by N Felts
before sprinting forward. His leap is impressive, but far short of the goal. Already descending at the halfway mark, he hears Mai call out to him. Her hand latches onto his, and he swings back upward, sailing all the way to the platform in front of the door with ease. The deteriorating structure is overgrown with moss and vines, their fuzzy, navy-blue color profoundly odd. Rift notes that many of the plants seem hazardous to the touch as he approaches the large entrance. Stopping for a moment, he ponders how he will open such a heavy door, the wooden monstrosity obviously taxing its rusted iron hinges. Refusing to question Mai’s resolve, he marches up to the obstacle, bracing himself to push. “On three?” She asks, delighted he is finally catching on. A solemn nod shows his agreement, and on the third count, two arms appear next to Rift, Mai’s hands upon the door as she adds her strength. The old door grinds open slowly, and a dim light is cast into the bleak setting.
A disabling stench climbs through the open door, and Rift’s eyes must adjust to the flicker of blue fire along the torch-lit walls. The main foyer leads to a pair of curved stairwells ascending to the second floor. A formerly red rug covers most of the stone floor, stained blue just like the walls and ceiling. Plant life has ravaged the interior as well as the exterior, several trees even managing to sprout up through the large cracks in the floor. Several hallways branch off from the main room, the entire building beginning to look like a maze. Already disoriented, Rift pulls his hood back over his head vacantly while his eyes wander throughout the room.
“Where is the armor?” He asks, praying Mai can lead him directly to it.
“Sorry, but I don’t know. This place hasn’t aged well,” she admits, taking in the surroundings as well.
“Well,” he starts, not realizing just how needy he’s beginning to sound. “Where should I start?”
“We’ll just have to start checking everywhere, but if you get lost just ask me where we’ve been. I have a really good memory,” she points out with an air of pride. Deciding to simply move forward, Rift advances to the door between the dual staircases. Expecting to walk right in, he is frustrated when the iron handle to the old door doesn’t budge. “We’ll need a key. It must be nearby,” Mai reveals, trying to help keep Rift determined. “Let’s try a different room.” Rift lets the minor setback go without succumbing to frustration, and jogs around the stairs to a hallway leading out of the room. The sound of rushing water grabs his attention as he draws closer to the entrance. Blasting up through the corner in a frothy torrent, murky water is invading the slanted room, only to drain out through a large hole on the opposite side. Nonchalantly stepping through the doorframe, Rift’s heart stops when Mai suddenly shouts, “Down!” Managing to react in time, Rift feels a hot, juicy substance splatter onto his back as he rolls forward. Spinning around, he finds a Deku Baba recoiling from the failed attack. Growing out of the wall above the doorway, it would certainly have claimed the life of anyone passing through without Mai’s warning. “Sorry about that, I didn’t see it until the last second,” she admits, sounding flustered herself.
“It’s okay, you saved me again,” Rift conveys, getting back to his feet.
“Oh stop it,” Mai laughs, sounding embarrassed by the flattery. “We’re a team now, remember?”
“Right,” he nods, smiling slightly. Scouring the room for anything useful, he traces a weave of roots next to the spout of water leading upward, and ending at a loft with some sort of box upon it. Wading through the mucky, green water, he quickly climbs the vines and finds a small chest resting at the top. Wasting no time, he pushes the lid upward, letting it fall back upon its hinges. Inside rests a small, silver key, which Rift snatches out with excitement. “That was easy,” he grins, proceeding back down the ladder of roots.
“Sure was,” Mai agrees, “at this rate I’ll be slowing you down soon,” she satirically implies.
“I don’t know about that,” he laughs, moving past the green fountain. Though he doesn’t fully realize it, he’s growing to like Mai. It’s hard to curse your fortune when the one person you’re sacredly fused with, is the one person who enjoys your company. Gradual as it may be, his obligation to help her is transforming into a willful adventure. Without missing a beat, Rift strolls right up the leafy predator, patiently waiting for him to try and exit.
“Right!” Mai shouts as the snarling plant lunges to Rift’s left. Dodging the attack with ease, Rift is back in the main room in no time. Triumphantly opening the lock, he is confused when the key dissolves in his hand.
