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To Meet the Deku Tree.

athenian200

Circumspect
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
a place of settlement, activity, or residence.
This story is basically a reinterpretation of the earliest events of OoT. I don't mean it to be "ripping off," so much as explaining. I'm not a terribly creative person, and that's why I've decided to create it this way. I'm better at adding to what's already there than creating something new.

To Meet the Deku Tree
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Link tossed and turned in his bed, moaning. This was not the first time he’d had this dream, but that made it no less disconcerting. It was a dark, cloudy night. He was standing near the entrance to a castle as the drawbridge lowered, and an older woman clutching a terrified girl sped by on a white mare. Soon after, a red-haired, dark-skinned man on a black stallion rode out in pursuit. He didn’t know why, but he felt this man was evil. Just then, the man would look at him and prepare an attack… and he would awaken, startled and puzzled.

As a result of this nightmare, Link hadn’t slept well that night. Thus, he slept through a good part of the morning and into the afternoon. This was becoming typical for him, as he found he had fewer nightmares in the daytime. Today was going to be different, however, due to the intervention of a being common in the forest he called home…

“Hello, Link! Wake up! The Great Deku Tree wants to talk to you! Link, get up!” cried a tiny, high-pitched voice.

“Unnn… can’t I speak with him in a couple hours? I’m SO tired,” Link complained to the fairy, half awake.

“Hey! C'mon! Can Hyrule's destiny really depend on such a lazy boy?” the fairy snapped.
“Oh, all right. I’m already awake, and I can tell you’re not going to leave me alone. Very well, my name is Link. And you are?” Link asked, trying to muster up some politeness. He figured the poor fairy was just a messenger who’d had her normally carefree day interrupted as well.

“You finally woke up! I'm Navi the fairy! The Great Deku Tree asked me to be your partner from now on! Nice to meet you. The Great Deku Tree has summoned you! So let's get going, right now!” Navi politely and enthusiastically explained.

“A fairy partner? And I’ve been summoned? This must be something big. I’ll go right away!” Link said as he slid into his boots and stood up.

As he walked out the front door, he saw a green haired girl rushing out to greet him. “Yahoo! Hi, Link!” she shouted happily.

Link rolled his eyes briefly, muttering to himself about his misfortune of having to face TWO loud, hyper girls this morning before he was even fully awake. “If girls are so sensitive, why haven’t they figured out that I’m NOT a morning person by now?” he thought, not completely registering that it was already after noon, or that everyone else had been up for hours.

He climbed down from his tree house, and calmly said, “Hello, Saria. Listen, I’m sorry, but I can’t play with you today. My fairy says I’ve got to go, right now.”

“Wow! A fairy!! Finally, a fairy came to you, Link! Wow! That's great news! I'm so happy for you! Now you're a true Kokiri, Link!” Saria exclaimed, clearly in a good mood.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s great... but the thing is, I’ve been summoned by the Great Deku Tree. That’s why I’ve got to go. I hope you’re not disappointed,” Link sighed.

“Is that right? The Great Deku Tree has summoned you? It's quite an honor to talk to the Great Deku Tree! I'll wait for you here. Go see the Great Deku Tree!” Saria said excitedly.

“I’m already on my way,” Link replied as he began walking towards the Deku tree.

As Link approached the valley where the Deku tree lived, he noticed that two Kokiri were at work clearing stones and grass from in front of people’s homes. “Oh, no… Mido’s having another ego trip. I hope I don’t run into him today, I just know he’ll give me a hard time,” Link thought.

Mido was actually a very insecure person, who would freak out if everything wasn’t going his way. People did what he told them to, not because they were afraid of him, but because he really thought he had their best interests at heart. They also felt pity, for Mido’s compulsiveness made his own life far more miserable than he made theirs.


Sure enough, Link spotted Mido guarding the entrance to the valley. “Just what I was afraid of,” he sighed. He reluctantly walked up to Mido and said, “Excuse me, but I need to see…”


“Hey you! ‘Mr. No Fairy!’ What's your business with the Great Deku Tree? Without a fairy, you're not even a real man!” Mido interrupted him.


“Ahem, I’d like to point out that I DO have a fairy now,” Link said as he pointed to Navi, who fluttered her wings and nodded. “I can confirm that I have been assigned to help him, by the Great Deku Tree himself,” Navi added.


“What?! You've got a fairy?! Say what? The Great Deku Tree actually summoned you? Whaaaaaaat?! Why would he summon you and not the great Mido?” Mido protested in disbelief. Link suppressed a small chuckle. ”This isn't funny...” Mido noted, glaring at him.


“I don't believe it! You aren't even fully equipped yet! How do you think you're going to help the Great Deku Tree without both a sword and shield ready?” Mido criticized. “If you think it’s that dangerous, why didn’t YOU get a sword and shield ready and investigate it yourself?” Link countered.


Mido looked embarrassed and muttered something to himself, but held his ground. “What? You're right. I don't have my equipment ready, but... If you want you pass through here, you should at least equip a sword and shield! Sheesh!”


Link sighed, “Well, Navi, what now?” Navi replied, “Mido is being obstinate, but perhaps he has a point. The Great Deku Tree said something about ‘not having much time left,’ so I was in a hurry to get you there. But anything that would make HIM ask for help may well be dangerous. Anyway, I’m sure a sword would ‘persuade’ Mido to let you through, whether he wants to keep his word or not.”


“We don’t have to worry about that. Mido always keeps his word when he puts conditions on his bullying. The real problem is going to be finding the sword and shield,” Link pointed out.


“I guess I’ll go to Saria for advice. That’s what everyone does around here. She’s helpful, and she always seems to know things,” Link explained as he walked back towards his home.


As he approached, Saria looked confused. “Back already?” She asked in curiosity. “Not exactly, Saria. Mido wouldn’t let me through,” Link said in a defeated tone.


