Mermaid's Cave [BP/Darth]

Mermaid's Cave
- Judith Vilcaron, Priestess of Nayru (1/5/2 Hylian) [Darth Slaverus] Renting: 1 Mermaid Suit; Reward: Gift of Prophecy.
- Triton, Scholar of Magic (1/5/3 Blue Zora) [Blonde Panther] Reward: Magic Power 1, +10 Rupees.
Appropriate Dungeon Music

Rain pounded down on the surface of the water, above him. The weather in this region of the Eastern Sea had been bad for weeks, with heavy rain, thunderstorms, and cyclones deterring any who travelled by ship. The sea was unruly and even as he swam well below the surface, Triton could feel the consequences of the storm. The current was strong, threatening to overtake his fragile form and toss it around. He recognised the current's pull every time though, and managed to swim out of it just in time. However, the water was dark, and if not for the bottled Blue Fire his companion carried on her person, they would not be able to see even where they were swimming. The fire gave enough light to avoid collision with large sea creatures and rocks, but Triton was disoriented. He held out his hand in a gesture meaning his companion had to wait, and give a solid kick against the water below him with both feet.

Shooting up, he breached the water at a high speed, soaring well above the surface and getting a few seconds to look around just as lightning flashed- his timing could not have been better. As he fell back down, assuming a diving position, he used his downwards momentum to find his companion again. Or rather, his charge.

The Cult of Nayru was a bit of an iffy organisation when it came to Blue Zoras. They held a certain disdain for their god Jabu-Jabu, but had never placed a direct insult to Him or the Zoras themselves, and the Cult and Zora's Domain had a history of collaborating together on certain magical projects. When Triton had caught wind of a priestess wanting to visit the Mermaid's Cave -thus named because it was a sacred place both to the Cult populated largely by Hylians and to the fish-like Blue Zora- for a pilgrimage, he had known she could not travel by boat with a Hylian or Gerudo bodyguard as they usually did.

He had offered service as the priestess's escort in exchange for a portion of the Cult's magical knowledge. It had been agreed that his charge, Sister Judith, would teach him one aspect of it, of his choice, at his discretion, but not until they had reached the cave at least. When he found the woman, twisting in mid-dive to assume a more horizontal position more suited for distances, he pointed to their eleven-o' clock.

Under normal circumstances, by now they would see a mountain slowly taking shape, with a cave entrance at the very edge of their vision. Even tough he didn't see it, though, Triton knew it was there- he had seen the mountain when he had breached the water.

Having never been a particularly strong swimmer, Judith had to struggle to keep up with her Zora companion, unaccustomed to the odd sensation of possessing a tail instead of legs. Although she was in no danger of drowning, the magic of the mermaid suit she now wore allowing her to draw breath both beneath the waves and above them, her movements were greatly hindered by the violent currents generated by the storm. She couldn't help but admire how gracefully her guide, Triton, navigated the turbulent waters compared to her. Truly, his people were blessed by Mother Nayru, whether they knew it or not. Still, while she did not share Triton's aquatic agility, the priestess was confident that she would not be a liability. Already, her carefully-preserved bottles of blue fire had served to illuminate the murky depths of the sea, lighting their path, and she was determined to overcome any further obstacles with wits rather than brawn. The Cult was counting on her to liberate one of their most important holy sites, and she would not fail them.

Their destination, the Mermaid's Cave, had long been used as a place of worship by Zoras and Nayru's adherents alike due to its proximity to the ocean. In ages past, the two groups had been known to meet there to exchange ideas and magical secrets, united in their desire for enlightenment despite their different faiths. In more modern times, the Mermaid's Cave was no longer so frequently visited, but its spiritual significance had never waned. However, three weeks ago, one of Judith's fellow priestesses, Sister Gwen, had attempted a pilgrimage, only to be beset by monsters lurking within the shrine. Barely escaping with her life, Sister Gwen had reported the unwelcome intrusion to the local Canoness. When Judith heard of the incident, she had immediately volunteered to investigate and purify the area if necessary, half out of righteous indignation and half out of a genuine academic curiosity regarding the hallowed site. She had not made the decision lightly, recognizing the danger, but her unrelenting convictions had driven her onward.

Given the religious import of her quest and her relative inexperience, Judith's superiors had spared no expense in preparing her for the trials to come, providing her with valuable training in the art of arcane combat as well as hiring Sir Triton, who was reputedly a formidable mage, to be her escort. She was especially grateful to Sister Superior Augustine, who had lent Judith her mermaid suit, a memento of her own successful pilgrimage to the Mermaid's Cave several years ago. If Augustine was to be believed, the enchanted garment would be vital to reaching the deeper chambers of the shrine, some of which were completely submerged.

