It had been a tricky journey to the temple, but at last it was finally coming to a close. The forest had been largely unforgiving and treacherous for the most part, with much of the terrain hiding a deadly pitfall. The portal at the end had taken him to a place with a grey sky, barren fields and endless rain, and his only reprieve from it all had been the cave he ran into.
With a weary sigh, Link pulled out a bottle full of a red potion and downed its contents as he sat on the stone floor. As he let the potion work its familiar, bittersweet magic, he stared at the last obstacle in his way, a stone door with the insignia of the royal family on its front. Briefly he wondered why such a symbol was here.
"It looks like I'm on the right track," he said to himself. Now was a good time to rest and regroup. There were several thoughts on his mind, and he wanted to make sure they were all in order before he proceeded. The potion was potent, healing wounds he never thought he had in an instant and restoring his strength, but it couldn't cure the bout of curiosity that ran through him.
What confused him was the things he encountered during his trek. There were the usual hostiles and unwelcoming structures that nearly threatened to end his adventure, things that all travelers encountered sooner or later, but he noticed something strange as he proceeded deeper into the forest. Usually, the further he made it into a structure, the more elaborate and difficult the traps became. However, that didn't seem to be the case here. At first the monsters he encountered had been aggressive, exhibiting the usual territorial behaviors of blocking his path and attacking him. It wasn't until he crossed a certain chasm with the help of his grappling hook that they stopped being as aggressive.
The sight of an attacker actually backing down from him had been a bit upsetting at first, but that couldn't compare to the more odd behaviors he encountered later on, all of them frequently coming from the lizard-like foes. He was caught off guard by the sight of a forest wolfos lying on its back in apparent submission and whimpering at him, begging for mercy like an acual. At the beginning of the cave he was in, the two dinolfos that had been guarding the entrance had stepped aside and kneeled before him, sheathing their weapons as well. Such encounters became more common the deeper he went. He had expected all of them to be traps and made sure his sword and shield were ready, but rarely did he find himself fighting any more enemies. The few that remained aggressive retreated quickly after he blocked their attack and retaliated.
"Not sure what's going on here," he muttered. "It could still all be a trap for all I know. The path to the Master Sword has never been an easy one... or one filled with so many strange things happening at once." He appreciated the lull in aggression from the various fiends he faced, as it was a welcome change from the near-constant-battle pace he was used to, but it was unsettling all the same. That mage had to have been using his magic to make them behave in such a manner, no doubt trying to acquire the hero's Triforce of Courage for his plans. He stood back up as he reminded himself what he was here for.
"The only way I'll defeat him and free the kingdom is with that sword." How his foe managed to get his hands on the Triforce of Power was a mystery, but he knew that he could not let the entire artifact be assembled. Thankfully, the mage couldn't extract it from the princess thanks to her escape, but it was only a matter of time...
"No. Now's not the time to think on what could happen." Dusting himself off and drawing his sword and shield, Link cautiously approached the door and pushed it open. Looking around, he saw that there was no ceiling, yet the floor was completely dry. On the other side of the open room lay the Master Sword, firmly resting in its pedestal. Relieved that his goal was in sight, he walked forward, but stopped suddenly as he spotted some movement in a dark corner. Two hooded figures in black robes stepped forth. He frowned, knowing that these two had to be spellcasters of some sort sent to intercept him. If their clothing was any indication, they were the variety that specialized in dark magic, something he was not equipped to handle.
