Saria: Chapter Seven

"Saria!" Breena cried when they reached the maze in the Sacred Forest Meadow, "There are dangerous monsters here! We had better be extremely careful!" Saria looked into the maze and did here stomps and grunts polluting the air. "We have to get the Forest Temple. It's what the forest needs." Saria stated. With all the softest speed she could muster, she darted to the entrance and quickly looked left and right. When she didn't see anything, she began to race down the twists and turns she knew so well. All was clear until she was almost to the stairs when a large spear tip began to turn the corner she was about the turn down. Saria froze and was about to run when the owner of the spear, a rather large, aggressive Moblin, peeked around the hedge and roared. Moblins were dog link things that had two vicious looking teeth protruding over their upper lip and muscles as large of tree trunks. There were very aggressive and very territorial. It roar alerted the other Moblins and before Saria knew it, a chorus of screamed out, along with the sound of metal scrapping metal as Saria became trapped inside the maze with all these crazed monsters. "Saria! Run!" Breena shouted as the Moblin sprang into action. Saria rushed back the way she came and the Moblin, spear out first, rammed into the thorny hedge that Saria was just at. The thorns did little stop hinder the monster and he quickly charged down the corner straight for Saria. When that one began a second Moblin appeared in front of Saria and began to charge. "Quick Saria! In here!" Breena chimed going into a thin part in the hedges what was not thorny. Saria quickly ran into the safe haven just as the two crashed into each other, one of which actually perishing at the collision and dying in a ring of flames. "Saria! Are you alright?" Breena asked. Saria was breathing heavy but was fine. The Moblin that was still alive, stood up and shook its head, then began to look for his missing prey. He looked down the path and behind him but didn't see her. The Moblin looked puzzled for a moment then began to sniff the air, and then jabbed his spear into the thorns. Saria grabbed Breena and crouched down as small as she could as the beast slowly made its way down the line moving the hedges with its weapon and continuously sniffed the air. Then he reached where Saria was. He gave out a roar and stabbed right into the bushes but hit nothing, the tip of the spear was above the girl. He pulled it out and narrowed his eyes and stabbed again, then again. Still missing completely. Saria began to relax, thinking that the Moblin was going to keep missing, but then he raising the spear above his head ready to strike down to the ground. But before he did, a loud, blaring horn echoed throughout the maze and a misshapen life-sized wooden puppet dropped from the sky. It wasn't very big but had both arms, both legs, and a head with a skull-like mask on with two small horns. As it moved, the joints knocked together as if the whole thing was about to break apart into a pile of wood. The Moblin stopped and turned to it then roared and charged. The puppet leapt into the air and right over the monster. It then revealed two daggers that were in each hand. It used these weapons it attacked and defeated the Moblin in seconds. When the flames started, the puppet flew into the air as Saria crawled out of her hiding spot. The sounds of the Moblins each being defeated began to sing throughout the forest. "What was that?" Saria said then decided to figure it out later, and was up the steps in a matter of seconds. The area was overgrowing, as if in the time spent without Saria, the forest had decided to hide the temple entrance. A pile of broken stone was lying on and around the stump where Saria had played her song in the past. The stump itself was showing signs of dying, as its bark was becoming grey and dismal. Saria looked up the entrance and said, "How do I get up there?" The sound of rattling wood answered. Saria turned back and saw the puppet from before standing, or more like, hovering at the top of the stairs. It looked at her then rushed forward, scooping the girl up in it's arms and then deposited her at the top of the broken stairs. As the puppet put her down, Saria got a good look at the face of the puppet. It's sunken eyes, small horns, and rounded features for some reason, reminded her of the skull kid. The puppet stood behind as Saria took a deep breath and entered the Temple. The Temple was already larger than she had ever thought it would be. Vines grew all over the walls, trees grew on either side and their branches intertwined high above them. The puppet shook a bit as if moved forward, as if trying to detect any monsters that could threaten them. Saria took one step at a time as she made her way up to the steps and through the door. They went past the hallway, where spiders hung from the walls and ceiling, and entered