13.1 Getting The Map
Start by running down a series of steps and there will be a room filled with quicksand. Be careful of the Moldorms that will jump out of the sand. Clawshot and defeat them.
Look over to the right and there is a target that you can hook onto. Do so and from this platform you can jump across two platforms to get to the right side of the room. There are Moldorms all over the place, so be careful not to get hit into the quicksand. Jump across two more platforms to get to the northeast portion of the room.
You’ll have to run across the sand to the north part of the room. Using a roll works well, but Wolf Link actually works a bit better. Once you reach this area, the door is locked. There is a gated area on the right with a chain. Roll over to the platform on the east side of the room.
Arriving here you’ll meet a Stalkin. Just slash at him with your sword to defeat him. Next, use the clawshot and grab onto the chain. It will pull it forward allowing Link to grab onto it. More Stalkins will pop up from the quicksand. Grab a hold of the chain and start pulling it backwards. This will open the gate at the north end of the room. Release the chain and roll back over to the north side of the room.
Walk up the steps and you’ll see a locked door straight ahead. Take a right and you’ll see a pot with some lantern oil. Refill now if you need to do so. Now head over to the other side of the room where there’s a treasure chest on the other side of some quicksand. Be careful as the platform that is nearby will sink once you stand on it. Just run and roll right past the quicksand and open the treasure chest to get a small key. Little Scarabs will appear from the sand and begin to latch onto you, causing you to slow down. A spin attack will get rid of them. Roll across the sand once again and walk through the locked door.
This room is really dark so equip out your lantern. Avoid the quicksand and make your way to the north side. An army of Stalkins will appear as you make your way across the room. There are two torches along the sides of the door. Use the lantern to light both torches to open the door.
Walk forward in this room and 4 Poes will appear from the door straight ahead, kind of like The Forest Temple from Ocarina of Time. There are 4 flames burning and each Poe will steal a flame. After circling around Link, 1 of the Poes will stick around while 3 of them scram. Turn into Wolf Link and use your senses to find the Poe.
These bigger Poe’s are different than the previous ones we’ve fought. A major difference is that it can only be harmed when it glows blue. Z-target the Poe and attack at it repeatedly when it glows. The Poe really isn’t that much harder than normal Poes, just have to wait it out. Defeat it and the lantern that it carries will break and the flame will light up one of the 4 torches that used to be lit.
As Wolf Link, sniff out the scent of the Poe. Choose to forget the Scent of Ilia and learn the Poe scent. Three Poe’s remaining.
Transform to Human Link and walk to the northeast corner of the room. There is a treasure chest on the other side of the quicksand. There also two targets on the sides of the treasure chest. Use the clawshot to hook on over and open the chest to get a piece of heart. Turn back around and if you look at the wall to the right and a bit higher up, you’ll see another target. Use it to fly back across the quicksand.
Now make your way to the northeast side of the room and you’ll bump into some skull creatures. Use your grappling hook to pull them over and two slashes with the Master Sword will defeat them. Now quickly roll across the two platforms to get to the other side of the quicksand. Open the chest for the dungeon map. Now use the clawshot on the target that is on the side of the wall to get back to the other side of the quicksand.
13.2 Poe Hunting
Transform into Wolf Link and you’ll see the purple scent of a Poe goes into a dirt path. Dig up the area and it will reveal a chain. Pull the chain back as Wolf Link and a staircase will open. Run down the stairs and head through the door.
There is a Skull Bubble floating around this room. Z-target the Bubble slash away. Use your senses and you’ll see the Poe traveled through the ceiling. In the pillar in the center of the room you’ll notice a small portion that is sticking out. Walk up to it and push it clockwise. After one push, a passage to the north will be opened and a new enemy appears, a ReDead Knight. If you get too close and they shriek, you will be momentarily paralyzed. Using one of the sword techniques such as the back slice or the helm splitter to defeat is ideal. Once defeated, open the small chest behind him to get a small key.