“What?” He mumbles to himself as the opening door reveals stairs leading downward.
“I guess we can only use the keys once,” she shrugs without a hint of disappointment. “At least the door is open now.” With a perplexed shrug of his own, Rift confidently moves down the staircase of the narrow hallway. At the bottom is a small room with a floor of mud and moss. Every step becomes stuck momentarily as he walks into the room, the act of removing his feet producing a slurping sound. Sickened by the sticky substance crawling over his sandals and between his toes, Rift pushes forward without voicing his disapproval. A single lamp hangs from the ceiling, the flickering fire emitting a purplish glow. A third of the way across, Rift realizes the floor is littered with bones, a large skull resting half submerged in the mud near the exit. A sudden clattering sound between his own suction noises causes him to freeze in place. Searching for the source, he is horrified to see the bones slowly rolling into each other, pulled together by some unseen force. Reminded of the Stalchildren, he can’t seem to find the will to move as he watches an arm begin to take shape.
“Left!” Mai suddenly screams. Pulling his right leg out of the mud, Rift shifts left, the tip of a large spear nearly grazing his torso. A large skeleton recoils the savage attack, taking a difficult step forward to attempt another. Apparently some sort of undead guardian, its bony chest is covered by ancient armor. Rift’s sandals slurp up out of the ground as he attempts to back away in a panic. Turning his attention to the door, he sees the other skeleton is nearly complete as well. The legless ghoul straining to reach its spear lying nearby. Able to move faster than his fleshless antagonists, Rift manages to reach the stairs, sprinting up and out of the room. Emerging into an oddly shaped area with a low ceiling, Rift continues forward, not wanting to give the Stalfos a chance to catch up. “Look!” Mai exclaims, grabbing his attention. Ahead, the room widens onto a platform, and is illuminated by a large hole in the ceiling. A shallow pool of green water further ahead is littered with overgrown plant life, and at the center, a small island of rock holds a large wooden chest. “That must be it!”
Jogging around the debris of the awkward room, Rift crosses the platform and manages to vault over the length of water, landing next to the chest upon the island of smooth stone. Becoming excited himself, he must exert much more effort to throw the lid of this chest back, but the brief struggle is promptly rewarded. A pair of dark, faded gauntlets rest at the bottom of the wooden box. Reaching in and grabbing them, Rift can’t help but feel disappointed by the meager amount of protection they will offer. The length of the forearm, as well as the back of the hand is protected with dark, metal plates, the glove at the end only covering his fingers to the second knuckle. Tossing his temporary glove aside and pulling the arm guards on, they fit surprisingly well, stopping just past his elbow. Feeling significantly tougher, though he possesses no fighting skills, Rift throws an awkward punch to show off the gear.
“Looking good!” Mai encourages, instantly causing Rift to blush. Without warning, the entire temple jumps downward, a huge wave of water pouring into the room through the large hole in the ceiling. With gravity consistently pulling upward, Rift becomes certain the structure is sinking. “I think that’s our cue,” Mai nervously jokes, her companion quickly deciding to make a run for the exit.
Bid for Power:
My Vengeance Grows like Ebony
A harsh, consistent wind
pushes against the Gerudo’s form, though the force and scraping grains of sand are hardly registered. The midmorning sun casts a long shadow along the migrating dunes of sand. His ripped cloak billows violently until he finally passes through the gates of his fortress, relocated much deeper in a mountainous ravine to avoid pursuing forces of the crown. Loyal guards push the massive doors shut, and the relentless wind is kept at bay. His stride is purposeful, yet lacks the air of accomplishment his people had hoped to see. Whispers dance overhead, the population of thieves making no effort to draw attention, but remaining interested all the same. Dangling from the man’s clinched fist, the mythical helm he thought would lead him to his infinite power. Now it serves as little more than a reminder of his failure. Navigating the short staircases of the multilayered maze of a fortress, he makes his way to the throne room. Unlit torches rattle in their metal fixtures, the wind whipping over the high exterior walls of the structure, endlessly pushing against the thick stone of the square architecture. Ascending the final staircase, the man makes no attempt to acknowledge the pair of guards positioned on either side