“What?! Mido won't let you go to see the Great Deku Tree? Ohh... That bum! I don't know why he's always so mean to everyone!” Saria empathized.


“I know, right? Anyway, he says he’ll let me through if I get a sword and shield. He thinks I’m not ready to help the Great Deku Tree or something. Would you happen to know where I could find those?” Link asked.


Saria’s expression changed from empathetic to thoughtful. “What he said is true, though. The forest...strange things have been happening here lately... You need to be ready for anything. You'd better find a weapon! You can buy a shield at the shop, but there is only one sword hidden somewhere in the forest,” she replied insightfully.


“I should have thought to check the shop myself. But I’m broke… and I’m in a hurry,” Link worried.


“I haven’t really needed anything from the shop in a long time, so I haven’t been collecting many rupees. But you can have this pretty red I found earlier. I’m more than happy to help the Great Deku Tree out… he does so much for us,” Saria said as she handed Link the red gem.


“Doesn’t the shop only take rupees, though? This looks kind of like a rupee, but it’s red… pretty unusual. That’s got to be worth something. Maybe someone would trade me a blue or two for it…” Link pondered to himself.


“Tee-hee-hee, that IS a rupee, Link,” Saria laughed. “It’s called a Red Rupee. It’s worth 20 greens. I’m not surprised you didn’t recognize it, they’re pretty rare. Not to worry, the shopkeeper knows all about rupees,” Saria explained.


“Wow! Thanks, Saria! That will be a big help,” Link exclaimed.


“Ah, don’t mention it,” Saria said.


“Well, I’m just going to go and see what I can find,” Link said as he walked away.

Link looked around and eyed Mido’s house. There was the Kokiri he saw earlier, picking up stones in front of Mido’s house. Link thought to himself, “No one’s around except this guy, and I know Mido still has that money from when he decided to collect ‘taxes.’ Maybe he won’t see me.”

Link tried to sneak around from the side of Mido’s house to the entrance, but the Kokiri saw him and started a conversation. “Lift with your legs, pick it up! Lift with your legs, pick it up! Mean old Mido… he made me pick up the rocks in front of his house,” the Kokiri complained mockingly.


“Why did he do that?” Link asked.


“Oh, he thinks I took some rupees from his stash. I know the twins did it, because they go shopping all the time, but I wasn’t willing to rat them out, so this is my punishment,” he complained.


Link sighed, “I hate to tell you this, but… umm, you might need to keep another secret. I need to go shopping too, but it’s really important.”


“It’s fine by me. He told me to pick up the stones, not guard his house. And naturally, I didn’t see anything because I was picking up *this* rock,” the Kokiri deviously hinted.


With that, Link snuck into the house. He poked around and found a couple blues and a green.

“Well, that’s not bad, but it looks like someone else beat us to most of it,” Link said. “Well, if I were a thief, I’d hide my stash somewhere people don’t go… maybe some place that’s difficult to get to,” Navi theorized.


“Navi, sometimes you scare me. But that makes sense. The first place that comes to mind is the Lost Woods, but that’s too obvious, and too dangerous. No, it’s probably in this forest somewhere,” Link responded as he left Mido’s house.


“I know nothing,” the Kokiri reiterated as they passed by.


Link looked around the forest, and eventually found a small tunnel that he could crawl into.

“Hey, Navi, look at this! Do you think someone might have hidden rupees in here?” He asked excitedly.


“Oh! I saw that on my way into the forest when I was coming to get you. It was just on the edge of my vision; I tried to turn and face it, but I hit my head on that metal fence and just decided it wasn’t worth the view.” Navi mused.


“Well, I think I’ll go inside then,” Link suggested.

Link crawled into the tunnel, and reached a clearing on the other side. He came out, and looked around. Suddenly Navi cried out, “Look out, Link!” and Link narrowly ducked into a crevice fast enough to avoid a huge boulder that was rolling towards him.

“Yikes! Those thieves must have left booby traps. There must be something valuable hidden in here,” Navi explained. “I-I think so,” Link said, breathing hard and his heart racing.


“Okay, this time, I’m going to go AFTER the boulder goes past,” Link decided. So he waited a while, and sure enough it came around again. He dashed out after it, and followed the path to a clearing with a large treasure chest sitting right out in the open, atop a tree stump.


“Well, this must be the treasure. That was easier than I thought it would be. It’s not even buried. Wait, you don’t think this chest has a trap, a curse, or something like that, do you Navi?” Link said with concern.


“It doesn’t look like it, but there’s only one way to find out. You don’t really want to go all the way back without opening it, do you?” Navi replied.


“No way, I worked too hard to reach it. Let’s just open it,” Link decided.


With that, Link hesitantly opened the treasure chest and peered inside. He reached in, and pulled out a scabbard with a hilt sticking out of it. He removed the blade by the hilt, and swished it around in the air a few times. “Well, it seems to be a real sword, all right,” Link said as he examined the jewel-encrusted blade. “This should satisfy Mido,” he smugly thought.


“That’s not just ANY sword, Link!” Navi exclaimed. “That’s the Kokiri Sword. It was used by the Kokiri to protect the forest long ago, during a period of darkness where the Great Deku Tree was unable to keep all of the evil out of the forest. It must have been hidden here so that it wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands,” Navi elaborated.


“Well, I guess it’s all right to take it since I’m helping the Great Deku Tree, right?” Link asked.


“That seems reasonable enough. Plus, I doubt they’ll miss it, anyway. It was just rusting away in here, mostly forgotten anyway. Swords are made to be used,” Navi concurred.


Link strapped the scabbard onto his back, and placed the sword back inside. He made his way out of the maze, back into the forest. “Well, I only picked up a couple of greens in there,” Link sighed. “Let’s see… who haven’t I asked for money yet that might have some? Oh, yeah. Fado,” he thought to himself.


