athenian200
Circumspect
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2010
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
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
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.
To Meet the Deku Tree
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
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.