Choosing a heading while sailing is accomplished by drawing the path for the ship to take on the map. There’s no wind to worry about, and at least for this journey, no seafaring monsters to harass the poor boat. Just set a course and go. On arrival, Ciela and Linebeck get in yet another argument, and obviously the fact that fate has thrown the two of them together for this adventure doesn’t indicate to either that maybe they should try to get along.
Link and Ciela scurry off to find Astrid, and her home seems deserted. However, there’s a staircase leading to the basement, and once Link is inside, the door closes behind him and a bunch of Octoroks pop out. After they’re dealt with, Ciela notes a presence on the other side of the other door in the basement, and thinks Link should call out to whoever it is. Or, more accurately, the player should call out using the DS microphone. Once that’s done, the person in the locked room responds – it’s Astrid, and she locked herself in to hide from monsters, and by an incredibly user-friendly design, the panic room only opens from the outside. She points to the map by the door, and says that her assistant, Kayo, knows what needs to be done with the map to open the door.
Kayo’s gone from his home, but his journal tells whoever finds it to look to the east side of the island. Over that way, Link and Ciela find Kayo’s body, and his ghost pops out to tell Link to look for three torches on the island. (Ciela’s reaction to the ghost is to tell Link to “get” it, heh.) One torch is on a small island near Kayo’s body, and another was back in Kayo’s home, so that leaves on to find. It’s on the north side of the island. With the locations known, Link returns to Astrid and marks the locations on the map, opening the panic room. Astrid agrees to help find the ghost ship, and looks into a crystal ball, seeing that Link must confront darkness. His first step is the nearby Temple of Fire. As Link approaches the temple, the island’s volcano begins spewing rocks. To open the temple, Link needs to blow out the two candles at the entrance – by the player blowing into the microphone.
There are some key changes to dungeons in this game. (Or at least, the first dungeon.) The map is unlocked, floor by floor, as Link enters each floor. Instead of compasses, gossip stones tell Link how many chests he’s missing per floor and offer to mark the chests on the map. The big key needs to be carried to its lock, Four Swords Adventures-style. And there’s no miniboss. Still, the dungeoneering feels familiar. The dungeon item is the boomerang, which is controlled by tracing a flight path on the screen. (It can also be thrown directly at enemies.) There are a bunch of switch puzzles, as well as chances to show off the fine control the boomerang gives. Ciela also takes several opportunities to be Captain Obvious, telling Link not to walk into fire, to write down hints noted on walls, and that there’s an evil presence in the boss room.
That evil presence is Blaaz, Master of Fire, a simple boss. He’ll split into three smaller versions that Link needs to reunite with a boomerang toss, but otherwise he just teleports around the room and sometimes summons falling rocks. And, for some reason, it takes an incredible number of sword hits to kill him. But eventually, die he does. Once he’s gone, a fairy emerges from the center of the room, freed by Blaaz’ death. He’s Leaf, the Spirit of Power, and he joins with Link and Ciela in their quest. Clearing the temple has also settled the volcano.
Astrid says Link will ultimately need three spirits to find the Ghost Ship, one corresponding to each of the virtues of the Triforce. She doesn’t know where the other two spirits are, but knows where Link can find a hint: back in the Temple of the Ocean King on Mercay Island. She also gives him a Power Gem, one type of spirit gem, ten of which can raise the spirit’s power. Linebeck’s excited to be one step closer to fabulous riches and runs off, leaving Ciela disgusted as usual. Astrid says that Linebeck will ultimately turn out to be helpful, but Ciela has her doubts. But that’s not the important thing right now: back to Mercay and on with the quest!
Next: So are the minutes of Link’s life.
