Chapter 11: Lanayru Sand Sea
Lanayru Desert Revisited – Second Trial
Make sure you went back to the Isle of Songs first to learn Nayru’s Wisdom. Now head back to the Lanayru Desert and select the North Desert save point. Go left after landing to find a spot with some butterflies in front of the wall you bombed up to find one of the generators earlier. Play the harp here to summon the trial gate. Play the melody along with Fi to begin the second Trial. This is done the same way as you did for the first trial, except this one is a tad harder and takes place over a larger field. You must collect the fifteen tears again, without being caught by the watchers. The tears are scattered around, so collect some Light Fruit to indicate their location. For at least one of the Tears, you’ll need to litteraly run under one of the Watchers, but as long as you collect the Tear before a Guardian gets to you, you’ll be safe.
Also remember not to run when you walk past a Watcher; just walk and stay as far as you can. Two of the Tears will also require you to push a mine cart to climb. Also look around the mining facility for at least three of them. Once you have collected everything, take some time to look for Dusk Relics, or just head back to the starting point to end the Trial. You will received the Clawshots for your effort. You can now get two Goddess Cubes around the Desert (one near where the Heart Piece was), as well as several other things around Skyloft and past areas. But for now, we are heading to the Sand Sea.
Lanayru Sand Sea
To get to the Sand Sea, you’ll need to pass by Lanayru Caves. Warp to the West Desert save statue, which is between the two areas where you had to cross the sinksand by using the enemies’ shells. There’s a clawshot target on the wall above the save statue. Get up there, then jump on the stones in front of the sandfall and look up for another target leading inside a cave above. Inside the cave, speak with the Goron who will hand over a Small Key. Also open the blue chest for a treasure and play the harp in the middle of the area to receive another random treasure from the stone. There are two ways out of this cave. The left one leads back to Lanayru Mine if you want to folow the path and get a treasure, and the right one (which requires the Clawshots) leads to the Sand Sea. Unlock the door with the key to access it. Fi will tell you more about this place as you enter.
At the entrance, use the Clawshots to get across the chasm and reach solid ground. You’re now in the port. If you go right and climb on the blocks, you can find another clawshot target on the other crates ahead and reach a little cave where a Goddess Cube hides. After getting that, go back to the port and look at the end of the dock to find a boat with a timeshift crystal on it. Hit to resurrect captain Skipper and speak with him. Accept to help him look for his crew and ship, but first, you’ll need to go retrieve a sea chart in his hideout. Use the ship to sail south to the “X” on your map and dock on Skipper’s island.
Skipper’s Retreat
Now you’ll need to climb to the top of the island. Start by going right and run across the quick sand. Use the Clawshots on the target you can see up on the cliff to the right. After defeating the two Deku Babas, use the Clawshots on the plant flying above in the air. You can use those plants as targets too. Then target the other cliff and bomb the wall here to reveal a tunnel. At the other side of the tunnel, use the Clawshot on the plants and targets to climb up higher to the top of the cliff. Cross the walkway and defeat (or run past) the Moblin. Throw a bomb at the Quadro baba to get rid of it, then open the chest for a red rupee. You can also clawshot the dried vines on the cliff behind the chest to reach a Goddess Cube on the second cliff to the left.
Then clawshot the next cliff ahead with a Furnix flying above. To the left, you’ll notie a strange red flower. Use the Whip on it to open it and reveal one of these plants you can clawshot to. Now you can use the plant to clawshot to the next target further up. Next, you’ll reach the ruins of some destroyed house. Look up the next target on the cliff higher up. Before using the Clawshots, use the Beetle to fly towards this target. A Deku Baba will show up. Cut its stem. Now use the Clawshots on this target and clawshot again the next target. From the top of the cliff, target the moving plant, then target the next moving plant on the other side. Clawshot to the final cliff and enter Skipper’s house at the top. Inside, use the Gust Bellows to blow away all the sand covering the floor to reveal a treasure chest containing the Ancient Sea Chart. You may now head back down to see Skipper. Get back on the boat and sail to the new “X” on your map.