As Triton briefly surfaced to ascertain their direction, Judith's thoughts turned to the ferocity of the storm, which was unlike anything she had ever seen... Truth be told, under the circumstances, she doubted this foul weather was a mere coincidence. Perhaps this was also the doing of whatever had defiled the shrine... When her guide returned, indicating the correct direction with his finger, Judith gave him a thumbs-up in response, before tapping her hand to her head. Reaching out with her mind, the priestess used her race's innate telepathy to inform the Zora of her suspicions. She was sure the technique would prove itself useful many times over before the day was done.

"Sir Triton, I fear that this storm may be a symptom of a greater evil within the shrine. We must be on guard."

Triton nodded upon hearing her message, but did not stop swimming towards the mountain. He knew that not the entire cavern was submerged, and they could discuss their course of action once they got aboveground; he did not like the conditions they were swimming in, even if there were no monsters around.

Instead, he gestured that Judith had to follow him and sped up. Finally, the cave came into their range of vision, and Triton nimbly slipped inside through the relatively small and narrow opening. Sister Judith wasn't built that much bulkier than him, so he trusted she could follow him as he swam straight up. When he breached the surface of the water this time, he did so with only a small splash, shutting his eyes as he effortlessly shut off his underwater breathing apparatus and instead switched to his lungs to breathe the musty cavern air. He waited for his charge to come up before he started speaking.

"I understand your concerns," he said, referring to the evil she had spoken of. "However, I fear I am not familiar with the inner chambers of the cavern." He didn't bother asking how deep inside the dungeon she would have to get in order to perform her cleansing ritual. "We can only hope that Lady Nayru will guide you, and Lord Jabu-Jabu me. Stay close to me, Sister Judith." Careful and swift analysis of their surroundings would hopefully make up for his lack of advance knowledge of the place. He had at least gone over some basic warnings and key aspects of the place with Thria, so he knew some things to look out for. Still, at the moment he wished his twin sister -or at least her husband- would be here to protect them.

He lowered himself back underwater, not bothering to switch breathing methods as he launched himself towards the nearest edge. surfacing once more as he reached it, he climbed onto the dry land and raised one hand, summoning a small flame to illuminate the dark cavern. Its light did not spread far, but far enough to see a few feet ahead of them.

Emerging from the water alongside Triton (albeit with a much louder splash than the one he'd made), Judith took a moment to gather her bearings before replying to her companion. Instinct had compelled her to inhale deeply upon surfacing, her natural reflexes refusing to accept her amphibious state. She couldn't blame her body, really... Being able to breathe underwater felt utterly alien, as if she were inhabiting someone else's physical form.

Recovering from her momentary disorientation, Judith nodded at Triton. "Of course. May Mother Nayru watch over us. Lead the way, Sir Triton." As the Zora scouted ahead with his magical flame, Judith scanned the immediate vicinity, watching and listening for any sign of movement. Nothing. She waited a few seconds more, then, satisfied that they were alone in the entrance hall, swam toward the edge of the pool and hauled herself out. Once that was done, she slipped out of her mermaid suit and slung it over her back.

Of course, donning the suit had necessitated a change in the young priestess' wardrobe: The bulky robes she typically favoured were ill-suited for traversing water, and too restrictive to be comfortably worn in conjunction with the mermaid suit. Thus, the normally-modest Judith found herself clad in nothing but a blue bikini top and a matching skirt, much to her own embarrassment. The only thing that hadn't changed about her attire was her characteristic lack of shoes, her bare feet slapping against the damp tiles of the shrine as she rose to a stand. Fortunately, the Zora race were not known to be terribly prudish when it came to clothing, so it was unlikely that Triton would make a fuss over it... That was something to be thankful for, she supposed.

Before exploring the room further, Judith paused to carry out a brief series of stretches with her legs to limber up. If they encountered monsters, the last thing she wanted was for them to cramp or fall asleep, and given the lengthy period of disuse they had endured on the journey here, they might do just that. When she finished, she quickly drew her staff in one hand and one of her blue fire bottles in the other, and began to inspect her surroundings in greater detail.

Between the two sources of light the mages had produced, Judith was able to make out a rather ornate statue of a woman with the lower body of a fish directly in front of them. As she drew closer, the priestess recognized the face of the mermaid as that of Mother Nayru, Her impossibly beautiful features sculpted into an expression of serenity. Reverently dropping to her knees in prayer at this immaculate sight, Judith was overcome by a surge of hope. The statue was miraculously unscathed. Whatever fiends lurked here had not the power to harm her Goddess. She had known ahead of time that such works of art had been crafted in the Mermaid's Cave by the devotees of old, but that did not diminish the sense of joy she felt as she gazed upon the representation of her deity.

Privately, Judith wondered what Triton thought of the magnificent statue. As she understood it, there was some debate as to why the ancient pilgrims had chosen to portray Nayru as a mermaid. Many believed that they had wished to emphasize the importance of Nayru's mastery over the world's oceans. Others speculated that the design had been deliberately selected to win converts from the Zoras who visited the shrine, by depicting the Goddess in an image they could identify with. What would her guide make of it, if anything at all?

