Link returns to Instructor Horwell (the same one who had him chasing after Mia earlier) to explain the situation. Horwell is alarmed, but agrees to talk to Gaepora about the situation while Link looks for his Loftwing. No one at the Academy knows anything about the Loftwing – well, Fledge definitely seems to, but gets skittish about actually saying anything – so Link heads into town. Along the way, he’s stopped for a tutorial on rolling into things, in this case a tree. Link complies and shakes loose a bug that the kid runs after while Link collects the blue rupee that fell out. The kid gives up on catching the bug, lamenting that he doesn’t have a net.
A bit further down the road, another student named Groose is celebrating with his two lackeys about wrangling a Crimson Loftwing into a pen. Link comes up behind the three of them, and it’s not clear how much he heard, but given that the player got to see enough… probably the same. Groose starts mocking Link about how he has no chance to win the race, and notes that the Loftwing’s nowhere to be seen anyway. Link has a couple options here, but the best one is to take a jab Groose’s hair, which is ridiculous. Groose goes calling Link names until Zelda shows up and starts going off on him, which basically stuns him speechless; he’s clearly got a thing for her. He pulls himself together to storm off with one last taunt about Link’s Loftwing before he and his lackeys do a synchronized jump off a dock onto their Loftwings. I don’t know why, but Groose reminds me a lot of Beauty and the Beast’s Gaston.
Zelda figures Groose is the reason for Link’s Loftwing’s disappearance, and takes to the skies to look. Link returns to the Academy, where Pipit, one of the knights, has gotten Fledge to come forward with what he knows. Fledge heard Groose plotting to hide Link’s Loftwing near a waterfall, and Pipit figures out that must mean the one waterfall on Skyloft, which is marked on Link’s map.
But it’s dangerous to go alone, so Link goes to the Sparring Hall to borrow a sword for the trip. This comes with a tutorial on how to use the sword; it mostly follows the way the Wiimote is swung. There are logs around the Sparring Hall for Link; each can only be successfully attacked one way. Once the logs are destroyed, the instructor teaches Link two other maneuvers: spin attack (swing the Wiimote and Nunchuk together), and the fatal blow (target-lock a downed enemy, and swing the Wiimote and Nunchuk together). It’s easy for now… but good against logs is one thing. Good against the living… that’s something else. Anyway, the instructor here stops Link from leaving with the practice sword, but relents when Link explains why he needs it – but tells him not to cause trouble.
As Link leaves the Sparring Hall, a Sheikah Stone (basically a special gossip stone) pops up and calls Link over to chat. The Sheikah Stone introduces itself, saying that when Link gets stuck on a puzzle, he can come to it for hints. (Sheikah Stones had previously appeared in Ocarina of Time 3D, but this is the first appearance in a non-remake game.) It doesn’t have any hints for Link now, so Link heads on his way.
Getting to the waterfall requires passing through a cave, and as Link approaches, he can sense his Loftwing being boarded up in a small hole in the wall. The cave itself gives the player a chance to practice fighting against enemies (Keese and ChuChus); I was mostly flailing about at this point, which is fine for easy enemies, but I’m guessing it’s going to get harder. (Also, Link holds his sword to match the way the player’s holding the Wiimote; that makes sense, but it looks goofy and I’m constantly trying to figure out how to hold it so it looks maybe a little more natural.)
After Link’s through the cave, Zelda swoops down to talk to him. While they’re talking, Zelda seems to hear a voice, which distracts her for a moment, but she shrugs it off. A short distance ahead, they see the cave, and Link uses his sword to cut the ropes holding the boards and free his Loftwing. The Loftwing steps out of the little hole and spreads its wings, and after a brief exchange of affection with Link takes to the skies.
Next: Flying lessons.