Use your senses and you’ll notice the Poes scent no longer passes through the ceiling, but now through a hole in the ceiling. Standing just outside the small room where you got the small key, look up and you’ll see a target in the upper room. Transform into Human Link and use the clawshot to get up there.
Defeat the rats then transform back into Wolf Link. If you use your senses you’ll see two paths of Poes, one of which passes through the door to the north. Follow that one and open the door and head through.
Walk forward and you’ll see a ton of Poe lanterns. Defeat the two Skull Bubbles and then activate your senses. Only one of them is real: the one at the east end of the room. Attack it and it will activate and start floating around the room. Just like before, wait for it to shine blue and then attack. A few strikes with Wolf Link will bring it to the ground. Return to the previous room.
Drop down to the floor below and push the center pillar counter-clockwise back into its original position. Exit back to the main chamber and you’ll see the second Poe’s flame light up the second torch. Now climb up the stairs and head east, this time through the upper passage.
13.3 Getting The Compass
Use the key on the locked door to the east. Morph into Wolf Link and use your senses in this room. There is a Poe scent that passes to the south end of the room. Straight ahead there’s some quicksand on the floor and a few small platforms in the sand to the north. Walk on these platforms,minding the spikes that appear and block your path. Move along these platforms to get to the northeast portion of the room.
Transform into Human Link and you’ll see a large crate here. Pull it back and then push it against the wall where it fits quite nicely. Climb the steps to get onto the higher platform at the east. Pull that chain backwards and the chandelier in the room will rise. Once the chain is pulled back completely, run past where the chandelier quickly as it will start to crash.
Climb the steps and defeat a few bubbles that are in your way. At the top of the steps walk straight ahead and open the treasure chest that is behind the statue to get the compass. Just like we did in the circular pillar room, stand on the side of the statue here and push it clockwise. Walk over to the room to the east and defeat the ReDead Knight that appears. Open the chest behind him to get a small key. Cross the room to the east side and use the small key on the locked door.
Walk around this room killing a bunch of Stalkins that appear. There are also two ReDead Knights in here. Take them out. Transform back into Wolf Link and use your senses to see where the Poe has gone. Use your senses to dig up a chain. Pull back on the chain and the door besides you will open up. The Poe is located right on the other side of the wall. Take it out. Run through to the door at the north end of the hallway.
Run around the corridor in this room and open the small chest in the southern part of this room to get a small key. Activate Wolf Link’s senses and a bunch of creepy ghost rats can be seen. If they latch onto you, just spin attack. On the upper level, jump over the short cap and exit through the locked door on the east side of the room.
You now are back in the main room, but just on a higher level. The third torch will light up. Jump onto the chandelier that is hanging from the ceiling and then jump over to the east side of the room. Open the door.
13.4 The Last Poe Soul
Walk down the steps on the right and you’ll see another crate. Just push it forward until it falls into a small hole. Climb on top of it. On the north wall there is another chain that can be pulled. Remember to move fast after pulling as the chandelier will start to drop.
Pull out your clawshot lock onto the target that is on the east wall. Drop down from here heading north. The door that was here just leads to the middle room from the lower level. Navigate around this corridor to find yourself back to where the crate and chain were. Climb on top of the crate and pull the chain once again. Once you’ve pulled it back completely, release the chain and stand in the middle of the bridge. You want the chandelier to land right around you since there is a hole in the middle of this chandelier. You can tell where the hole is located, since the bridge is a bit lowered in this area. Once the chandelier comes crashing down, climb on top of it and jump over to the ledge to the east and open the nearby door.
Break through the wood. Walk straight ahead and the bones on the ground will awaken, forming a stalfos creature. Utilize the helm splitter and shield attack on him. Once he’s on the floor, throw a bomb at him. The bomb will blow up its bones and unlock the nearby door. Open the door that is at the sound end of the room.