Triton patiently waited until Judith finished her stretches. He did not share her stiffness or circulatory problems, having used his own flippers, fins, and legs to propel himself through the water, but he understood the problem and looked at the Mermaid Suit, instead. Much like the more conventional Zora Tunic, It was an impressive bit of magic, that much was certain. Allowing a purely above-ground creature to extract oxygen from water... he'd love an opportunity to study how it worked. Not necessarily to reproduce it, but simply to understand. He knew it involved Zora scales, but exactly how many and in what arrangement, using what enchantments to prevent them from drying out during long spells of disuse--

He interrupted his thoughts when Judith fell to her knees in prayer at the statue of the mermaid, carved in the likeness of the Golden Goddess of Wisdom. Triton took a respectful step back, not knowing how much personal space she needed in a state of reverence, and looked up at the stone face. He venerated Lord Jabu-Jabu first, foremost, and above all, of course. Almost all Blue Zoras did, and even if he had not done so intrinsically, Thria would let him have it if he were to worship any other god. Still, Nayru and her domain applied more strongly to him than to his sister. Nayru was more than the goddess of Wisdom- she was the mother of the seas, as well as of the very magic that he sought to master. It was part of the reason why he had opted to escort Judith here; to a certain, aloof degree, he felt a sense of kinship with the blue-clad priestesses of Nayru.

With Judith's mind elsewhere, it fell to Triton to monitor their surroundings. All caves and caverns in Hyrule were dotted with highly aggressive Keese, and the Mermaid's Cave was no exception; he saw a few hanging from the ceiling at the edge of his vision. They weren't overly dangerous, which was the main reason he hadn't incinerated them yet- however, they were territorial and harassed any traveller that alerted them to their presence. Other than the bat-like critters, there was nothing in the room with them, and Triton waited patiently for Judith to finish her prayer.

To Judith's mild disappointment, Triton remained silent throughout her reverie. Any insights he might have had were locked away in his head. His earlier comment had betrayed his faith in Jabu-Jabu... Perhaps he felt it would be disrespectful to disrupt her meditations with a discussion on their religious differences? Or was it possible that he simply did not attach any sentimental value to the idea of erecting a statue to a deity? Unlike Mother Nayru, whose likeness could only be captured through art and monuments, the gargantuan fish the Zoras of Lake Hylia had claimed as their god could be seen with one's own eyes. She suspected that was part of his appeal- for many, being able to view their deity in the flesh would be a veritable wellspring of reassurance to draw upon. Judith personally did not find this sufficient grounds for worship, as a higher being would not be bound to the physical world as Jabu-Jabu and the other pretender gods were... But she could understand the psychology behind it.

"I apologize, Sir Triton." Judith rose and turned to face her companion with a sheepish smile. "Whenever I behold my Goddess, I cannot help but bend the knee to Her." There was holy work to be done, and trying to coax philosophical musings out of the Zora was an endeavour best left to a later date. Her inquisitive nature had gotten the better of her.

"Shall we move on?"

"Worry not," Triton said. "I understand well the desire to state one's respect to their chosen patron- whether through words or through deeds." He did not share the compulsion, himself, however. "Still, it might be best to refrain from doing so from now on. Those Keese are unlikely to be the only creatures in this cave that will attack us on sight, and the evil you spoke of probably resides in a deeper chamber." He walked towards the tunnel that was visible from here. As he approached, the Keese dislodged themselves from the ceiling and threw themselves at him, screeching and beating their ugly, leathery wings erratically.

Triton barely acknowledged them with a single glance and converted the flame he was using for lighting into a small fireball, a simple pointing of his left index finger sufficient to send it into the direction of the two bat-like monsters and incinerating both within seconds. "My spells can protect us from most unholy creatures," he then continued, "But it has never hurt anyone to pay attention to their surroundings and take note of uncharacteristic movement and sounds." He stopped at the tunnel, peering in. As expected, it was pitch dark and the residue light from the dying fire behind him was far from enough to light it.

"Could we use your Blue Flame to light our way?" he then asked, "If I don't have to waste concentration and resources keeping a flame alive, I can spend more power on offensive and defensive applications of my magic."

As Judith watched Triton dispatch the feral Keese that loitered within the room, she was struck by how calmly he employed his deadly magic. Ordinarily, she might have deemed his display of power a tad excessive, but she could not abide the presence of vermin in a temple dedicated to her Goddess. The Zora wizard was evidently a detached, practical individual- traits that were prized among Nayru's faithful. He was wise, too, if his plea for caution was any indicator. She would do well to follow his example.

"Indeed. There will be no further distractions, Sir Triton. Perhaps once we have cleansed and secured this place, I can resume my ministrations." Judith promised good-naturedly, glad that her companion had not been reproachful of her impulsive prayer. Moving to join him beside the tunnel, she held her blue fire bottle aloft in response to his request for light. "Darkness may reign in these caverns, but my faith shines. Mother Nayru shall banish the shadows. We won't stumble about blindly if I can help it, Sir Triton."