Link looked around for Fado, and eventually spotted her standing on top of a high pillar. He noticed that there was a ramp and two bridges leading up to the pillar. “That looks precarious… but it’s not as high as it looks,” Navi reassured Link as he started up the ramp.


Link wound his way up the ramp near Saria’s house, and carefully traversed the two bridges. Eventually he found Fado on the other end. “Hi, Fado. How are you?” Link started.

“Hee hee hee! You came all the way up here? You're a real man! Ah, isn’t this view pretty?” Fado replied.


“Well, I’m glad someone thinks so. Mido is treating me like a kid because I don’t have a sword and shield,” Link complained as he looked around the forest from his new vantage point.


“What?! That’s not right. You already have the sword… and you’re pretty brave. Can’t you just buy the shield?” Fado inquired.


“Actually, I was wondering if you could loan me some money,” Link said nervously.


“You’re… not here for the view, I see. Well, it would be mean of me not to give you something after you’ve come all this way, now wouldn’t it?” Fado sighed as she handed him a blue.


Link walked back over the bridges and down the ramp. As he reached the end, Navi interrupted the silence. “Hey, Link… there’s one place we haven’t checked yet. The twins! They go shopping all the time. Maybe they have some money left over,” she pointed out.


“I’ll head over there, then,” Link replied as he walked over to the House of Twins, the home with two trunks coming out of the single base.


Link entered the home, and talked to the twin that was present. “Hi, where did your sister go? You’re both usually here.” Link inquired.

“My sister took some Rupees and went shopping at the store that has a red roof. Tee hee! Speaking of Rupees, a green one is worth one, a blue one is worth five and a red one is worth twenty. Hee hee!” the remaining twin said.

“Geez, am I the only one around here who didn’t know that a red rupee was worth 20 until now?” Link asked.

“You’re the only one around here new to shopping, so… yeah. But at least you know now! Hee hee!” she giggled.

“So, anyway… would you happen to have any rupees left that I can take? I need to get something from the shop.” Link asked.
“Tee hee! But of course, just look in those pots. What good is money if you don’t share it? There’s not much left, just a blue and a green. We borrowed it from Mido,” the twin chuckled. “Although, he did get most it when he charged us that ‘sales tax’ of his just to go shopping,” she added.Link reached into both of the pots he saw, and pulled out a green and blue, just as he’d been told.

“Thank you, you’ve been a big help!” Link said as he was leaving.
“Wait!” the twin called out. “How many rupees do you have now?” she asked.

“Well, let’s see… a red, three blues, and three greens. Thirty-eight rupees,” Link said as he counted his change. “I’m looking to get a shield,” he explained.


“Oh, that’s almost enough,” the twin said. “You’re two rupees short. But I think I dropped a rupee on those stepping stones the other night when I was borrowing them from Mido. Maybe it’s still there. Tee hee!” she giggled.
“Thanks for the tip,” Link said as he finally walked out the door.Link started off towards the shop with the red roof, and stopped just outside the entrance.

“Isn’t this the bridge that twin was talking about?” He said to himself. “Tee hee hee! Yeah, I saw her there the other night. Looking for something?” the fairy of a girl sitting on the shop’s roof said before fluttering back to her side.


“Oh, I guess it’s time for that game again,” Navi sighed.
“What do you mean?” Link inquired.“There’s this fad among the Kokiri, where they use us to speak to one another when they’re too far away for their voice to carry, rather than bothering to get closer or speak up. Yeah, sure, make us do all the legwork just because we have wings. The Great Deku Tree at least has an excuse, but… geez,” Navi complained. “Anyway, you’ll have to use me to talk to her. Just tell me what you want to say,” Navi explained.

“Have you seen if someone dropped a rupee there?” Link instructed her to ask.
“Yes, it fell right by the side of that first stepping stone, and got partly covered by mud. I would have gotten it myself, but I didn’t feel like getting down from here. Tee hee,” the message was relayed.

Thanks,” Link replied. With that, he began digging in the mud, and found a very dirty blue. He washed it off in the stream, and put it in his pocket.
With forty-three rupees in hand, Link finally entered the shop.

He walked right in, pushed past the girl, and told the shopkeeper, “I need a shield, fast. Will this cover it?” Link said said as he dumped all his money out on the counter.
“Hmm… yes, this is actually more than I need for it. Here’s your shield, and here are your greens back,” the shopkeeper said as he pulled the shield off the shelf, blew the dust off it, and handed it to Link.

“Great doing business with you, keep the change,” Link shouted as he ran out the door, slinging the shield’s grip over the scabbard on his back.Link hurried back to the valley entrance, and said, “I’m ready, Mido,” as he drew his sword and shield.


“Oh, you have a Deku Shield… and what’s THAT?! Is that the Kokiri Sword?! GOOD GRIEF!! Don’t point that thing at me!” Mido said anxiously.


“I was just making sure you saw it,” Link laughed as he put away the sword and shield.

Navi chuckled, “See? Swords can be very persuasive.”


“Well, even with all that stuff, a wimp is still a wimp, huh?” Mido said rolling his eyes.


“Oh, give it up, Mido. You know I’m a real Kokiri now. Just admit it,” Link said.


“I, the great Mido, will never accept you as one of us!” Mido boomed.


“Real mature, Mido.” Link sighed.


“Shoot! How did you get to be the favorite of Saria and the Great Deku Tree?” Mido continued ranting obliviously.


“Ask them. But you promised to let me through if I got a sword and shield. Well?” Link asked, tapping his foot.


“Huh?! Grumble...grumble...” Mido muttered as he stepped out of the way to let Link pass.


