maybe? Can I show you? It will only take a minute.”
“All right, lead on.”
They must have made a strange sight, two men on horseback following a wolf and a fairy following a horse. Epona let them over a rise and down to a tunnel in a cliff. “I was kept around here. Do you smell Ilia?”
“No, but I smell Bokoblins. Were you kept in the tunnel?”
“I didn’t get to the tunnel. When they tried to make me go through, I kicked them and ran.”
“Good girl. Well, let’s see what’s inside.”
He turned back to a human. “Epona says this is where she escaped, and I’m hoping it’s close to where Ilia also escaped.” He took a few steps into the tunnel and drew his sword. “Also, Bokoblins are nearby.”
“Right,” Franz said. “Let’s leave the horses here. The tunnel doesn’t look tall enough for them.”
The tunnel was a tight fit for the humans, and dark, dry, and twisting. Navi floated next to Link’s ear, trying to give enough light to all of them to see their way by.
Soon, Link heard the sound of wind, and began to see a glimmer of dusky light in the bends ahead. They emerged a few minutes later in a stand of trees on the edge of a small valley.
The valley was full of old, decaying wooden buildings. They didn’t look how he was expecting Sheikah architecture to look, but then it looked a lot like an older version of Kakariko, and Kakariko was supposed to be Sheikah as well.
He caught sight of movement. “There, there’s a Bokoblin. And two more.”
“I would expect a large number of additional ones that we cannot yet see,” Franz said. “Will three of us be enough?”
Link gripped his sword tighter. “It’ll be more than enough. Keep your shield up, and don’t be afraid to duck when they shoot you. And watch your backs. Ready?”
“Let’s go,” the prince answered, giving him a determined look.
“Just stay close to me,” Jakob said, hefting his spear.
Link burst out of cover, Master Sword shimmering in the setting sun, and cut down the first Bokoblin before it had time to squeal. He rolled under a volley of arrows from several stationed on the rooftops, and scrambled for a balcony that would hopefully get him up to their level.
As the Bokoblins began to shout and squall, and their weapons began to clash with the trio’s, a door on the other side of the town slammed open and a Goron stomped out. He roared, clapped his hands together, and waded into the fray.
Link gaped. “Darunia?”
“Link! My sworn brother! Let us take care of these animals together, eh?”
Link grinned. “Good to see you again!” And he jumped sideways to avoid another arrow.
They were beginning to mob. While he was dealing with the archers on the roof, he looked down to see Franz and Jakob standing back to back, being harassed by the creatures. Darunia bellowed, curled into a ball, and rolled at them, taking out three just in front of Jakob. The guard jumped back, startled, and knocked into Franz, who was almost stabbed in the shoulder with a spear, if Link hadn’t jumped off the roof at that moment and landed on the Bokoblin who was attacking him.
The monsters scattered and began to run into the buildings. The four warriors looked at each other and began to follow them.
“We need to get all of them!” Darunia said.
“Were you waiting for us?” Link asked.
“For anyone who could fight. Too many for me to take on my own. I’ll explain later. For now, fight!”
Link nodded and ducked into a half-collapsed building. Three were in there, and they shrieked, charging at him. He took one out with a vertical swing, jumped sideways to avoid their counterattacks, and bashed one of the others in the face with his shield. It stumbled back with a drunk look on its face.
There was a crash outside, and part of the wall splintered. He raised his shield to cover his face from the flying bits of wood.
“The roof is coming down!” Navi screamed. “Get out of there!”
He dove out the window next to him and rolled, and an arrow thudded into the ground behind him.
There were four of them behind a small barricade of boxes, all pointing bows and arrows at him. He turned and jumped for cover, hissing as the sting of a near-miss seared his knee. “Navi, get my bow, please.” He set an arrow on the string, peeked out quickly to check their positions, and then popped out to fire and draw back. He heard a gurgle and assumed that he got one.
Something hit him from the side and he slammed into the ground. A Bokoblin stood over him, its spear poised to stab, and it cackled.
A giant rocky fist collided with the side of the Bokoblin’s head, and it flew into the wall behind and left a large dent before sliding to the ground, dead.
Darunia gave Link a hand up. “Nasty little critters, huh?” Link snuck another look at the ones he had been shooting at, and saw Jakob stabbing downwards where they had been.
“Thanks,” Link said whole-heartedly. “Did we get them all?”
Darunia listened. “It’s hard to tell. It’s gone very quiet.”
One moment and I’ll check. Midna?”
Link fell to the ground in wolf form, and suddenly found himself flying through the air with the wind knocked out of him.
“What did you do that for?” Navi screamed at Darunia. “That’s Link!”
The Goron looked shamefaced and wrung his hand. “I’m so terribly sorry. Reflex.”
“Are you all right?” Franz asked, running to him.
Link picked himself up from where he had landed, breathing hard, and shook his head. He sniffed around and perked his ears. The smell of Bokoblin was strong still, but he couldn’t hear anything. He padded out to the centre of the street, looking around, and still couldn’t hear anything.
At the end of the street, in the largest, still-sturdiest building, a door opened and a tiny old woman came out, frowning imperiously.