With that, the sorcerous duo proceeded into the dank passageway, its ominous gloom replaced by the ethereal azure radiance of Judith's makeshift lantern. As they walked, the priestess adjusted her pace so that she was side-by-side with Triton at all times. Obviously, as their torchbearer, she couldn't be in the rear, but the Zora's mastery of offensive spells far outstripped hers. Straying too far ahead would prevent him from making optimal use of his abilities. The passage continued for several uneventful minutes before turning sharply. As Judith and Triton rounded the bend, they were greeted by a dazzling red incandescence. Shielding her eyes with her staff, Judith saw that they had arrived in a new chamber.

In stark contrast to the previous room, this chamber had been provided with a means of illumination: four metal braziers, each engraved with the symbol of an unblinking eye, were neatly arranged around the floor in a square pattern. All of them were alight with a glowing scarlet flame so bright, Judith found it difficult to look at them directly. Seeing nothing else of note from her position, she slowly advanced into the room, whereupon she noticed that the flames were extremely animated, swirling and dancing wildly... and, even more unnervingly, their hue was the colour of fresh blood. They were clearly not natural.

Judith had been about to remark on the peculiar characteristics of the flames and raise the possibility that someone had lit them recently, when suddenly, the two flames closest to Triton and Judith abruptly spat forth a fireball, one directed toward the Zora and the other bearing down on the hapless priestess. "Triton! Beware!" Judith cried out as she dodged to the right, the projectile missing her by a hair's breadth. No sooner had she evaded the unexpected attack, however, when something dropped down from the ceiling and landed in front of her. Judith stared in horror as the shape began to move, uncoiling itself into a lengthy mass of glittering scales. A pair of baleful, reptilian eyes returned the priestess' gaze, and the creature emitted a hiss before spreading its jaws wide for a killing bite.

Snakes?!

Reacting with a speed born of panic, Judith swung her staff toward the beast and recited an incantation. Instantly, an orb of raw arcane energy shot out of the staff, propelling itself into the serpent's kindly proffered maw. With the magic bolt lodged in its gullet, the snake could only convulse in agony before going limp and expiring. Sadly, Judith was unable to feel relief over her minor victory, as more of the foul reptiles were descending from above, at least three by her count, and there was no telling when the cursed braziers would strike next...

Not bothering to waste magic on a deflection of the fireball shot in his direction, Triton simply stepped aside and dodged it. He could sense the magic that had been used to grant the braziers sentience- although perhaps not sapience. Chances were they would keep shooting fire at the two until they left the room, which appeared to be the best course of action anyway- there wasn't much of interest in the square-shaped chamber. However, before they could move on, a number of large snakes fell from the ceiling and started hissing at them in a tone that made no secret of their hostility. Triton would have taken his time to more closely look at the patterns on their scales; Ropes had very distinctive colouring.

However, he was snapped out of it when he heard electricity magic crackle from Judith's direction and saw her under attack by one of the snakes. He hurried over to her, grabbing her by the arm to usher her behind her, meanwhile looking for the best angle from which to immolate the monsters. They were too far apart for a single Fire to get all of them, however, and the Electric Aura would threaten Judith as surely as it would them. He couldn't cast Fire in too rapid a succession, either, and because of their highly aggressive nature, he knew he had to dispatch the remaining two within seconds of the first.

He heard a sputtering to his side, felt a light burst of magic from the same direction, and when he looked, he saw a fireball soaring his way at a decent pace. Thinking quickly, Triton swiped his open palm in front of him, drawing an arched line from the brazier in the direction of the closest Rope. It worked. Just in time, Nayru's Affection blue, semi-transparent shield formed between him and the fireball, saving his film-covered skin from catching fire. However, the momentum he had given the shield had angled it, and instead of flying back towards the brazier the fireball was deflected in the direction of the nearest Rope. As expected, it burnt immediately, hissing loudly in protest and agony.

The other two lunged at that exact moment, and Triton threw one hand forward while raising the other. With his first hand, he cast a Fire spell, albeit a much smaller one than before because only half his focus was on that hand. The second it connected with the snake, he shifted his focus to his other hand. While unable to cast another Fire right after the first, he had a second, less potent offensive spell that could at least stop the last Rope in its tracks. Thrusting his hand forward, Triton expelled cold air from his open palm, which soon froze the Rope solid and sent it falling to the ground with a small 'chink.' Fearing the temperature of this room would thaw it out and make it a threat once more, Triton reached for Judith's staff, gently took it from her, and used it to smash the block of ice clear in two before returning it.

"My apologies," he said. "It appears I'm not as good at taking my own advice as I thought. No more biology or magic research until we've sorted out the evil; I promise I will not drop my guard again. Are you well?" From what he understood, neither a brazier's fire nor a Rope had made contact with Judith's skin, but he wanted to ensure regardless and help her heal any injuries his carelessness had resulted in.