Climb up the staircase and you’ll find a large chamber filled with quicksand. Roll across the quicksand and you will find that there are a few torches in here. You have to light two of them to open the door on the east side of the room. If you light the incorrect torches, a bunch of Stalkins will appear. The one in front is one of the two you have to light up. The one on the far right is the second one you have to light up. Once both are lit, the door will open on the east side of the room so quickly roll over towards it and head through.
Transform into Wolf Link and use your senses. Again we have faux Poe’s in here. Attack the real one, only this time when you find him, he’ll clone himself again. The Poe’s will then begin spinning around Link and then 1 of the 4 will attack Link. The 1 that attacks Link will glow in shiny blue just like before and this is the real Poe. Quickly attack it before it can hit you. Repeat this process until it is knocked to the ground and finish it off. Walk through the door on the north end of the room and you’ll actually be back in the chandelier room. Transform back into Human Link.
Use the clawshot to hook over to the target on the east wall and then head through the door. Back in the main room, the 4th flame will light up the 4th torch and the massive door on the north end of this room will open up. Walk through this new opening.
13.5 New Item: The Spinner
Defeat the Fire Bubbles here. The door on the east end of the room has a large quicksand area that cannot be crossed. Thus, our only path is through the door to your right, so head through it.
Drop down to the very bottom of this rounded corridor. There are several bubbles and fire bubbles in this tall room, so start hacking and slashing away. There is a central pillar in this room similar to what we saw before. You can push it or pull it in both directions. Pushing it one way will cause the floor to rise while pulling it the other way will cause the floor to fall. It appears that it is random as to which direction it needs to be pushed or pulled in order to raise to floor. Experiment with it to find out which direction it has to be pushed, and push it so the floor raises two clicks.
There’s a treasure chest on the south end of this room but as you come closer, it will be blocked by spikes. Defeat the nearby bubble and then head through the entrance on the east side of the room. You’ll be able to make your way around the corridor to the treasure chest. Open it to get a small key.
Return to the central pillar and now lower the floor to the very bottom level. There is a locked door at the south end of this room. Use the small key and head through. Transform into Wolf Link in this room. There are numerous ghoul rats that will attach themselves to Link. Again, spin attack to get them off.
There are a ton of hidden spikes in the floor that will pop up if you come close to them. Start off by running across the quicksand to the right. Run to the south across some more quicksand. Straight ahead you’ll see some spikes that pop up. Make a turn and dash across back to the east side of the room. From here you can actually walk all the way to the southern part of the room where you will see a chain that you can pull.
This chain will open a door on the other side of the room, but the door will slowly retract. Don’t bother pulling the chain yet since you want to defeat any enemies that are in your way. Walk northward and just before the quicksand, take a right and run to the east side of the room. Walk to the south and defeat all the rats that grab onto you as well as the Redead Knight.
Jump onto the shiny looking platform and back to the middle of the room. The door that will open is just to the south. Now run around the room and get back to the chain. Transform into Human Link and pull the chain. Run around the room and head through the door.
The path then turns to the east with spikes rolling along rails on the walls. Turn into Wolf Link and jump to the middle platform. Time the spikes and when they are behind, you can quickly run across the sides to the next platform. About halfway through this room, annoying scarabs will appear and cover you. Like the rats, spin attack. The scarabs will come back, so use Human Link’s spin attack.
At the far east of the room there is a shaking pot with Ooccoo in it. Break the pot and roll across the sand and head through the door at the north end of the room.
A bunch of scarabs will come after you once you enter this room. Defeat them with the spin attack and then roll across the quicksand heading towards the north. Watch out for the patches of quicksand that are in this room.
At the north end of the room are Stalfos. Take them out using your sword and bombs. Return to the rotating spikes that we just past and now run around the room to the east side, where the gate has now opened.
This room features more scarabs and quicksand, so fight and roll. If you look on the walls, there are three targets along the path. Clawshot onto them to progress through the room. Jump across the gap to the north to get to the other side of the room. Climb the nearby stairs and open the door at the north end of the room.