Link rushed into the valley to meet the Great Deku Tree, when suddenly something huge lunged at him. “What kind of monster is this?!” he screamed, barely dodging it. He just made out that it was a plant-like creature. Thinking quickly, he threw a Deku Nut he found yesterday to stun it, pulled his sword, and cut it at the stem.


“Ew!” Navi said, disgusted. “That wasn’t there the last time I was through here. What’s going on?!”


Mido came up behind Link with a Deku Stick. “All right, wimp. What’s wrong, did you see your own shad… oh,” Mido said quietly. “That’s a Big Deku Baba. Or rather, it was before you killed it. I haven’t seen one of those since… well, that’s none of your business! You handle a sword pretty well for a little loser, to be able to take one of those things down. But anyway, it looks like my hunch was right, and things are even worse than I thought.”


“Your hunch about what?” Link asked.


“None of your business, kid! All you need to know is that there are going to be more monsters. And if you make a mistake, the Great Deku Tree could die,” Mido said, trying to sound angry to cover up the sadness in his voice.


“Go on ahead, but I’m warning you… if you screw this up, I’ll never forgive you,” Mido said as he walked away.

“I hate to admit it, but it looks like Mido was right about my needing a sword,” Link said to Navi.

“Yeah. I had no idea it was going to be like this. Good thing Mido bullied us, I guess,” Navi said.

“Almost makes me feel bad about how much I complain about him… almost, that is,” Link chuckled, walking off towards the Great Deku Tree.
 

Austin

Austin
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Heh, that was pretty good. I like how you used in-game dialogue in there but had Link reacting as if he were talking to a robot. Seems like someone isn't a big fan of Saria or Navi :P
 

*M i d n a*

Æsir Scribe
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Location
*Midgard*
Gender
Entity
Lol, took me a while to read it all, I am a slow reader. What? I like to take my time lol.

Anyway, hardly any typos, if any at all. Great work, Athenian. You totally drew me into the story. Even though I have never played OoT, I felt as if I was controlling Link and whatnot lol. And to have read about Mido giving Link a hard time, well, that was so neat. :P

Anyways, yeap, you write pretty good yourself. If I put you on a personal ranking here, you'd be:

1. Shadsie
2. Athenian
3. Xinnamin
4. ChageWithSword


Good job with this, though ranking you and Xinnamin was tough, you two are good at what you do. Hope you post more in the future. :P
 

athenian200

Circumspect
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
a place of settlement, activity, or residence.
Lol, took me a while to read it all, I am a slow reader. What? I like to take my time lol.

It doesn't matter how fast you read, it just matters that you read. ;)

Anyway, hardly any typos, if any at all. Great work, Athenian. You totally drew me into the story. Even though I have never played OoT, I felt as if I was controlling Link and whatnot lol. And to have read about Mido giving Link a hard time, well, that was so neat. :P
Thanks. I'm pretty sure there are a few errors, but they're all grammatical fragments or punctuation errors. There's also a few inconsistencies in spacing. The reason I left them in was because I found the document was more readable with them than without them.

If you know what this means, my story supposedly has a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 3.4, and a Flesch Reading Ease of 87.5. That means an intelligent 4th grader should be able to read my story, and since there are a lot of 12 year-olds on here, that's probably a good thing.

Except the spacing errors. Those just came about because I had to redo it completely thanks to not being able to copy over what I did in Word. :(

Most of the plot can be credited to Nintendo, I just added some filler material in order to smooth the transition to a story format and make it more detailed. If you play OoT, you'll see how much of this was already in place, and how little I really did. ;)
Anyways, yeap, you write pretty good yourself. If I put you on a personal ranking here, you'd be:

1. Shadsie
2. Athenian
3. Xinnamin
4. ChageWithSword


Good job with this, though ranking you and Xinnamin was tough, you two are good at what you do. Hope you post more in the future. :P
:embarrassed:

Thank you very much, but I don't think it's fair to compare me to them. They're trying to put it together from scratch. I'm just filling in a few blanks and converting an existing story from one medium to another.

Still, it's flattering that you read this and ranked me.
 
Last edited:

athenian200

Circumspect
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Location
a place of settlement, activity, or residence.
Inside the Deku Tree, Part 1

Inside the Deku Tree, Part 1

As Link reached the end of the path, he saw the Great Deku Tree’s meadow, and the great tree itself standing proudly in the center. Navi flew ahead of Link towards the tree, and shouted “Great Deku Tree... I'm back!” “Oh... Navi... Thou hast returned...” the Great Deku Tree replied.

“Thou?” Link said, puzzled. “Don’t worry, I’ll translate from now on,” Navi assured Link. “Welcome, Link. Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. Your sleep these past nights must have been restless, and full of nightmares. As the servants of evil gain strength, an evil air permeates the land and brings nightmares to those sensitive to it. Certainly, you have felt it?” The great tree spoke ominously.

“Yes, I’ve had horrible nightmares about an evil man wearing black on a black horse, chasing a girl... and he’s about to turn on me, but then I wake up,” Link confessed. “I haven’t slept well in weeks. Is this why you’ve called me here? Do you know what my dream means?”

“Indeed I do, Link; all too well. But now is not the time for explanations. Now is the time to test your courage. I have been cursed. I need you to break the curse with your wisdom and courage. Are you brave enough to accept this task?” The great tree asked sadly.

“Yes, Great Deku Tree. I am at your service.” Link replied, a little nervous but unwilling to run and let Mido gloat about his cowardice. “Then enter, brave Link, and you too, Navi. Navi the fairy, you must aid Link. And Link, when Navi speaks, listen well to her words of wisdom,” The great tree said, slightly relieved. “We shall, Great Deku Tree,” Link and Navi said in unison.