In the frenzied moments following the death of the first snake, everything happened entirely too quickly for Judith's tastes. Just when it seemed that she might be overwhelmed by the combination of more slithering monstrosities and errant fireballs, Triton had visited his wrath upon their serpentine enemies and destroyed them utterly. The flames produced by the braziers suddenly calmed, as if they had been tied to the lifeforce of the snakes, and began to fade. The priestess guessed that they had perhaps a minute before the chamber was consumed by the inky blackness that defined the rest of the shrine.

So, this was combat... Judith was not ashamed of her own performance, having vanquished her foe handily, but Triton's sharp reflexes and arcane might demonstrated that there was always room for improvement. A true Priestess of Nayru never sought out conflict, but neither would she hesitate to raise her wand in defense of her Goddess and the innocent. Maybe her Zora companion could give her a few pointers when it came to battle?

Speaking of which, Judith had noticed that among Sir Triton's repertoire of spells was none other than Nayru's Affection, the very first cantrip Mother Nayru had taught to mortals! Was he aware of the divine origins of the spell? Or was this another act of providence? Much as she wanted to broach the topic, she had already promised herself that she wouldn't bother him about spiritual matters while the Mermaid's Cave remained infested by evil. Instead, she decided to share the other observation she had made during the fight.

"There is nothing to apologize for, Sir Triton. I'm fine." Judith replied as he handed her staff back to her, before gesturing to the corpse of the snake she had killed. "But this was a trap, and not just because of the braziers. Look, these are no aquatic sea-serpents. Their scales overlap... a trait that is rather uncommon in marine snakes. Someone put these creatures here."

When Judith remarked about the snakes, Triton stopped, bending down to pick one up so he could examine it more closely. Holding it up by the tail with one hand and using Spark to provide a little light with the other, he closely examined the pattern on the creature as well as taking note of the fact that its scales did, indeed, overlap. "You are absolutely correct," he said, confused, as he finished his examination. "However, the pattern and colours of the scales imply a cave-dwelling subspecies of Rope. I agree that they cannot have swum into the cavern themselves, but I have to wonder at someone's motives for removing Ropes from one cave and putting them into another when there are a few islands not far from here that they could have been gathered at." He put the creature back down on the ground, next to one of the braziers.

"Regardless..." He shut his eyes and concentrated in order to confirm his math. "Yes. Enough time has passed that I can use my spells once more. We should press on; though cautiously, lest we walk into another trap." Still lighting the way, he led Judith towards the other side of the room, where he had seen a passageway when the braziers had still burnt. This time, they didn't end up in a separate hallway. Rather, as soon as they passed under the natural arc of stone, they found themselves inside a new, dark room. Triton looked around from where he stood...

until he saw a green flash right next to him.

He tried to dive, but reacted too slowly. A wind spell collided with his temple, hard, the combination of the impact and the surprise factor knocking him over. He managed to catch his fall so he didn't hit his head, but when he looked up into the direction the spell had come from, he saw nothing. Had his assaulter made a quick getaway, or had he imagined it..?

Triton agreed with Judith's assessment and proposed that they continue onward, keeping an eye out for any further treachery. It was a sound plan, she figured. If they kept moving, they would make more progress before the current inhabitants of the Mermaid's Cave, whoever they were, realized their trap had been sprung, giving the villains less time to prepare additional defenses. A consensus reached, the two pressed on. Judith was confident in her belief that they had yet to be detected, and thus still had the element of surprise.

She had not accounted for the possibility that their movements were already being tracked, and that an ambush awaited them in the very next room.

The second Triton was felled by an unseen assailant, Judith whirled to face the direction the spell had come from, casting aside her blue fire bottle and holding up the now-free hand in a protective gesture in front of her body, palm outstretched. She was just in the nick of time- No sooner had the arcane shield generated by Nayru's Affection appeared than a green sphere of energy was sent hurtling toward her, colliding with the magical barrier. Unfortunately, their foes remained hidden, and with nowhere to redirect it, the sphere ricocheted harmlessly and struck the wall. Painfully aware that she was at a dreadful disadvantage and at the mercy of at least one malevolent mage, Judith appealed to her enemies' sense of pride, if only to buy time.

"Cowards! Can you not best us fairly? Show yourselves, and face me!" She cried into the shadows. It was a desperate ploy, and one she knew wasn't likely to succeed.

"Very well."

Startled that she had actually gotten a verbal response (as opposed to another magic bolt), Judith watched as a figure rose from the floor in front of her. In the dim light emanating from the shattered blue fire bottle that lay a few feet away from her, she could make out the fact that the figure was swathed in strange robes and wore a large, pointed cap. A pair of glowing yellow eyes was all that could be seen of his face. Hearing a noise behind her, Judith glanced back over her shoulder to discover a second figure, dressed exactly like the first, but with a hideous, birdlike visage. Wizzrobes!

