Chapter two: Forest Haven
"So what island are we heading to anyway?" Horus asked as he glided to the other side of the ship then pumped his wings to stay elevated.
"To the Forest Haven. We're going to ask the Deku tree who lives there for Farore's Pearl." the boat said. Horus nodded and grunted in acknowledgment. He noticed a seagull flying beside him, and flew to the other side of the ship. The gull followed him, making Horus frown.
Link watched as Horus kept switching sides, trying to get away from the bird. Link couldn't help but laugh a bit. Looking at Horus's wings, Link did note that the gull's and his had a striking resemblance. Horus's white with brown on top wings were rather sharp, and only the tips were black. "I think it likes you! You do look a bit like a gull!" Link called up, causing Horus to frown more.
The gull eventually left though, and Horus sighed in relief. The sun had set, and the moon began to rise. He noticed a giant tree in the ocean, and gawked at it. "That would be the Forest Haven." the boat said, and Horus picked up his pace letting him reach the island first. He circled around the island, and returned when Link had landed.
"This is amazing, I heard about this place from some of the postmen, but I never imagined anything like this!" he said with eager enthusiasm. Link smiled, and started up the path. The boat was going to say something, but the eager boys had left before he could open his mouth. He sighed and waited for them to return.
Link jumped when a monster plant appeared out of an oversized bud, purple drool leaking from its mouth. Before Link could even blink, the thing was taken down by a cross spear, and it disappeared leaving a strange seed. Horus walked up to the spear, and pulled it out of the ground. "We'll have to be more careful around those big bud things, eh Link?" Horus said and grinned. Link nodded, and picked up the seed, storing it in an odd purple bag.
Soon the duo had made it to the entrance of Forest Haven, and Horus once again took off in flight to explore. Link followed the small stream, trying to get up a bit higher. He soon noticed a giant lily pad in front of a gargantuan tree. Chuchus appeared on its wooden face, and the tree made it clear that it was in agony.
Link attacked the monsters, and Horus dove down to aid the blond. Soon all the parasites were gone, and the tree began to speak in Hylian. Both boys cocked their heads in confusion. "I must apologize. I was in error. I saw your clothing and suddenly I felt a longing for an age gone by. That longing caused the ancient tongue to pass my lips. I am the guardian spirit of this Forest Haven-the Deku Tree. I owe you my thanks for your aid in ridding me of those foul creatures... Tell me... Was it not the King of Red Lions-the boat who speaks-who led you to this place?"
The boys both nodded. "So it is true... Then you have come here because you have need of the pearl of the goddess? I see... I knew there was a reason the monsters had begun to congregate in the regions around my wood. Now I understand it. He has returned... Ganon has returned... In that case, we must make haste. Koroks! Little children of the woods! These travelers are not your enemy. Let your hearts be at ease, and show yourselves!"
After those words passed the tree's lips, small, wooden people with leaf masks appeared on the tree before taking to the air with odd leaves. Horus looked around wide eyed and took to the air to inspect them closer. "Oh, it's the postman! Hello mister postman, have you gotten any mail for us?…Hey, did you get shorter or something?" one of the Koroks said, causing Horus to drop to the ground depressedly.
"I'm a warrior, not a post man…" he moped, causing Link to sigh. The Deku tree simply chuckled.
"What do you call yourself? Link? Well, then, Link... These are the Koroks-the spirits of the forest. Once upon a time, long ago, the Koroks took on human forms, but when they came to live on the sea, they took these shapes. Now they fear people... but to me, they will ever be my cherished little children. As it happens, you have come just in time for a ceremony that the Koroks hold but once ever year. It is about to begin. I shall grant the pearl to you once their ceremony is complete. I must apologize for the brief delay, but if the ceremony is not completed soon, an ill fate could befall us. So, let it begin! Are you ready, my children?"
"W-We are not, O Great Deku Tree! Something terrible has happened! It is Makar! Makar!" the Korok, Linder, said. Horus looked up, still notably depressed. He watched the conversation, curiosity overtaking him.
"What is the matter, Linder? You and Makar are always late…"
"N-No! It is not that, O Great Deku Tree! Makar... fell into the Forbidden Woods!"
"WHAT?! The Forbidden Woods? I told him to be careful! But still Makar flew above the Forbidden Woods, and as he drew close to it... Foolish little Makar... Link, you have heard all this? The Forbidden Woods are right beside the hollowed island of our Forest Haven. Those woods... The whole region is a vile place that is home to evil beasts. And now it seems they have taken a child of the forest named Makar. ...Your presence here is no mistake, I deem. The King of Red Lions likely expects great deeds of you-it is why he brought you here. I am sorry to ask this of you, but can you and your friend go rescue young Makar for me?"
