[EDITING] The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Dungeon Chapter 15 - Half a Music Sheet

...and into the first room they had visited. Link pointed across to the other side of the room, where the door was sealed with the same mark. Endeavor studied it for a moment, before saying, "We need to get over there. If you have any plans."

Link pulled out his clawshot and fired at the counterbalance on the hanging hourglass between them. He pulled the chain towards him until the top of the hourglass was level with the floor. As he dug his heels in, he asked "Will this work?"

"It should," Endeavor replied. They took two long steps and then leapt for the platform he'd created. Link tightened his grip has they landed on the hourglass. They turned back to Link and Zelda as it held in place. "Yes, it works fine."

Zelda followed over behind Endeavor. Link pulled the hourglass a little higher, before he took a running start to cross the gap. The hourglass lurked when he landed on it, but he made it across. He had to roll though to keep from face planting into the floor as he jumped for the further landing. Recovering quickly, he stood up and looked at the door.

"I am not familiar with these runes..." Endeavor muttered. "No, wait...these are notes." They rubbed their hand in some dirt, and ran six parallel lines across the runes. "Do you know how to read notes?"

"Not really," Link replied.

"Unfortunate," Endeavor muttered as they reached for their pack. They set their violin to their chin, instructing, "Here is a scale." They played a series of notes from low to high. Link repeated them on his ocarina. Endeavor pointed to the runes again, their finger below the lowest line. "This is where the lowest note is marked, and this—" They pointed to above the top line. "Is where the highest would be marked."

Link nodded, not particularly certain of his brief music lesson. After a few attempts and quick correction from Endeavor, Link played the notes on the wall. The runes faded and the door opened. Not bad, he thought, for his first time playing an instrument.

Taking a step inside, Link held his shield up. He wasn't sure what he would find in here. Something moved above the door. Link turned as the door closed and sealed itself. Zelda had just made it through, hurrying to draw her bow as she quickly stepped over to join him. Link whipped his sword out, and waited for the monster to appear.

It was a slender creature. A pair of notched blades dragged against the ground, grasped by two pale, thin hands. The flesh barely clung to the body. A worn slip hung loosely from the creature's body. Long black hair hung over the head.

Link almost placed it as a distorted human, until it pulled two more pairs of arms from behind its back. The long hair tossed back, and revealed a human-ish face, with a pair of pinchers extending from the mouth, and two extra sets of eyes. Link grimaced as the monster hissed at him and raised its blades up. It juggled the pair of swords from its six arms, before it began to rapidly swing at Link.

Link parried the swords as they swung in all together. They grinded against his blade with a painful hiss. He pushed his sword upward, and swung wide across the creature's front. He felt like one hit would kill it, but he was sorely mistaken.

Link was soon on the defensive again as the monster switched its blades to its other hands. Shield raised, he tried to defend against it as Zelda skirted them on the side. Too many swords to block, the arrows rarely found purchase, but they did distract enough for Link to counterattack where he could.

After repeating similar clashes like this, the creature stumbled. Link didn't wait to drive his sword through it. It slumped, and faded into ash as all other monsters did.

The door opened behind them. Endeavor came through and looked at the last remnants as the dust was disturbed. Zelda asked, "What was that thing?"

"It is ancient...from before the time of Hyrule, from the time before Demise was imprisoned," Endeavor said with a slight hint of fear.

Link looked at the creature. That was thousands and thousands of years ago, at the very beginning of time. Endeavor went on, "It is a Gohma, from which all the superior arachnids of the Demon Lord were modeled. And not the most powerful of its kind."

"So, why is it in the Goddess's temple if it's so evil?" Zelda asked.

Endeavor swallowed, and Link saw genuine fear in their eyes. "It is a sign." They looked at the both of them. "I fear what we may find at the end of this temple, but I will not say anything lest I be purely misguided. For now, let us continue."

They lifted the two blades as the body of the Gohma finally disappeared, holding the flat sides together. "It seems though that these are indeed by the Goddess's design." They held up the swords to Link, and he saw another set of notes on them. They asked, "Can you play this?"

Pulling out his ocarina once more, Link played the tune. A light covered the two blades, their shapes fusing together. As if faded, it revealed the bottom half of a key. Endeavor handed the key shaft to Link. "It seems we may need to find the other half to continue on. I would guess there is another room like this on the other side of the temple, if our progress here is any indication."

"That would make sense," Link agreed as he put the key part into his pouch.

Zelda asked, "Then what are we waiting for? We have work todo. Let's go!" She rushed for the door, encouraging Link and Endeavor as shewent. Following behind the princess, they headed back over to the easternportion of the temple...