Inverted Triforce

Chapter 4

Zelda delicately handled the piece of paper as she unfolded it. It was blank. Her brow furrowed as she turned the paper over and over again, searching for any hint of writing. Giving up, she sat on the statue’s pedestal, staring at it. Her eyes darted back and forth along the paper, searching for anything that could point her where to go from here.

To her dismay, nothing happened. Feeling disheartened, she put the piece of paper in her pocket and left the room. Back in the room with the black pond, she contemplated which way to go next. She decided to go to the door on her left.

The next room held another door straight across. It was a large, round room, similar to the one with the statue. There were spots with mud and the same decorated tan walls. Taking a few steps in, she inspected the dome-like ceiling and floor. The statue room had made her feel as though she should expect something from what seemed like nothing.

A small “click” echoed in the room. Zelda looked up to the ceiling. In the center, a hole opened. Slowly, an object was being lowered through the hole. The rope holding it grew longer as it approached the floor. When the object stopped at about half of the room’s height, she stared dumbfounded at it.

It was a fish. What would a fish be doing dangling by a rope in a room with nothing but mud as a floor? The sound of a growl answered her question. Looking around, she couldn’t find the source of the noise. Readying an arrow, she prepared to be attacked. In the center of the room, a bubble began to grow. A few more bubbles joined it, but never quite grew as large as the first one. The bubbling continued for a few moments before the ground began to shake, popping the massive bubble.

A long, narrow snout shot from the ground. Sharp teeth decorated the edges as it opened its mouth in preparation to strike. Following the snout was a triangular head, scaly and covered in mud. Zelda had reached an arm up in an attempt to shield her eyes from the splatter of mud as the creature sprang from the ground; the creature broke through the mud as if it were water.

The creature soon disappeared after grabbing the fish, leaving no sign that it had come from the ground. Heart hammering, Zelda backed up toward the door. Staying along the walls, she decided that she would try to make it for the door across the hall. Running as fast as her legs would carry her, she made it to the door without encountering the enormous reptilian beast.

Opening the doors, and closing them behind her, she was pleased to see that the next room had a floor with a carpet. The presence of the floor made her feel safe from the creature in the previous room. However, there seemed to be nothing in this room either. Slowly, she began to step toward the center of the room.

Across from her was a step. It was carpeted like the rest of them except for a large square. Approaching it, she stared down at the square. Looking around the room once more, she hoped she would find some sort of hint as to what she would need to do with it. Deepening her frown, she took out the piece of parchment she had found in the other room. Looking between the square and the paper, Zelda placed the piece of paper in the center of the square. To her amazement, writing began to appear on it.

A pain ran through her starting at her back. Yelling out in surprise, she fell onto her knees. Looking over her shoulder, she stared, horrified, at the two stalfos chuckling. One of the stalfo’s swords had cut the tunic, but the chainmail had saved her from receiving a fatal wound.

Zelda turned toward them in a position where she was kneeling. With one foot flat on the ground and her other knee on the ground; she used her foot to keep her balance as she prepared to fire an arrow. The stalfos stared at her, waiting for her to shoot. When she did, they dodged with ease. One on each side of her, Zelda didn’t know which one to focus on. They both had swords and shields ready to defend and strike as they danced from one foot to the other.