The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Dungeon Chapter 59 - Rivers of the Dead

...and landed beside Endeavor in a surviving cluster of tall grass. She glanced at the space where she assumed Link would be and nodded. "That was smart."

"Thanks," Link whispered, scanning the terrain in front of them. Down here by the banks of the river, he could see the tunnel Endeavor had mentioned. It was low and dimly lit by a cluster of mushrooms, but the vines were a much stronger presence. Extended from the center of the cluster blinked a bright white eye, scanning lazily ahead. Its stalk reached out of the tunnel, a net of rot root blocking the way further in.

Link didn't like how the vines moved down here. They shifted slowly, like a snake adjusting itself for the sun. It was gradual, but the vine wall hadn't been. He doubted if alerted they would be so slow.

"Your blessing is limited, so we will have to try this once. That eye is protecting a spawning cluster," Endeavor said, pointing across the field without looking back. "As I cannot see you or sense you without you speaking, we should be decided here. Will you take the eye or rush inside to deal with the cluster when it is exposed?"

Something stirred in Link, that hesitant draw. The habit would have made the choice obvious, but he didn't have habit to rely on now. And the steadying assurance of the blessing could only do some much against that lack of courage.

"If no one can see me, then I can handle the eye easier or anything that tries to sneak up on you," Link replied with a twinge of guilt. Sending a wounded Endeavor in alone, even with all of her skill, felt wrong.

Endeavor didn't faulter though. "Very well. I will approach along the bank through those patches there, and you take the way along the cliff wall. That eye cannot pierce the Spirit World, but it can still hear you. Be careful."

There was a concern in her voice that Link hated to hear. He should have taken the other task, he knew. But before he could offer the change, Endeavor was already moving through the grass towards the river bank. Link took a deep breath and pushed on along the other course.

The eye's gaze drifted across the opening in front of it, before it would dart in one direction or the other. The erratic search made Link hesitate again as he neared the stalk, but between the steady hum of the blessing and the cloak, he knew approaching it would be a simple, if slow task.

Once Endeavor was in place, Link began to inch along out of the tall grass where he'd bee waiting. He knew nothing could see him, but there was still something deeply disturbing about getting so close to the scanning eye. He would pause when it swung his way before beginning again, making his way as quickly as he could. It was still painfully slow.

His sword cut through the stalk in an instant, and it collapsed with a thud and began to crumble into dust. As it did, Link shifted his position to watch the clearing, the tunnel exposed behind him. Nothing stirred for now, save for Endeavor as she dashed from her hiding place and into the tunnel.

Keeping his sword raised, Link glanced over his shoulder to peer inside the entrance. He could see the cluster Endeavor had described, undulating in a way that tried to mimic a heart as it wrapped around a massive stone water wheel. It was disgusting to look at, and Link was grateful when Endeavor's sword stabbed through, and began to make it wither.

What Link saw too late though was how it had been blocking the flow of water. A plate had been inserted between the cluster and the grate further in the tunnel, and without the cluster there to keep it in place, the force of the river behind it launched it down the tunnel, along with the river itself no longer held back.

There was nothing but himself that drove the leap he made towards Endeavor. She was several feet away; a great wall of water faster than Link could have ever been.