The Sandyard
Head into the first building to the right and hop into the mine cart. The goal of this mini-game is to reach the other side of the track, but the catch is that it’s possible to fall off. You’ll need to tilt the Wiimote left or right to stay on the track when it curves. Doing so will also give you a boost, but you can slow down when the B button if you want. The first track is very easy, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Then you will get to the second track, which is much harder. Now you’ll need to watch for dead-ends and switch tracks by tilting left or right. The curves are much steeper too. Just don’t go too fast and look at the track in front of you so you know when to veer left or right. It may take a few tries, but with a bit of practice it gets easier.
You’ll then come to the last building where a surprise awaits you. Remember the boss from the Lanayru Mining Facility? Well, he’s back! Thankfully, he wasn’t too hard, and you now have a better sword, so he’s not much harder than a regular enemy. Start by using the Gust Bellows on the sand-covered floor of the construction site to get the enemy out. Then attack the eyes inside its claws until he gets back into the ground. Use the Gust Bellows again to get him out and attack the eye on its front. Same as last time, still works. Unfortunately, the area is empty and there is nothing to get here, so simply return to see Skipper after defeating the boss and sail off again to the next island with an “X”.
(Note that you can replay the mine cart mini-game by talking to the Goron and win a Piece of Heart if you beat the high score of 1:05).
Pirate Stronghold
You can’t go in from the main entrance, so go around the side to the right to find a door. Inside, you’ll need to find a TimeShift stone and bring it to the pedestal. Head through the only accessible door in the corner, and defeat or run past the Lizalfos in the next room. Cross the sand pit ahead using the parts of the broken floor on the side, then you’ll come to the room which holds the timeshift stone. Pick it up and walk towards the door with the barbed wire. As the room shifts with you as long as you are carrying the stone, the barbed wire will disappear so you may walk through the doorway. Walk up to a room with two technoblins and defeat them. Pick back up the stone and walk into the next room, which has a Beamos blocking the way. Destroy it, but leave the stone here and go forward to find a treasure chest containing a Silver Rupee. Then go back to get the stone and proceed to the next room.
Scout this room for Ancient Flowers, then go up the slop on the left side and jump from platform to platform as they appear until you reach the other side. You’ll then come to two paths, one of which is barred. Put the timeshift stone down and leave it in front of the barred path, then go around the left path. Pull down the lever which is on the wall behind the barred gate to open it and pick back up the timeshift stone you left there. Carry it into the next large room as far as you can and put it down near the Deku Baba. Then cross the sand to get the treasure chest in the northeastern corner. Now bring the stone to the left and head through the passageway filled with enemies. Defeat the Deku Babas in your way by throwing a bomb at them, then run past the rest or defeat them to reach another room.
Go left in that one and put down the stone in front of the open doorway. Go in and push the crate inside on top of the switch in the corner. This will unlock the exit door, but will lock you in. You can leave through the open way on your left though. Run back to the stone and bring it to the next room. Leave the stone and go get the chest at the back for a treasure, then carry the stone to the small room on the left, where two Beamos will awaken. Destroy them, then put down the stone in the corner of the wall with bars where one of the Beamos was. Go back to the room where you got the treasure chest and look on the wall behind where you left the timeshift stone to find a lever. Pull it down to open the gate on the right and go get the stone to carry it into the back room. Armos will awaken when you do. Only awaken one at a time though. Defeat them like you did previously using the Gust Bellows, then take the stone and put it down on the pedestal back at the entrance ahead.
Back outside at the front entrance, you can look up on the wall behind you to spot a clawshot target above the door. There’s a Goddess Cube on the ledge up in the air that you can get here. Then check the spot below that ledge and Fi will give you some info. Return to Skipper afterwards and let him know you can now use dowsing to find his ship. What you must do now is sail around the sand sea and use your dowse ability to locate the invisible ship. The ship moves around too so it’s not possible to say exactly where it is. Try following its location, then once you get very close, use the cannon to fire at it. If you get it, the ship will turn visible for a few seconds. Follow it again and shoot it two more times to finally get it to a stop. You will then automatically get aboard the Sandship.