With that, a great opening appeared at the base of the tree, and Link and Navi entered. Inside the tree was a large, cylindrical chamber filled with dusty air… it felt a bit like being inside a barrel. Everything inside appeared to be carved from wood. There were platforms, vines, and all sorts of things inside the tree. “Wow, that’s some curse. He’s been almost completely hollowed out inside. It’s a wonder he’s still alive,” Link exclaimed.

“Yeah…” Navi said sadly. “I’m just going to start looking aroun— ahh!” Link started as he was attacked by a Deku Baba, smaller than the one he had faced at the entrance, but no less deadly. He instinctively jumped back, tossed another Deku Nut to paralyze it, and slashed the creature’s mouth in half, taking more Deku Nuts from its remains. “Whew, that was close,” Link said, rubbing at his leg where the creature had bitten him. “Link! Be more careful! This place is cursed, you know? That means it’s full of monsters!” Navi scolded him. “I know that now, Navi. I will,” Link reassured her.

Link walked forward a short distance and felt the ground beneath him begin to give way and bounce. “Woah, what’s happening? Is it an earthquake?” Link asked. “No, look, look Link. Look down below this web,” Navi explained. “Oh, I’m standing on a web. And look… there’s some kind of underground river? What’s that doing here?” Link observed. “It probably formed around what’s left of the Great Deku Tree’s root system,” Navi explained. “I want to have a look down there. Let’s see, if I can break through this web…” Link jumped up and down on the web, but it just bobbed, and didn’t give way. “Hey, what gives? What kind of web is this?” Link asked. “Only Skulltula webs get this big and strong,” Navi explained. “Well, Skulltula or no, this is still just a web, and I can break it. I just need to get higher up to hit it harder…” Link said as he eyed a ladder.

Link climbed up the ladder, and reached the platform on top. He then backed up, started running, and jumped off the platform onto the web. He just barely landed on the edge of the web, but this time it bobbed and weaved more violently. “Aww, this isn’t working! You’re right, Navi, this is no ordinary spider’s web.” Link said dejectedly. “Actually, I think your idea is pretty sound. You just weren’t high enough, and you were too far away from the web. I saw a wall with vines growing on it that gave it a rough surface… Maybe you could climb it, Link!” Navi suggested.

“Of course! I could climb up that, no problem… just like when I would go and visit Saria in the Lost Woods,” Link replied as he ascended the ladder once more, and searched the upper ledge for the wall Navi had spoken of. But first he noticed a treasure chest. “Oh, another one of those mysterious chests lying around… I wonder what’s in this one?” Link said as he opened the chest. “A blank sheet of paper? No, wait a minute… there are shapes appearing on it… it’s a map! I’ve heard of a magical map leading you to treasure chests, but never a map BEING the treasure you find in a chest,” Link chuckled.

“Don’t be so quick to dismiss this! This is not just some random treasure map! It’s a magically generated map of this area… it will save you from getting lost.” Navi explained. “Oh, wow, it is… I guess it’s a real treasure after all!” Link exclaimed. “And here are the vines… guess I better start climbing,” Link observed as he began to ascend the vines. “Link, wait a minute, I just noticed there are…” Navi started to say. “Oww!” Link interrupted as he fell off the vine. “…Skullwalltula on the vines,” Navi finished. “You couldn’t have told me this BEFORE it bit my arm?” Link complained as he rubbed his forearm. “Okay, that one was my fault. I didn’t see them there. You’ll have to kill the Skulltula before you can climb up that vine,” Navi explained sheepishly.

“How am I supposed to kill the Skulltula all the way up there, from way down here? All I’ve got is this sword. If I’d known I was going to need to kill a spider way up on the wall, I would have brought my slingshot or something,” Link noted. “I… have no idea, Link. But usually I find that starting off exploring in places you can reach, yields the best results. Let’s just keep moving,” Navi admitted.

“It almost seems like these Skulltula are doing this on purpose. First the web at the base of the tree, then they’re on the vines…” Link observed. “Well, they’re not ordinary spiders, Link. They’re monsters created by sorcery and curses… they probably ARE trying to block our progress.” Navi pointed out.

Link continued exploring the upper platform, and eventually noticed something odd. “Hey, look at this Navi. It’s a rectangle in the wall of the Deku Tree,” Link said as he knocked on it. “It sounds hollow, too. What is it?” Navi started laughing. “What’s so funny?” Link asked. “This is a door, Link. You can open a door by standing in front of it, putting your hand on that protruding round thing, turning it to the right, and pushing on it.” Navi explained.

“Well, they don’t have doors in Kokiri Forest… how was I supposed to know what it was?” Link asked in confusion. “I’m sorry, Link… it’s just that doors are so common in most of Hyrule that it seems funny somehow. Some of the mountain people, for instance, have no more idea of what a tree is, than you did of what a door is.” Navi tried to explain.

“Hehe, well, I would certainly be amused if someone didn’t know what a tree was. It’s okay, Navi.” Link chuckled. Link opened his first door, and stepped through it.

“Link, your shield!” Navi shouted. Link pulled out his shield just in time to deflect an object that was headed right for him. He looked in the direction it had come from, and noticed a bush rustling in the center of the room. “What is that thing, Navi?” Link asked. “Keep your shield pointed at it, Link. It’s a Deku Scrub. It will hide in the grass if you get close to it. Bounce the nuts it spits back at it!” Navi explained. “Ah, so it spits nuts and then hides under the grass… that’s a cowardly thing to do,” Link commented.

Just then, a misshapen, wooden-bodied creature with red beady eyes and a circular snout popped up, covered in leaves. It spit a nut at Link, which was bounced right back at him with the shield. After it was hit, it jumped up out of its hole, and started running around the room. “Now, Link! Corner it!” Navi urged Link. Link managed to corner it near a door with iron bars in front of it.

