VIII-4. Tower of Hera

Required:

Sword, Shield, Power Glove, Boomerang, Lamp.

To Get There

The third and final Pendant is found in the Tower of Hera at the summit of Death Mountain. To get there, go to where there is a small lake west of Sanctuary. A screen or two north of it is a cave blocked by a light-colored boulder. Lift it with the Power Glove, and go inside. It's dark in here, so be careful of bats. Go north, take the first east turn, southeast, then north and another east turn, where’ll you’ll come across a lost old man; he’ll ask you to lead him out of the caves. Go through the east door, head east around the pit (The old man will be talking to you throughout), then turn south when you get to a wall, and go through the south door. (Note: you can’t get back down off of Death Mountain backtracking through this cave; remember, you jumped down off a ledge.)

You will now be on Death Mountain, but not at the top yet. Head southeast to a cave entrance, and the old man will give you the MAGIC MIRROR. If you follow him inside and talk to him, he’ll fill your Life Meter (you can do this at any time), and you can go through a series of caves to reach an exit a bit north of the cave entrance you’re at; if not, just head east and north from here until you see another cave. Head west (be careful not to fall off the ledge), and you’ll find a LONG stairway that leads to the top of Death Mountain, and a cave with a sign next to it. (This is the cave you would go through to get down off of Death Mountain when we're done here.) Anyway, head up the steps; once you reach the top, head east until you come to the rock formation known as Spectacle Rock (it looks like a pair of spectacles). (There are three caves here; the one in the wall of the Rock itself is a dead end; the other two are accessed by jumping off the ledge here. The west of these caves leads to a Fairie Fountain (beware the Worms), while the east cave leads to a PIECE OF HEART, and eventually back to the same Fairie Fountain.) From Spectacle Rock, head east to find a flashing blue tile. This is a Magical Transporter that, when stepped on, will transport Link to this location in the Dark World. (There are seven more of these Transporters hidden in Hyrule, though you can't use them just yet, as they require either the Magic Hammer or Titan's Mitt to reach.)

When you step on the tile here, Link will turn into a cute little pink bunny rabbit upon arriving in the Dark World. (I will name him George and I will hug him and pet him and… Oh, sorry.) Bunny-Link cannot use the Sword, any item other than the Magic Mirror, or pick up objects. Things here are not always the same as their counterparts in the Light World (Hyrule). Notably, when you head west, Spectacle Rock is not there, but is just a cul-de-sac with an outline of the “spectacles”; this is the key to getting to the summit, and thus to the Tower of Hera. You’ll run into a couple of boys (who look like creatures here), one of which is bullying the other. They will both tell you that to keep your shape in the Dark World, you must have the Moon Pearl. To continue, step into the cul-de-sac that corresponds to Spectacle Rock, and use the Magic Mirror to warp back to Hyrule—on top of Spectacle Rock. There is a PIECE OF HEART here; grab it and jump off the Rock to the north. You are now just west of the Tower; head east to the entrance. Whew!

Inside the Tower

The Tower of Hera has two new concepts: Crystal Switches and Star Tiles. Crystal Switches, when struck with the Sword, Boomerang, a Bomb, etc., will make the corresponding color blocks sink, allowing you to walk over them. Star Tiles (tiles with a six-pointed star on them) will make pits appear or disappear. Enemies you'll see in the Tower: Worms, Stalfos (there are pink Stalfos here; they’ll throw bones at you), and Crystal Orbs (blue and red; red ones are harder to destroy). There are also small reptilian enemies that spit fireballs, so be careful.

In the first room, strike the Crystal Switch to make it turn blue, then go down the west set of stairs. Kill the Stalfos, and kill the Worm while he’s still enclosed by the orange blocks. Grab the KEY (either by using the Boomerang, or striking the Crystal Switch to retract the blocks). Make sure the Crystal Switch is set to blue before going back up the stairs. Once back up here, set the Crystal Switch to orange, and head to the north. The chest in the middle of the room contains the MAP; after getting it, go through the locked door in the northwest corner.

You’ll come to another Magic Tile room, but this time you won’t be able to use the doorway for protection, and will be forced to either dodge the tiles wildly or strike them with the Sword. When all of the tiles are gone, the east door will open; set the Crystal Switch in the southwest to blue to retract the blocks in front of the door. The next room has some Worms; avoid them if possible and set the Crystal Switch to orange to get to the south door. Kill the two pink Stalfos (mind the bones), and light the four torches with the Lamp to reveal the chest containing the BIG KEY. Head back through the north door, setting the Crystal Switch to blue, and through the west door, setting that Crystal Switch to orange before leaving via the north stairs.

Head to the southeast of this room, and go up the east set of stairs. You’ll come to a room with three Crystal Orbs; kill all three to open the west door (make sure the Crystal Switch is set to orange before you go). The next room has three more Orbs and a Star Tile; step on the tile to change the position of the pits so you can get to the north door, which opens with the Big Key. Hit the Star Tile in this next room if necessary, and kill any Orbs in your way while making your way to the east stairs.

In this next room, avoid the Worms while making your way to the middle of the room, where there is a chest with the COMPASS. Make certain, before going upstairs, that there is some floor around the big chest in the north of the room (step on a Star Tile to fix it if there isn't). Make your way to the northwest of the room (beware the fire-breathing creatures) and go up the stairs. Up here, avoid the Fire Bar (Super Mario, anyone?) and step on the Star Tile, which will make a lone pit appear in the north of the room. Go to the NORTH of this pit (while avoiding Crystal Orbs) and drop down, where you’ll land right in front of the big chest with the MOON PEARL (beware the fireball). Head south across the Star Tiles, then go northwest and back up the stairs.

If you want to get some Faeries from a Faerie Fountain, drop down the north-most pit in this room (you’ll fall all the way down to the first floor; get your Faeries and step on the Warp Tile to return to the sixth floor). In addition, the pots in the east of the room (just south of the stairs) contain lots of Healing Hearts. To proceed to the Keeper, head up the northeast stairs.

Keeper: Mouldrum

Mouldrum is the BIG version of the Worms you've been seeing, and has a weak tail that must be hit with the Sword. He’ll twist and curve around and around in a seemingly random pattern. The best time to strike his tail is when he’s either moving horizontal, vertical, or diagonal (It’s a LOT trickier to hit it when he’s turning). However, this is made difficult by the hazard of falling off the edge of the platform he’s on, or into the pit in the middle of it (takes you down two floors). If you fall and have to come back, Mouldrum will be healed of all previous damage.

My recommendation is to use Spin Attacks whenever you're near Mouldrum's tail; they do no more damage than a regular strike, but most of the time you'll hit him. It takes practice, but once you hit his tail six times, he will die, and you'll get another HEART CONTAINER and the final Pendant, the PENDANT OF WISDOM.

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VIII-4. Tower of Hera

Required:

Recommended:

To Get There

Inside the Tower

Keeper: Mouldrum