the main chamber. The large, dark room seemed hollowed and empty of life, save fro the five flames that sat on torches in the center of the room, four in a square, and a simple, dark blue flame on a structure that seemed like an elevator. When Saria approached the middle flame, the blue fire began to shake and split into several, smaller flames which reassembled in the air in the lantern of a large poe. When that one appeared four smaller poes appeared each armed with their own colored torch from the torches around the elevator. They hung back behind the larger one, as if observing how to defend their territory from intruders. The large poe hovered up and down and looked at Saria, as if appraising how large of a threat she was then began swinging its lantern in circles in front. "Watch out!" Breena shouted, just as the lantern began to move. The puppet flew on the offensive and hit the lantern with both daggers ready. The noise of the metal scrapping the glass of the lantern made Saria's teeth clench. The puppet pulled back and attacked again, then again, each time being blocked with the lantern, till finally the daggers stuck the poe. The poe froze up and turned into a pile of flames and vanished, leaving behind only its lantern which fell to the ground and rolled into a corner away from everyone. "You did it!" Saria cried out, but then realized the battle was not over: the other four poes began to move on the attack. The four surrounded the puppet who swung its arms around but missed as they all made themselves invisible. The four floating torches swung and bashed the poor puppet who was not able to fight back and, in one concentrated attack, rammed the puppet to the middle torch atop the elevator causing it to break from its foundation and crumple to the floor. "Saria! The Puppet man!" Breena shouted and the puppet disappeared into a pile of flames as it hit the floor. Then the four poes turned to Saria and Breena. "What do we do now?" Saria asked taking a step back frightened by their malicious glares that were the first to return before their bodies. Breena shook for a moment then, without a moment's hesitation, flew at the poes actually ramming herself into the purple poes face with all her might. The poe fell back, startled by the fairy's assault. The three others all turned and looked just as Breena hit each one in turn. "Saria! Run through the elevator!" Breena shouted, "Hurry! There isn't much time I can give you!" "But Breena!" Saria began. "Just go!!" Breena shouted hitting another and dodging a strike. "Breena..." Saria whispered then did as her fairy had ordered. She went around the scuffle and jumped on the open elevator and felt it move down. "Breena! You have to follow!" She shouted just as she passed to the floor below. The way down became a clastraphbic nightmare, the small elevator passed down intot he ground and became completely surrounded by stone. In the pith black darkness, she could hear nothing either above or below which worried her. When she finally reached the bottom, she could tell which way to go. A large door stood directly in front of her and Saria slowly pushed it open. Saria entered at the foot of a set of stairs that led to a gallery with paintings that adorned the walls in all directions with a rope barrier that kept visitors from touching the paintings. "These paintings..." Saria said, getting an odd feeling from a certain painting directly in front of her. It was of a man atop a dark stallion, both hidden in shadow, and the man's back was to Saria. The young girl took a few steps forward, past the middle of the room, to get a better look at the painting, but in doing so she thought she saw it move. She gasped, then looked closer, and she was right, the man in the painting was moving only twitches at first but then, as if finding out she was there, began to move his head slowly to get a good look at the intruder. Saria felt a cold spike go through her when the man's cold eyes finally met hers. He gave an evil smirk, then pulled back on the reins giving a sharp command and turned his horse around. He faced Saria through the painting then began to slowly guide his steed through the face of the artwork. In seconds the man was on the same level as the young sage, and swung around a menacing staff. He laughed for a moment then raised his weapon high into the air ready to finish his mission by eliminating the new Sage of the Forest. Electric energy crackled and hissed into the top of the staff and with one mighty swing, charged into a concentrated orb and passed into Saria. The initial impact was solid at first than the electricity passed violently throughout Saria's body, then the world in her eyes began to darken and blur. Saria tipped back and forth and the world beckoned to her which she answered by falling down to the floor, registering only the sound of the man's cruel laughter as the world became dark. END OF SARIA'S STORY