Suddenly the creature spoke. “Ow-ow-ow! Forgive me, master! If I give you a clue, will you let me go? When you jump off a high cliff, if you will hold onto your toes and roll on the ground when you land, you won't get hurt from the fall. I can't guarantee it will work, though, if the cliff is really, really high, heh heh! Well, try it if you are feeling bold! Wah ha hah!” the Deku Scrub said and ran off.

Link was too stunned that the creature had spoken to follow. “What was THAT all about? I thought monsters couldn’t speak?” Link said bewildered. “Deku Scrubs are… not EXACTLY monsters, Link. Some Scrubs ARE monsters, but Deku Scrubs are intelligent beings. You were right on the mark when you called them cowardly. You will rarely have to kill a Deku Scrub, as they usually surrender when cornered. They will do anything to avoid a real fight,” Navi explained.

“Well, it’s hard to respect them, but at least that’s one less monster to kill,” Link exclaimed. “Hey, the bars blocking that other door are gone! We can go through,” Navi pointed out. "You know, this 'door' thing seems like a good idea, Navi. It would be nice to have one on my house, so that people didn't sneak in on me at night, or while I was getting dressed," Link commented. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, the Kokiri are actually unusual among the races of Hyrule in that they are somewhat claustrophobic, have only a small sense of property, and don't value privacy. That's why they don't have doors," Navi explained. "Then they wouldn't last two seconds in this maze... I guess that's why the Great Deku Tree picked me," Link thought as he passed through the door, and noticed a treasure chest on the opposite ledge, with a strange grey platform between them within jumping distance.

“I think I can reach that chest by just jumping across here. Let’s see…” Link said as he jumped onto the grey platform. “Now for the next jump – whoa!” Link said as the platform gave way and he began to plummet towards the ground.

Remembering what the Deku Scrub had said, Link grabbed his toes and started to roll as he approached the ground. “Link, are you all right?!” Navi asked. “Yeah, it wasn’t that high, but I might have broken a bone or two if it weren’t for that Deku Scrub’s advice… looks like they were telling the truth,” Link admitted. “There’s a ladder up ahead, anyway. Looks much safer,” he noted.

Link ascended the ladder, and opened the treasure chest. “A slingshot?” Link noted. “What is a slingshot doing in a place like this? Oh, well, it’s exactly what I needed,” he commented. “That’s not just a normal slingshot, Link. The slingshots you made in the forest were little more than toys. This is a real weapon. Notice how it’s perfectly carved from a single piece of wood, has a well-made grip, red lines near the top acting as sights, and feel how hard it is to pull back.” Navi explained. “Ow!” Link said as he tried to pull back on the elastic for the first time. He let go and it slapped him in the face. “See? This slingshot was made by a Great Fairy for the Kokiri a long time ago. I’m not sure why it ended up here, but it’s a good thing we found it,” Navi continued.

“Okay, now that we have it… how do we get back out of here?” Link asked, noticing that there was no way back to the door they had entered.
 

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Inside the Deku Tree, Part 2

Inside the Deku Tree, Part 2

“Look! Something is hanging up there! It looks like an old ladder!” Navi exclaimed, gesturing towards the ceiling on the opposite side. “It’s all the way up there, and I’m down here… just like the Skulltulas. Only thing I have that can reach it is this new Slingshot. Well, here goes nothing…” Link said as he loaded up his slingshot and aimed it at the ladder.

To his surprise, the ladder gave way and fell right in front of the entrance on the first shot. “See, I told you that slingshot was powerful,” Navi said. “Well, if it can knock a ladder loose, I have no doubt it can kill those Skulltula things.” Link noted as he climbed down the first ladder and ascended the one he had just brought down. Soon he was back in front of the wall he had tried to climb earlier. He loaded up his slingshot, and brought down all three of the Skullwalltulas. “Well, that was easy enough,” Link remarked as he climbed up the vines to an even higher platform.

On this higher platform, the first thing Link noticed were several narrow wooden platforms leading out to the middle of the room. “If I jumped down on the web from up here…” Link started to say as a large Skulltula descended to block his path. “Ahh! These things are everywhere!” Link exclaimed as he backed away, pulled out his slingshot and hit the Skulltula dead on. The Skulltula only swayed back and forth. “Hey, what gives? Why isn’t this working?!” Link said in frustration. “These bigger Skulltula have very hard shells, Link. Its soft belly is its weak point!” Navi explained. “Okay, the belly. No problem, just have to figure out how to get it to reveal its belly and…” Link observed just as the Skulltula turned to face the other way, leaving itself exposed. “Thank you, Skulltula!” Link exclaimed as he threw a Deku Nut to paralyze it, and slashed at its belly a couple times with the Kokiri Sword, bringing it down.

“Good thing Skulltula aren’t very bright,” Navi commented. “Well, here goes nothing… again… ” Link said as he got a running start at the back, and executed a running jump at the edge of the wooden platform, plunging through the air, through the web, and into the water, making a big splash. “Finally, I’m making some progress here!” Link exclaimed as he coughed up water and climbed onto the nearest platform.

Link began to walk around, and eventually he stepped on something a bit higher than the surrounding ground, but it gave way beneath his feet. He saw a torch light up and burn away a web. “Did this thing I stepped on cause that?” Link said to himself. “Yes, that thing is a switch. Usually stepping on it causes something to happen nearby,” Navi explained.

“Oh, look, another Skulltula,” Link noticed as he pointed to a metal grate through which water was running. “I’d better kill it, just in case,” he said as he loaded his slingshot and fired a couple shots. “Hey, it disappeared, but its shell is still here… it looks like metal. What is this?” Link asked. “It appears to be gold, a valuable metal. I have no idea why a Skulltula would have a shell made of this, but it’s certainly worth keeping,” Navi explained. “A Gold Skulltula, huh… maybe I can sell it to someone,” Link said as he picked up the remains of the Skulltula.