As you enter this room the door will seal behind you. Walk forward and you’ll see a series of ropes holding down an odd looking sword. Cut down one of the ropes and after a quick cut-scene, a mini-boss battle will commence with Death Sword.
Death Sword is invisible to Human Link, so you’ll have to use Wolf Link’s senses. Wait for Death Sword to attack with its sword, dodge it, and then the sword will get stuck in the ground. At this point the undead prisoner will glow blue like the Poes from before, jump onto him and attack.
After that attack, morph back into Human Link and use the Bow & Arrow on Death Sword. You can’t lock onto Death Sword, so aim well. One successful arrow will make the boss start flying around the room rapidly. Eventually it will try to swing its sword at you. Just dodge the attack and the sword will be stuck in the ground. Target him and hack and slash. When he starts flying around the room, hit him with an Arrow and attack again. Eventually he’ll fall defeated.
The door at the north end will open up, so walk through it. Jump off the ledge and walk up the staircase to the treasure chest. Open it to get this dungeon’s item: The Spinner! This new item will allow Link to glide onto railings that are on the sides of the walls as well as activating some switches. The spinner can also take out pesky baddies that swarm around us.
13.6 Ridin’ Spinners & Getting The Big Key
Equip the spinner and activate it when you are close by to the wall that has spinner railing. The spinner will attach to the railing and start rolling you around the wall. You can stay on this railing all the way until you get to the south end of the mini-boss room. Get off the spinner and head through the door.
If you look to your right, you’ll see another railing where you can attach the spinner. Do so and you’ll notice the ‘B’ button appears on the screen with the jump command. Pressing the B button will allow you to jump away from the railing you are on. As you turn the corner, you’ll notice there is a railing on the other wall that leads upwards towards the door on the east end of the room. Use the jump command to jump over to this railing and then glide up to the door. If you miss the jump or go in the wrong direction, you might get stuck in the quicksand. Keep in mind that the spinner can spin hover through the quicksand, but it will eventually lose speed. If you go in the other direction on the other railing, don’t worry. There is a platform that you can land on after the quicksand. From that platform you can activate the spinner and get up the railing. Keep trying at it and once you have figured it out, get to the east side of the room and head through the door. Practice will make perfect, and you’ll want to have this down for the boss fight.
This room has numerous spinner tracks and is a really neat puzzle. There are numerous railings and you can jump around with your spinner as you glide through this room. If you look at the map, there are numerous treasure chests to be found. Two of them are just to your right. Activate the spinner but don’t go on any railings yet as you glide towards the platform that holds the first chest. Open it and then ride to the next treasure chest that is straight ahead.
Look to the northeast and you’ll see a small railing against the wall on this lower portion of the room. Use the spinner and roll over to it and then jump off the railing to get to a large platform on the north side of the room. There is another treasure chest here that contains a yellow rupee.
Use the spinner and roll back to the railing we were just on and get back to the platform that had the second treasure chest. Look to the east and you’ll see there is a railing that leads upwards. Use the spinner and roll onto this railing and allow it to take you upwards. It will land you in an area with rotating spikes. Get off the spinner and walk to the east side of the room. A Stalfos will appear. Take him out. Open the treasure chest to get a piece of heart.
Now get on one of the higher railings and make your way past the rotating spikes. If the spikes hit you, just walk back to where the treasure chest is and get back on the railing. Work on your timing so you don’t hit the spikes. Again, get used to this control of timing jumps on the spinner. As you glide back eastward, you’ll have to jump from railing to railing because some of the rails come to an end. This will take you to an even higher level, which will eventually release you at the top right of the room on the bottom floor.
You’ll usually land in a position where you are going counter-clockwise in an endless circle. Jump off the railing and then get off the spinner and walk over to the middle platform. Get back on the spinner and move in the direction so that you can go clockwise on this railing. This leads to the north end of the room.