Judith had heard many stories about the mysterious Wizzrobe race. Their mastery of magic was said to be second-to-none, rivaled only by the elusive Great Fairies and the greatest legends of the age. But these were no allies of Nayru. Knowledge was but one facet of Wisdom. Temperance was another. Wizzrobes had no such patience. Their obsession with the arcane arts had consumed them, their unparalleled hunger for magic twisting them into misshapen fiends. As rumour had it, many were divorced from conventional morality, considering themselves above the concepts of good and evil by virtue of their immense power. Small wonder, then, that Ganon's ranks swelled with so many of their number...

"What have we here? A scantily-clad priestess and her pet fish? I thought we had cleaned this place out." The Wizzrobe with the hat remarked, his voice dripping with casual disdain, as if he had spotted an unpleasant insect. The avian Wizzrobe merely laughed, a harsh, squawking sound that grated on Judith's ears, before training his staff on Triton.

"... I have come to cleanse this shrine of evil. Why have you invaded this sacred place?" Judith replied, turning her gaze back to the Wizzrobe before her. He had yet to level his wand at her, apparently thinking he had already won. Maybe if she could keep them talking, she could find an opening...

"Ah." The more talkative of the two Wizzrobes closed his eyes for a moment, then tilted his head. "I surmised as much from your... attire. Well, no matter. You're about to die, little priestess. Suffice to say, Lord Ganon made us an offer that was too good to refuse. Butchering your brethren here was a trifling task, but amusing all the same. I fear that your death will not be half as entertaining."

Fighting to keep her emotions in check, Judith bit down on her lip. He was taunting her, trying to goad her into taking rash action. But if what he said was true, this monster was a servant of the King of Evil, and had murdered her Sisters. She could not let that go. "You will not succeed. Mother Nayru will not overlook this trespass." Judith whispered coldly.

The Wizzrobe laughed and spread his arms wide, indicating the temple. "Nayru? Ha! Your whore Goddess could not even protect this miserable little cave. She is nothing compared to- Aaaargh!" He never got the chance to finish his insult, as his theatrical response had led him to lower his guard. Judith blasted him with a magic bolt, causing him to stagger backward and clutch at a railing behind him for support.

"YOU WILL NOT SPEAK ILL OF MY GODDESS, INTRUDER!" The young acolyte cried, immediately flinging herself prone upon the floor. The swift movement saved her life. Just as the first Wizzrobe snarled in fury and was about to counterattack, he was hit by another spell, pitching him over the railing entirely. The birdlike Wizzrobe, having witnessed Judith's outburst, had swiveled to shoot her with one of his magic missiles, but he realized too late that she had thrown herself to the ground, and that he had just committed the fatal error of friendly fire. Judith had gambled on such an outcome, counting on the poor lighting to disorient her would-be attacker, and it had paid off. The first Wizzrobe disappeared from sight as he sailed over the precipice, but a loud splash seconds later signaled that there was a sizable body of water below.

Judith did not know if he was dead, but right now, that wasn't important. She had exhausted her powers, and she felt the breath rapidly leave her lungs as her chest slammed into the stone tiles. It would be up to Triton to finish off the remaining Wizzrobe before he corrected his mistake...

Triton remained on the ground as Judith drew out the residents of the shrine and spoke with them, finally attacking them and removing one from their immediate vicinity. The Zora played dead (or unconscious, at least) to avoid being attacked again while he devised a plan of attack. Wizzrobes were able to teleport around short distances, cast a spell, and then port back away, out of danger, immediately. This would have made them formidable foes, even if their magic power had NOT been as immense as it was. Triton wanted to assess them before getting up to fight them. Unfortunately, Judith's outburst and exhaustion forced him to get to his feet sooner than he had planned to.

The Wizzrobe with the bird-like mutation of the face ported away just as Triton got up, so the Zora opened all mental registers in hopes of sensing where it had gone. To no avail, but he did feel the familiar sensation of magic being moulded and sent hurtling his way. He spun, waving his hand out in front of him and casting Nayru's Affection to send the ball of Wind magic hurtling back at the caster- but the Wizzrobe had already ported away, so the spell died without hitting anything more. "This is bad," Triton muttered, "Very bad..."

To make matters worse, while dodging the spell from the first Wizzrobe, he sensed the second one coming back up. They were resilient, after all- a bit of water posed no threat. Wait... "Water!" Triton gasped. "That's it! Sister Judith!" He hurried over to the priestess and grabbed her Mermaid Suit, stuffing her legs into it a bit gracelessly. "I apologise for my rudeness," he said, "But this may be the best way to avoid them." He then took her hand and leapt headfirst over the railing, diving into the water below. Knowing how tired she was, he held on to her hand as he quickly swam towards a tunnel.

Wizzrobes were fast, strong, and smart. However, they were not swimmers, and their magic could not penetrate the watery barrier far enough to pursue the two, either. Triton knew he was supposed to kill them, but he needed time... time to devise a plan.