Link continued exploring the room, and found a door that was blocked by a thick web. “This web is pretty solid, I can’t hack through it… and I can’t fall through it, it’s sideways,” Link observed. “Maybe… fire would burn it up, just like the web near the torch?” he asked. “Yes, it would. While Skulltulas are monsters, they are bound to the form of a spider. They can only strengthen and augment that nature, not change it completely. Since a spider’s web is flammable, so is a Skulltula’s web, no matter how strong it is,” Navi explained.

“So, all I’ve got to do is get the flame from that torch over there…” Link reasoned as he pulled out a Deku Stick and headed for the torch. He lit the stick on fire, and hurried back towards the platform with the door. However, he fell in the water, and his torch went out. “How am I supposed to get the flame over there with all this water?” Link asked. “Look closely under the water, Link… there is an underwater platform that is shallow enough that if you stand on it, you can keep your hands above water,” Navi observed. “How did I not see that earlier? I’ll give it another try,” Link said as he climbed back to the torch, Deku Stick in hand. He set it on fire again, carefully jumped out to the underwater platform, and finally to the platform on the other side with the web and the door. He set the web ablaze just as the Deku Stick turned to ash. The web soon burned away, allowing Link to reach the door.

Link opened the door, and saw grass rustling in the center of the room. He quickly drew his shield out, and braced for impact. A Deku Nut flew at him, and he deflected it skillfully right into the Deku Scrub. He cornered the creature, and it spoke to him again. “Please forgive me, master! I'll never do it again! If you spare me, I'll teach you something cool. You will never beat my brothers up ahead unless you punish them in the proper order. The order is... 2 3 1 Twenty-three is number one! Do you think I'm a traitor?” The Deku Scrub said as it scurried off. “Yes,” Link called after it, “but at least you’re a helpful traitor,” he added.

Link suddenly felt like he was being watched. He looked around the room, and noticed an eye on the wall. “Hey, that thing is watching me! I don’t like being watched!” he shouted as he fired his slingshot at the eye. The eye closed, and a door on the other side of the room was unbarred. “Your fear of being watched was actually helpful in this case,” Navi commented. “That… wasn’t a real eye, was it, Navi?” Link asked as he walked through the door. “Just try and think of it as another switch, Link,” Navi suggested.

Upon entering the next room, Link saw a large pool of water, over which passed a very flat “ferry” platform of sorts. Suspended just above the center of this room was a rotating column covered in spikes. There appeared to be just enough room for the ferry to pass underneath. “Maybe if I lie really flat on the platform, I can make it through,” Link said. Link waited for the ferry to come, jumped on, and lied face-down on the platform, gripping each corner of the platform with a different appendage, head hanging down into the water a bit. “I don’t think this is a very good idea, Link,” Navi said as the platform started to move.

“I have to at least try it,” Link explained. As he came to the spiked column, his neck and shoulders went through without incident. But the shield on his back got jammed in the mechanism, and torn to shreds. Also, his buttocks was a bit higher than the rest of his body, and got stabbed a few times by the spikes. “Oww!” Link cried out as his buttocks were turned into pin cushions.

Luckily none of the spikes went deep enough to cause serious injury, though there would be scarring. Finally, as the spikes passed over his feet, they tore his boots off. The boots were just thick enough to be grabbed by the spikes. Had they been just a little thinner, they would have slid through without incident.
Link reached the other side of the room, shieldless, barefoot, and his buttocks still smarting quite a bit.

“Oww! Why do these things always happen to me?” Link complained as he jumped off the ferry onto the shore of the other side. “I’m not going to be able to sit down for a week,” he continued. Link explored the new area as he tried to soothe his damaged posterior with water, which only worsened the pain. He eventually came across a sign written in a strange language. Navi read it.

“To all Deku Scrubs: for your own safety, please lower water level via underwater switch before attempting to cross,” the sign read. “You mean I could have just lowered the water level?!” Link protested. “I TOLD you that was a bad idea, Link,” Navi sighed. “In any case, what’s done is done. Watch your step very carefully from now on, and remember that you can use the slingshot against Deku Scrubs… since you can’t very well deflect their nuts with your shield anymore,” Navi explained.

The next thing Link noticed was a large recess in the wall above with a door in it, and a block nearby just tall enough to reach it. “This is an easy fix… for once,” Link said as he pushed the block in front of the door, and proceeded to climb up.

A Skulltula came down once again, but Link dispatched it with a Deku Nut and quick swordplay. He walked through the door, and yet another Skulltula came down… which he dispatched in the same manner. “We must be getting close to something they don’t want us to see… why else would there be so many of them here?” Link observed. “Link… you may be headstrong and foolish in many ways, but I’ve never seen someone learn to interpret these things as quickly as you have,” Navi noted. “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment,” Link sighed as he looked down as his dirty feet.

Link continued through the room, and encountered another Deku Baba. He stunned and slashed it, taking more Deku Nuts for himself from its remains. As he reached the center of the room, he noticed a tunnel blocked by a web, and a lit torch. “Okay, this is just like the other room… I can do… woah!” he said as he was knocked over by something. He quickly used the Deku Stick he had drawn as a weapon, and dispatched a strange looking Cyclops spider, far more sinister looking than even the Skulltula.

He put away the Deku Stick and pulled out his sword. “Navi, what was that?!” Link demanded. “Link! That’s a Gohma! It's one of the parasitic monsters inside the Deku Tree! Its eye is vulnerable when it's red!” Link didn’t have to be told twice… he jammed his sword into the red eyes of the two remaining Gohma, and twisted it for good measure. They were quickly defeated.

“Where did those things come from? They weren’t there before!” Link worried. “Gohma hatch from eggs that are laid on the ceiling. Keese, bat-like creatures, sometimes hide on the ceiling as well… you need to start looking up there, too.” Navi suggested. “Geez, not even the ceilings are safe in a place like this…” Link muttered.

