…and out into the other cell. Echo had vanished. Endeavor called across the hall, “Where did she go?”
Link looked around and shrugged. Endeavor just shook her head. “Do you see anything in there that could help us? A switch or something?”
Looking around, Link tried to find something. He figured that Echo would have found something, but he could be wrong. He shifted the bed a bit and found a large boulder. He still had his power bracelets on, so he figured he might as well see what was hidden behind the rock. He shook his head. “I know why she wanted a bomb.”
Behind the stone was another tunnel. Link couldn’t tell where it led to, but it was some way out. Link leaned back a bit, letting them see the gap. A few moments later, Zelda, Lynard, and Endeavor joined him in the second cell. Lynard said, “I’ll go first. They’ll be a little easier on me if I get caught, and I still have this cane.”
Lynard ducked down through the space. The three stood there, worrying about the man. Minutes passed before Lynard appeared. He said, “No one immediately. It comes out in a barrack. There are a few men chatting around a table, but they’re so drunk we could take them out easily, or even just sneak passed them.”
Endeavor replied, “What are the chances they’re going to come back here?”
Lynard tightened the grip on his cane. The motion was noticeable as he answered, “I doubt that. If we get caught, they’ll put us back in here. But I think people will catch on sooner or later if we keep getting caught.”
“Where are we headed once we get out of here?” Link asked.
“I’d need a map of the place to tell you for sure, but something tells me that we’ll find Sayyida in the upper levels of the fortress,” Lynard stated. “Now, the only way to get there is to get control of the Cage in the center, which her first mate is going be guarding. That’s Omar. Without any weapons, that’ll be a tough fight.”
Zelda asked, “Where are our weapons?”
“Well, I’m fairly certain that you can summon your bow back, Highness, but as for Endeavor and Link’s weapons, someone probably is carrying them around,” Lynard stated. “Keeping them in chests would be too risky, and they might think they’re getting to keep those weapons since we’re stuck in here.”
Endeavor inquired, “What about the Master Sword?”
Lynard sighed, before muttering, “Sayyida probably has that one.” He ducked back into the hole and vanished.
Link offered for Zelda, but the princess scowled at him. Endeavor suggested, “Link, I think you and I should go first.” Zelda brushed off her dress as Link ducked down into the tunnel.
There was a short drop as Link fell a few feet down onto a bed. The bed creaked. The two men sitting around the table started to turn back towards him. Someone jerked him back into the shadows. Lynard put his hand over Link’s mouth as they crouched behind the bed. Finally, the two men returned to their game.
“Stay down,” Lynard said, before he began moving off towards another bunk to get a better view of the room.
Endeavor came down quietly beside Link. She whispered, “Where’s Lynard?” Link pointed towards where Lynard had crawled.
“What is he up to?” she asked.
Lynard came back over to them. He stated, “They’re not watching the door. We can slip out easily.”
“I would rethink that,” Endeavor noted. “You said it would easy to knock them out?” Lynard nodded. “Then we should. That is the Sage’s Rod.”
Link replied, “We don’t have anything to fight them with.” He glanced at Lynard, but Lynard was gone. He looked across the room and saw Lynard with his cane making his way towards the two men.
One fell from Lynard’s first swing. The second staggered to his feet, but Lynard knocked him out as well before the man could react. Endeavor said, “You would not believe that he was an old man if you did not see it in his face.” She pulled herself out of hiding as Lynard stood over the two men.
Someone tumbled in from above. Link looked up and saw Zelda sliding down off the bed. She looked passed him and saw the two men lying on the ground. “Well, you made short work of them.”
Lynard picked up a golden rod from beneath the table. He extended it to Link, saying, “I believe this is yours.”
Link gladly took the item back. If it hadn’t been for Lynard, it probably would have taken him much longer to recover the item. They would probably have had to sneak around the temple some more before they found a weapon just lying around in order to progress.
Endeavor leaned out the door before leaning back in and shutting the door. “The guards are moving in a counter-clockwise path around the dungeon. I cannot tell if they have any of our weapons from here. Though, I think it would be better to remove Omar from this than trying to recollect all our weapons. As long as we get to Sayyida, we may be able to persuade her to return our items.”
“She’s right,” Lynard said. “We’ll spend more time backtracking if we have to restock you. Besides that, Sayyida may want to use the Master Sword to barter with, which means we need to find her quickly before she gets to try.”
They waited until the closest guard passed them by. Lynard took the lead. Link gripped the Sage’s Rod, glad to have a weapon again. The abilities of the Shadow Medallion weren’t that aggressive compared to other elements, but it was better than having nothing. At least it could help him make a hasty escape if they got caught.
Lynard led them inside another room, and ducked them out of sight. It was an armory. Lynard whispered, “I figured something might be hidden in here, considering.”
Link peered up over the table they were hiding behind. There were three pirates leaning over a table. From here, Link could see Endeavor’s sword. He started to lift the Sage’s Rod, before casting a shadow over the room.
Endeavor rushed in based on memory. She grabbed her blade, before hitting the closest man to her. As the cloud began to vanish, Lynard moved in, stopping the third man before he could escape as Endeavor handled herself. She picked up something off the table. “Looks like we found something else of yours, Link.”
She set a familiar blue flute in Link’s hand. Link wiped the mouthpiece off, worried about whether the pirates had tried to play it. It smelt like rum, but so did this entire place. Zelda said, “Wish we had found a better weapon.”
“I think that’ll do a decent job on its own,” Lynard said. “Just a note could distract these men, which may be enough for us to get passed something else.”
“Would it be enough to get down to the entrance of this cage?” Endeavor asked, leaning out the doorway.
Lynard joined Endeavor at the doorway. They stepped back after a moment as a patrol came by. Lynard said, “I’d think so. But getting over there is going to be a pain. We’ll need to concentrate on at least getting Link through the door.” Lynard glanced back at Link. “Ready for this?”
Tightening his grip on the Ocarina, Link replied, “As I’ll ever be.” Lynard slipped out the door. Not wanted to get caught by anyone, Link quickly followed…