"But, Great Deku Tree! ...People cannot fly through the air...Well, the Rito aside…" Linder said, adding the last part quickly at the glare Horus shot him.
"Ah, yes... Thank you, child. You are right. It is not possible to enter those woods from the sea, is it... Link, I would guess from your size that you are heavier than my Korok children... yet I think we may still be able to solve this dilemma. You must use the item I shall bestow upon you and fly through the sky! Forgive me, Link, but could you climb up to my crown and get the leaf from up there?"
Horus stood up, a grin on his face. "No need to climb, I can go get it for yah Link!" He said, taking flight. It wasn't long before he was at Link's side, handing him the strange leaf. "I don't really see how it'll help you, it's no Valoo scale." he said.
"Swordsman! Postman!" Linder said, causing Horus to become depressed once more. "Over here! Please! You must fly from over there to here using your Deku Leaf!" Link nodded, and did as Linder said, using the buds to launch himself to where Linder had pointed. Once he was where Linder stood, and Link called down to Horus to stop being a lazy bum and to get up there.
Horus, his sorrow replaced by rage, shouted up; "who you calling lazy, Blondie!" He then quickly flew up to where Link was, and went outside. Link smiled and was quick to follow. By the time he had gotten outside, Horus was up in the air again, and had reached a tall island. "Who's lazy NOW Link!?" he shouted.
It wasn't long before the two had entered the dark woods. Green Chuchus dropped from the ceiling, and Link got to work on them, easily dispatching the blobs. Horus however was preoccupied by the odd plant on the door. Every time he got near, it closed, and when he backed up, it opened.
Link noticed a chest, and went to open it. Just as he was prying it open, he whipped his head around as a loud thud was heard. Horus's spear was quivering in the wood, and the plant was gone. "What's in the chest Link?" Horus asked.
Link blinked, and forced the chest opened the rest of the way, and pulled out a map. "Looks like we won't get lost very easily here." the green boy said with a grin. Horus nodded, and went through the door, Link fast behind the Rito boy.
Horus looked around at the large room. He noticed another door flower, and flew to the door with intent to destroy it like the last one. He was knocked down though when a Chuchu fell on him. Link's eyes widened and he ran to the nearby bud which he recognized as the kind that shoots him in the air.
Link was quickly at Horus's side, and beat the Chuchus off. "Didn't see that coming…heh heh…" Horus said, clearly embarrassed and saddened by what just happened. Link put a hand on his shoulder with a reassuring smile, and Horus couldn't help but smile back. He then drew his spear, and chucked it at the flower, destroying it on impact.
The two passed through the door, and a strange cable car hung in the air. Horus simply flew to the other ledge, but Link had to work a bit harder. He noticed some odd gadgets that looked like they might turn with a strong gust. Deciding to test this theory, and used his Deku Leaf to send a strong gust at the mechanism.
It began to turn, and the car came towards Link. He quickly jumped on, and used his leaf again to blast it forward. The two went through the door, and saw a bunch of Peahats and Boko Babas. Link took out the Peahats while Horus dispatched of the plant monsters. One of the Babas became one of the buds that Link used to launch himself into the air, much to Horus's surprise.
Once all the beasts were defeated, Horus flew up while Link used the bud. Again, a plant was growing on the door, and Horus attacked it by tossing his spear. Once through the door, they saw yet another wall flower. "How many of these damn things are there?!" Horus snapped, chucking his spear again. The two were soon in the next room.
A large room with hanging flowers awaited the two, and Horus took off in flight. Link was following him on foot, and soon the boys stood before another flower guarded door. Horus frowned, but obliterated the evil plant so they could pass. Horus blinked at the fact that it was a barren hallway, save for a few large nuts, and walked to the door.
When he passed a nut though, spinney Morths broke out and jumped on him, causing him to shout. Link did his best to contain his laughter as he watched the Rito flail about getting them off. Soon enough, they had gotten to the next room as well.
Another large room awaited the two, and this time Link went foreword first as Horus looked around. Link yelped when spiny vines shot out of the ground, and Horus threw his head back in laughter. "To bad you can't fly like me, huh?" he said while flashing his gapped teeth in a jack-o-lanturn grin.
Link looked at Horus, and then gave what can only be described as a smile of pure evil. "W-why are you looking at me like that? Link? Li~nk? …Link…?" Horus said, backing up as Link crept forward.