With that, Link took his Deku Stick out after inspecting the ceiling for more enemies. He burned his way through yet another web, and started to crawl through a small tunnel on the other side. As Link emerged on the other side, he recognized the room he was in. “Hey! This is the room I fell into when I first came down here. But I’m on the higher platform I couldn’t reach before,” Link observed. “And look, there’s another web on the ground here, just like the one above…” he added, jumping up and down on it in vain. “Yes, this one is strong, too… but I can’t fall through it. I would burn it, but all the torches on this side are too high to reach, and if I go down to the one I used before, I won’t be able to get back up here, unless…” he started to say.

“Hey, Link. Why don’t you stand next to this block, grab hold of it, and push it?” Navi asked, gesturing towards a block. Link now saw the block, and realized that if he pushed it off the edge near the torch, he would be able to get up and down as he pleased using the block as a stepping stool. “Okay, I can take a hint… I should have seen that earlier,” Link sighed as he began pushing the heavy block across the damp floor.

“What a time to lose my boots! I’m having to push heavy blocks around on this slimy floor, and my feet are getting blistered from all the work,” Link complained as he heaved the block off the side of the platform. “I’m sorry, Link, I really should have been more specific about thinking there was another way across… I should have flown ahead and read the sign,” Navi confessed.

Link jumped down on top of the block, climbed down it, climbed up onto the platform with the torch, lit a Deku Stick, climbed back onto the block, onto the higher platform, and walked to the edge of the web. He stood clear, and carefully lowered the Deku Stick onto the web. It burned like all the others, leaving a gaping hole in the ground. “Well, this is it. Let’s hope this is almost over,” Link sighed as began to climb down the vine lining the wall on one side of the pit, after looking down to make sure there were no Skullwalltulas.

After the long climb down, Link fell into a pool of water. This pool of water was different from the others he’d been in lately, though. As he touched the water, his feet no longer felt swollen and dirty, and the sores on his arm, back, and thigh began to heal. He was refreshed. The cool water felt so good on his toes. He didn’t give himself long to indulge the feeling, however, and quickly swam to the dry part of the room. “A healing spring. I guess whoever made this place has a heart, after all,” Link commented. “Either that, or simply arrogance and a twisted sense of fairness. Villains often do things like this to either lull you into a false sense of security, or give you a chance at beating a challenge they don’t think you have a chance of winning anyway,” Navi explained.

Link looked ahead, and noticed three patches of rustling grass. He pulled out his slingshot. “Link, remember what the Deku Scrub told us,” Navi reminded him. “Yes, twenty three is number one,” Link recalled. He aimed his slingshot at the patch of rustling grass in the middle, ducking and dodging Deku Nuts from the other two Scrubs as he waited for it to surface. When it shot a nut at him, he fired back quickly, and jumped out of the way. The Deku Scrub froze in place, as if he had been stunned or something. Next, Link aimed for the Deku Scrub on the far right, and a Deku Nut just barely grazed his shoulder as he hit it with the Slingshot. It also froze.

Finally, Link set his sights on the final Scrub, and fired one last time. The Deku Scrub didn’t freeze like the others, but started running around the room. Link cornered it, and it spoke. “How did you know our secret?! How irritating!” the Deku Scrub demanded. “One of your ‘brothers’ betrayed your secret after I defeated him,” Link answered honestly. The Deku Scrub perked up and continued. “It's so annoying that I'm going to reveal the secret of Queen Gohma to you! In order to administer the coup de grace to Queen Gohma, strike with your sword while she's stunned. Oh, Queenie... Sorry about that!” the Deku Scrub unconvincingly apologized.

“How can they all be such cowards and traitors?” Link muttered to himself.

“You wouldn’t understand that with a body that can take so much punishment, now would you? We can only spit nuts at you that could, at most, knock you out if you got hit enough. That sword you’re pointing at me, on the other hand, could kill me in one stroke. My body could easily be burned by fire. We are fragile creatures that only survive by submitting to whoever confronts us. I hope one day, you know what it feels like! Hmph!” The Deku Scrub added as it cowered behind a wall and scurried away.
“In any case, one should never rely on Deku Scrubs… as allies or as enemies.” Navi commented.

With that, Link ventured through the door that had been unsealed by defeating the Scrubs. After he reached the other side, the door was sealed off behind him. “Uh-oh… this isn’t good, is it Navi?” Link asked. “There must be something, or someone in here, Link… just be on guard,” Navi suggested. Link looked up towards the ceiling, checking for enemies, when he saw a large orange eye. A Gohma dropped down from the ceiling… a very large Gohma.

Link wasted it no time in stunning it with a Deku Nut, and hacking away at it. He hit it about 5 times, but it still got up and crawled back up to the ceiling. “Why isn’t it dead?!” Link asked in confusion. “Link, that’s the Queen Gohma the Deku Scrub was talking about. She’ll be a bit tougher than the others, but she shares the same weaknesses,” Navi explained.

Link watched the Gohma crawl around on the ceiling. Eventually it dropped three strange sacs out of which hatched normal Gohmas. Link defeated one of them, and destroyed the other two before they even hatched. The Queen Gohma was enraged by this, and came down to confront Link once again… as it attacked, Link threw another Deku Nut, and proceeded to tear Queen Gohma apart. This time, she did not survive. She let out a fierce growl, and then stopped moving. Her eye turned black. She was dead, once and for all.

“I finally feel like I’ve accomplished something here,” Link exclaimed. “You have, Link. It’s over. The Queen Gohma was at the root of the evil magic infecting the Deku Tree. With her gone, it’s only a matter of time until the rest of the curse breaks down,” Navi explained.

Link and Navi were suddenly enveloped in green light, and the room around them began to fade… they had succeeded.
 

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