The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Overworld Chapter 16 - To the Underground

            …and before long, Link found himself back in the saddle. Zelda’s brilliant white horse stood out too well, so she elected to ride with Link instead.

            Still, in her riding cloths, Daniel was still worried she stood out too much in a crowd as a noble. He insisted she remove her finer jewelry until they were out of Castle Town. Zelda agreed to his demanded, though she hardly looked less regal to Link. He guessed that it was because he knew her, because Daniel was content after that.

            Endeavor set the pace, pressing them hard as they rode across Hyrule Field. They avoided the main trails in order to avoid travelers who might slow them down. They clattered into Castle Town in the afternoon. Endeavor swung out of her saddle, obviously in a hurry to get on with their quest. Link slowed Epona to a halt and looked at her. Endeavor said, “Our horses will be of no more use until we leave this place again. Where we are going, they cannot travel.”

            Epona snorted at her, and stamped. Endeavor added, “Nor would they want to. We are going underground.” She extended her arm. “I will take them to the stable here. You need to find the entrance to the sewers.”

            As Link helped Zelda down, she asked with a touch of disgust, “The sewers, why would we be going down there?”

            Taking Epona’s reins, Endeavor answered, “Think about it. What happened to the Temple’s entrance?” With that, Endeavor walked away, leading the two horses.

            Link asked, “What did happen to the Temple’s entrance?”

            Zelda replied, “Well, you’ve seen where it used to be. It used to be where that great fountain is in the middle of the city. It was a great building, or so I’ve heard. It was torn down many years ago, I assume to protect the Temple, but it may have been some attempt from Ganondorf’s men to keep us out. The building that used to stand though was only an entrance into the passages that led to the Temple of Time. It seems that, since the building gone now, we’ll have to find a builder’s entrance in the sewers. Or that's Endeavor's plan.”

            There were many drainage ditches along the main road in Castle Town, but Link doubted that any of them could fit through those. He asked, “How big are the drains in that big fountain?”

            “Which one?” Zelda asked. Link looked at her, and she went on, “Many of the parks in town have fountains too. Which one did you want?”

            “I…suppose one that is a bit out of the way…I don’t think that trying to remove grates in the middle of town is going to end well for either of us,” Link said.

            “I suppose not, “Zelda said with a laugh. “Come on, I’ll show you one of the smaller parks that we can go through.” With that, she took Link by the arm and pulled him through the back streets of Castle Town.

            The two squeezed through alleys and back roads as they headed towards a park. Link was surprised how well Zelda knew this part of the town. They were in a poorer area, and it seemed like the last place a princess would come to Link.

            The roads turned away, and Link found himself in a lush, green park. Trees shaded the area, and children ran around with balls and kites. A dark stone fountain garbled in the center of the park, couples sitting around the end. It was a peaceful sight, until Link realized they were probably going to ruin it with their adventure in the fountain.

            Zelda squeezed his wrist, saying, “Ok, you pull the grate out, and I’ll keep people from asking why you’re wading around in the fountain.”

            Before Link could ask any more questions, Zelda had all but shoved him into the fountain. The water came up to just below Link’s knees as he stumbled in the water. Link was surprised about how deep the fountain was, before he went on looking for the grate.

            There was a metal lid near the middle of the fountain. Water ran down Link’s shield as he waded towards it. He squatted down, and began to pull on the metal plate. The water drained faster the further he raised it up, and slowly the fountain lost the ability to replace the water. The fountain began to empty out, with only a thin layer of water covering the bottom. Not even enough to splash.

            Other than the fact that it was slippery, the grate was easy for Link to lift. This was probably due to the power bracelets, but Link gave it little thought. Before long, he had the plate set off to the side of the hole. Zelda walked across the now empty fountain towards Link, and looked down the hole. A rancid smell came up through the gap, which made Zelda take a step back.

            As she waved the smell away, she asked, “Doesn’t that bother you?”

            “I’ve worked on farms in summer,” Link replied. “So…no, it doesn’t bother me.”

            “I’d hate to know what that smells like then,” Zelda said. She looked back over her shoulder, and inquired, “Do you think we should wait for Endeavor?”

            “No need.”

            A moment later, Endeavor walked up with Yore and Journey. Zelda asked, “How did you find us?”

            “I followed the concerned conversations of a strangely clad man in green wading around in a fountain for no apparent reason,” Endeavor answered. “I am not familiar with your people, but I do not think that even that is a frequent event in this town.”

            Zelda paused, before looking back down the hole. “How are we getting down there anyways?”

            Endeavor produced a long pole from the side of the fountain. There was a large ball of rope around the middle. Without answering, she wedged the pole between the edge of the fountain and the stone spout in the middle. The pole now lay over the hole, slightly left of center, as to give room for someone to slip through. Endeavor said, “This is a rather crude way of getting down, but it will get us down. It does mean however that, Link, you are going to have to take us down, one by one.”

            Link pulled out his clawshot, and grasped the knot of rope. He said, “I’m going to see how far down it goes first.” Endeavor crossed her arms and nodded as Link went down into the pit. It wasn’t more than twenty feet down, but it would be a nasty fall. The ladder was rusted over and algae grew on the rungs, and there would have been not way of using it. This was the only way down though.

            As Link came back up, he found Journey waiting for him. He looked up at Endeavor, not sure how he was going to get the full-grown wolf down. Journey solved the problem as she hung herself over his shoulder. Link wrapped his free arm around Journey’s back, and began to lower her down, trying not to squeeze or startle the massive canine.

            Journey waited patiently at the bottom as Link went back up, and brought Endeavor down. Yore flew down with his master, and the threesome waited as Link went back up to get Zelda.

            With Link’s free arm wrapped around her, Zelda reached back up and pulled the lid to. There was still a gap that let Link grab Endeavor’s pole with his clawshot, but it blocked enough water that the fountain began to fill up above them. Before the water pooled too much, Link lowered them down into sewers.

            Zelda tightened her grip around Link’s shoulders. She blushed, and turned away as she did. Link was still confused about her, but he was sure it meant nothing.

            Zelda dropped down once they were close enough to the ground. Link squeezed the grip on his clawshot. The chain slinked down back into the handle, and Link turned towards Endeavor and Zelda.

            Endeavor said, “Well, if you are ready…” She pointed down the dark tunnel ahead.

            Link took the lead. He pulled out his lantern, and started down the tunnel…