Jump off the spinner and walk to the east of the room. Defeat the two Stalfos that are nearby and open the treasure chest to get another yellow rupee. Now walk to the far east of the room. Walk up the higher platform and you’ll see there are two railings on both sides, with spikes moving along both railings. You need to use the spinner and jump from railing to railing, to get by the spikes and get across to the east side of the room. This back and forth timing with spinners will be seen again later in the game. Once you make it, open the door.
Open the large treasure chest here to get the big key. Then use the spinner on the railings to get back to the large room which we were in earlier in the dungeon. Walk to the center of the room and you’ll see a small hole in the ground. Stand over it and use your spinner in this hole. Press B repeatedly to spin the spinner which moves the wall and shows a new passage to the north.
13.7 Boss Fight: Twilit Fossil Stallord
Use the spinner to get onto the railing on the right side of the room and let it take you upwards. Ride the spinner a full 360 degrees and get off once you reach the platform on the east side of the room. From here you can look to the center of the room and see the top of the middle pillar. Use the spinner on the hole in the center of the room and press B continuously and it will raise a spiral rail from underground. Use the spinner on this spiral rail to head upwards to the top of the room. Get off the spinner and use the big key to open dungeon boss.
As we head inside, there’s a giant fossil lying on the ground. Walk towards it and Zant appears. After some dialogue, Zant raises Twilit Fossil Stallord from the grave.
The first phase of this battle just has us attacking Stallord’s spine. Use the spinner and stick to the railing on the side of the room to pick up some speed. You’ll then need to jump off the railing and use the spinner to spin towards the center of the room. Once you get close, press B to jump while on the spinner and jump right into the spine of Stallord.
Part of the spine of Stallord will break. Hop back onto the railing and repeat this process a few more times. Stallord will begin to summon skeletons from the sand that block Link’s path. Jump attack these guys with the spinner.
Stallord will also shoot out some sort of deadly toxic breath from his mouth, but it’s pretty avoidable. The spikes on the rail are the real pain here – just pay attention. After a few hits, Stallord will fall to the sand.
All the sand in the room will now sink away, and Stallord will now be lying motionless on the ground. Walk to the center of the room and there is another small area where Link can use the spinner. Do so and begin spinning away, which will create a tall central tower in the middle of the room.
Once it has risen to the top, Link will turn around and realize the massive skull of Stallord has awakened and he knocks Link to the bottom of the room. Link must use the inner railing to scale the tower. Stallord’s massive skull will appear while Link is scaling the inner tower. Stallord will shoot a ball of fire towards Link. Dodge this by jumping with the Spinner. Link’s jump will go to the outer wall, where Stallord will turn his attention and shoot another fireball. Jump once again and repeat this process until you have dodged 4 fireballs, at which point Stallord will move close to Link. Link can then jump off the railing and hit Stallord with the spinner. Its massive skull will tumble to the floor. Run over to the top of its mouth and strike that repeatedly at the piece that Zant stuck inside of Stallord. After several strikes, Stallord will get up.
Repeat this same process of dodging fireballs and striking its head until it gets up again. After the long battle, Stallord will be defeated.
Link will next appear on top of the pillar where a heart container is waiting for him. Grab the heart container and cross the bridge that has appeared. Exit through the door to get to the outside of Arbiter’s Grounds.
13.8 The Mirror Chamber
Climb the steps to the top and enter to the area on the right. Walk counter-clockwise in this area until you reach a large opening with a huge statue. This is the Mirror Chamber.
Walk towards the giant statue and a wall of twilight will appear with five shadow beasts that drop from the sky. Take them out. Walk up to the giant statue and use the spinner to glide to the top of the statue. The spinner should fit right in place at the top of the statue. Once it has fit in, press B repeatedly and the statue will lower.
After a lengthy cut-scene, the second half of the game is presented to us: collecting the mirror shards.