The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Dungeon Chapter 56 - Burdens

 ...his arm was pulled down towards the ground by the weight of the object. Link pulled up on the key again, bracing it under the weight of it this time, before hoisting it up to his chest. He looked around for some kind of ramp he might have missed back up to the platforms, but he saw none. He already knew he couldn't jump with it though. Even with his power bracelets, it was just too heavy. The weight and his combined would nullify the feather.

Stuck, Link set the key down. He took a step back, pacing to try and find a solution. He didn't have much time left out here before the storm would spot him, so he had to work quickly. As the sky began to crackle, Link drew out Roc's Feather, fidgeting with the feather as he scanned the grate again for any other exits.

The key was secure here for now. The wind barely buffeted it, barely, though Link was still concerned about the storm pushing the key off if it spotted it and sent a more powerful breeze through. While he didn't want to send it flying off, Link was also concerned about leaving it alone and running the risk of having to leave and come back with the key in tow. If the storm did send a massive gust, would that be enough to send it flying? Link drew back Roc's Feather, planting himself firmly before he snapped the feather out in front of him. The feather expanded rapidly, sending out a massive gale, before shrinking back down into its normal plume.

However, the results didn't leave Link anymore confident about the key getting knocked off. The key had slid, almost halfway across the platform, a good fifty or so feet from where it had been sitting. As Link collected it, he began to wonder if perhaps there was a way to launch the key from below. The jump to the bridge couldn't have been more than thirty feet, so if Link could get that kind of gale under the key, maybe he could launch it up onto the grates above.

Backing up to the very edge of the grate, Link tossed the key up into the air. At a very low angle, he snapped Roc's Feather back out, sending the key arching up and out across the grate. It went sailing at an angle, a straight line of fifty feet, before crashing back down onto the grate.

The key was too heavy for Link to toss though, at least not high enough to snap the feather in time without hitting himself in the face. He would have to get under it if he wanted to launch it anywhere. Looking down between his boots, Link spotted the doorway to the armory. Though the bridge wasn't complete, there was still a platform Link could angle under if he could get to it. And even being a floor lower, if Link was directly under the key now, he would still be able to pitch it up and over to the walkway above.

But Link was going to have to learn he needed to wait on his brainstorming before he could act on that discovery.

The sky broke open with a furious barrage. Lightning broke through the cloud, tearing through the air and evaporating anything near to it. Three bolts struck before Link noticed, much less started to evade. He was fast enough to get himself into the air before the electricity coursed through the entire grate. Link coasted towards the center of the platform, having to drop earlier than was comfortable as he tumbled through the air towards the stone center.

Link rolled as he landed, inches away from rolling out onto the grate again, which was still crackling out, tendrils of electricity snapping off. Slowly, the light began to fade. The static died off. A lull, only seconds long. Two feet behind him, a lightning strike speared the stone platform, rattling the entire grate.

"Time to go," Link muttered, throwing himself out onto the grate as lightning aimed for the spot he had been sitting in. He felt the strike pound into the center of the platform, shaking Link's footing for a moment before he was full on sprinting for the edge of the platform.

He knew he wasn't going to make it all the way to the edge before another strike hit. And if it was aiming on his trail, it would hit the grate at this point, sending a shock wave Link wouldn't be able to dodge. Link clutched Roc's Feather hard in his right hand, the other palming around on his belt.