Winded as she was, Judith was in no position to protest as Triton dived over the balustrade with her in tow. In fact, she barely had time to process what exactly had happened before she plunged headlong into the pool below. It came as quite a shock to the priestess when she suddenly took on a mouthful of water, and for a moment she struggled, clumsily flailing her limbs about in an attempt to rise to the surface. Her vision was clouded by the inky darkness... Without her bottles, she was as blind as a bat, which only added to her distress.

Then realization dawned. She wasn't suffocating...? Ah, of course! The mermaid suit! How foolish of her to forget it... Triton must have outfitted her while she was stunned.

She felt a tug on her wrist, and immediately began to paddle toward its source, recognizing it as her Zora companion trying to urge her onward. Judith clung to him for dear life, knowing that they could not afford to be separated underneath the surface- the utter blackness of the flooded hall would ensure that they would never find each other again- but neither could they emerge from the water, lest the Wizzrobes were watching. Speaking of which...

The two evil wizards did not appear to be giving chase. They did not even put up a token resistance by unleashing a barrage of spells into the water. Why? Judith's inquisitive mind balked at the idea that she and Triton would be able to swim away in peace. They had to be planning something...

Just then, the area around Judith and Triton was dimly illuminated. Confused, the priestess glanced upward to see a strange ball of light flitting about above the water, dancing erratically through the air. Unable to quell the sense of wonder she felt despite the danger, she squinted to get a better look, but her fascination soon turned to terror when she saw it for what it really was.

A winged skull. An Anti-Fairy!

Judith was well-versed in the lore of monsters, and few things repulsed her more than Anti-Fairies. These abominations were swift, merciless, and worst of all, deceptively difficult to slay. It was waiting for them, circling like a shark. It would surely strike the instant they broke the surface. She had to warn Triton. Thankfully, her telepathy offered her a means to safely do so.

"Triton, whatever you do, do not surface."

Triton, who wasn't as familiar with monsters as Judith was, had never heard of Anti-Fairies before, and as such he was not aware of the danger lurking above their heads. However, he knew better than to think the priestess would issue him this warning without cause, and instead of surfacing he swam further towards the bottom of the dungeon, running his hand over the floor. It was covered in sand, like any other large body of water, which didn't appear to hide any hidden passageways. It was fortunate that they could both stay down here for an indefinite amount of time, for up was the only way out.

He swam back up, spiralling around his own axis to increase the speed with which he could reach her. Danger or not, they had to get out of the water. For all his aquatic nature, Triton could only defend himself by means of his Electric Aura right now. Once he reached Judith, he turned towards her. "What's the matter?" he asked, "We can't stay here. We don't know if they're pursuing."

In lieu of waiting another minute to elaborate on her cryptic warning, Judith pointed to the Anti-Fairy looming over their heads, then brought her hand down and drew a line across her throat with the same finger she'd used to indicate the foul creature. Expressing herself through pantomime was hardly the most effective means of communication, but she imagined it would be enough for her resourceful companion to get the gist of the situation. It was fortunate that, as an aquatic being, Triton could freely voice his confusion underwater.

As the priestess mulled their current predicament over, she was struck by an idea. While the presence of the Anti-Fairy was an unwelcome one, the light it projected was another story entirely. With it, she could see that hall ahead was on a slight incline, the water becoming gradually shallower before eventually rising onto dry land. Furthermore, she knew that the Anti-Fairy needed to close with its prey, unable to strike from afar. If she and Triton were to distance themselves from each other, it could not attack both of them at once. Splitting-up had previously been a suicidal proposition in the darkness, but the Anti-Fairy's glow would ironically be its own undoing, allowing them to spread out and lure it into an ambush.

Her plan formulated, Judith gestured to herself, then to Triton, and made a parting motion with her arms. She then paddled toward the shallows, signalling the Zora to follow from a distance. As Judith swam, her telepathy recharged, and she quickly contacted Triton.

"One of us must surface, and get the monster's attention. The other must surface immediately after, and blast it with a spell." She looked back toward her companion questioningly, waiting for a verbal confirmation that he understood.

He... supposed. He did see the flashing light above the water now that she pointed it out, but he had to rely on Judith's expertise to gauge its threat level and capabilities. He looked up at the surface, watching the monster's light flutter back and forth. She explained her proposed strategy just as Triton realised something else. The creature wasn't flying around aimlessly and randomly- it was following a rather precise pattern. He turned to Judith. "Good idea," he said. "I have a close-range defensive spell at my potential; I'll go up first to distract it. I will trust you to take care of it after that."

He waited until Judith would protest, and when she didn't, gave a little kick against the water to propel himself towards the surface. He swam towards the incline, waiting until the monster had turned away before he surfaced. Once breaching the water with his head, he could see that he was dealing with an enchanted, flying, sentient skull, which turned around the moment it spotted him and picked up speed to crash into him. The magic around it would hurt, maybe even incapacitate him, so Triton threw up an arm and began to circulate electricity around him to ward it off.

It hesitated, but Triton couldn't keep the aura up for long. He prayed that Judith would make haste with the spell that would take the thing out.

It was selfless of Triton to volunteer himself to be the decoy, even though that was what Judith would have recommended anyway. Truthfully, either of them would have been well-suited for the role, but from a risk assessment perspective, it was marginally safer for the Zora to be the bait. She could heal Triton's wounds if something went awry. The same could not be said for any injuries she herself sustained, due to the nature of her rejuvenation cantrip. Plus, Triton was a fast swimmer and possessed a plethora of offensive spells. He would be fine.

As her companion headed for the surface, Judith readied her staff and waited, allowing Triton the precious few moments he needed to create his distraction, before making her move.

Springing out of the water like a dolphin, the priestess extended her arm and loosed an arcane bolt in the Anti-Fairy's direction, hitting it dead-on. She had expected a moving target, but the Zora's aura had stopped the beast in its tracks. Stripped of its ability to bob and weave by its own hesitation, the Anti-Fairy would have been a sitting duck for even the most junior marksman.

Sent flying backward by the impact, the skull slammed into the wall and barely avoided dropping into the pool, slowing its momentum just enough to hover mere inches from the surface of the water. It looked decidedly vulnerable.

"Triton! Finish it!" Judith cried out, feeling rather like an announcer for some kind of gladiatorial arena.

Judith's spell sent the skull reeling, but didn't finish it off. She shouted for Triton to take care of that; while he was unsure how to feel about her sudden apparent blood-thirst, he did acknowledge that leaving the monster alive (could it be said to be alive? He wasn't sure) was more dangerous than he could justify. So he made a throwing motion with one arm, a fireball forming immediately as he swept his arm down in front of him and launching itself towards the skull. Monster and fireball connected, knocking the monster into the water. It didn't come back out.

Triton turned to Judith. "That seems to have taken care of it," he said, seeing no immediate or bad injuries on her from this distance. If anything was wrong, she would probably tell him, so he turned around, putting his hands on his hips as he looked around the room. "It's probably a good thing we didn't venture far out of the water." The room was strewn with pits, of a kind Triton had seen before. The bottomless variety. Further in the room, beyond the pits, was an unusually shaped crystal. Triton thought he could feel some sort of power radiating from it, but he couldn't be sure from this distance. And he had no projectiles left to hit it with...

Unsurprisingly, the glow the Anti-Fairy gave off died along with it, allowing the earlier darkness to once more lay claim to the hall. Thankfully, Judith was able to pinpoint the edge of the pool with ease, relying on her spatial memory to guide her as she made her way toward it. As she hoisted herself out of the water, she was pleased to discover that Triton had done likewise, and that the area ahead appeared to be lit. She spent about ten seconds unfastening her mermaid suit and stowing it away, then stood up to investigate their current whereabouts.

Her satisfaction proved momentary, however, when she saw what the Zora had meant by his vague proclamation. The chamber before the duo was most unusual... The floor beneath them only extended about a quarter of the way into the room, abruptly ending with a ledge that lead to a sheer drop. Beyond the massive pit, she could make out a blue crystal switch sitting atop a lone island in the middle of the room, surrounded on all sides by pitfalls. Ignoring the architectural impossibility of the chamber's design, Judith pondered just what purpose such a room could serve. Was it merely unfinished? No, it had to be a puzzle of some kind. But was it a creation of the shrine's former occupants, a chamber built for literal leaps of faith? Or was this the work of the Wizzrobes?

"Quite," Judith replied at length, furrowing her brow. With cautious, measured steps, she inched toward the verge of the floor and peered over the edge. The yawning abyss that greeted her was not particularly inviting, with no discernible bottom. Beating a hasty retreat lest she be overcome by vertigo, Judith turned to Triton to confer with him. "I think I see an exit to the left, but we can't get to it. There isn't a path that leads to it. Hmm... Obviously, the crystal switch must do something. I'm going to strike it with a spell. Triton, I want you to stand back and be ready to flee the room in case the results are unfavourable." Better to keep her companion informed, so as not to alarm him by doing something unexpected.

Brandishing her staff, Judith fired an arcane bolt at the switch. At the moment of impact, the switch changed colour, taking on a red hue, and the whole chamber began to shake. Before the priestess' very eyes, some of the floor tiles in front of her vanished, only to be replaced by new ones that materialized in different spots. Now, they had a clear route to the lower-left corner of the room, although their ultimate destination was still out of reach. Judith studied the altered layout of the floor, searching for an identifiable pattern as she compared it with her recollection of the original floor plan. Ah, of course...!

"Triton, don't hit the switch again just yet. If you do, we will likely fall to our deaths. Let us proceed across this newly created bridge, first. I suspect that the most recent tiles are the safest."