Horus was right, he could fly and Link could not, so the blond had decided to use Horus's skill for himself. Horus was still baffled that Link had managed to get him to fly the boy around. He noticed a bomb flower, and landed by it-well it was more of a fall.
"I hate you for this, you know that right?" he asked, panting for breath from the hard work of carrying around the other male. Link looked at Horus with mock hurt, earning a frown. He rolled his eyes and picked up a bomb. He tossed it at the wooden boards, and went in after they were destroyed. A chest awaited him, and he found a compass inside.
Once more, Horus lifted Link into the air, and "landed" near another boarded up area. Noting another bomb nearby, Link blasted the wood again as Horus lay gasping for air. Link found another chest, and found a key inside this time. "I remember spotting a locked door in the last room. Let's go." Link said, and Horus groaned before getting up.
Link lifted the other boy over his head, gripping his ankles as the Rito beat his wings. Soon the two were in the air again, and were quickly by the entrance once more. Link put Horus down, and the boy's arms were completely limp at his sides. "I'll...get you for this...Link..." he panted. Link just rolled his eyes in responce.
Link instantly spotted the locked door, and hurried to it. Horus trotted after, to tired to fly-it's not easy carrying a good sized male adolescent around in flight when you're ment for distance and not transport after all. Link unlocked the door, and the warrior duo entered. Once again they saw a cable car, although there were a good few Peahats flying around. "I'm NOT carrying you again…I'll take care of the Peahats." Horus said.
The Rito flapped his arms, but his arms hurt too badly to fly. "Ok…so I guess we BOTH have to take that car thing, since lugging you around took a lot out of me." Horus said, hopping on the car. Link used the Deku Leaf to get it going, and the two attacked the Peahats as they came. Once the car stopped, they ran to the door and into the next room.
A large, wingless Mothula and Boko Babas awaited them. Horus charged the plants as Link took down the bug. Horus rubbed his arms, and tried his wings. "Yeah…I think I'm rested up enough now…I'll meet you at the next level!" he said before taking off.
Link used the bud left by one of the plants to follow his flying friend, and was met by a Peahat swarm Horus was fighting off. The two dispatched of the flying beasts, and soon arrived at the next level. More Peahats awaited, but were soon defeated. They both passed through the door, and they both jumped as the door locked.
Horus looked up in shock as a giant, Winged Mothula looked down at them. Link gawked at it as well, and Horus decided that quick thinking was needed. He quickly threw his spear at the monster, impaling its head (Winged Mothulas can be instantly killed by projectiles btw. I personaly enjoy using fire arrows.). "Nice shot…" Link said and blinked. He then heard the grating sound of metal, and noticed a chest in a small indentation in the wall.
He opened it, and pulled out a new weapon-the boomerang! He looked up at where the Mothula was, and saw a crystal. He threw the boomerang at it, activating the switch and opened the door. The two boys left the room, Link with a big grin thinking of all the things he can do with his new tool. The two went down to a lower level, and noticed a door they had missed. It had another flower on it, and Horus began to reach for his spear.
Link held out his hand though, signaling that he wanted to use his new toy on it. He took aim, and threw the boomerang, severing the flower's vines. The plant quickly died, giving them access to the next room.
Looking up, link saw the huge flower in the middle of the room had vines vulnerable to his boomerang. He took aim, and destroyed the vines. He and Horus went down to investigate what the result of Link's action was. Horus landed on the flower, and looked around. Link, however, landed in the water, and noticed a switch. He quickly activated it, and looked back up as Horus let out a yelp.
The Rito boy was shot up on a strong draft coming up from the flower now. Link looked around, and noticed a door, and a bud. He mulled over what to do for a minute, but decided to take the door. Horus WAS capable of taking care of himself after all.
Horus landed on the first floor, and shook his head. "Well…that was…different…" he muttered and sat down. He waited for Link to come back, and watched the levels bellow from his seat. After a while though, he had fallen asleep.
Once Link had finished and came back, he used the bud to get to the air current. He saw Horus had nodded off, and tapped him on the shoulder. Horus awoke with a start, and pounced on Link. "Oh…hey Link, what took you…?" he said, quickly getting off. Link stood up, and brushed himself off.
"Sorry about that, but I knew you could handle yourself, and there was a door, sooo…" he said, and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. Horus rolled his eyes with a good natured smile.
"Right, well come on then, let's get going." Horus said. Link noticed a door with a flower on it, and used his boomerang to destroy it. The two went through the now unlocked door; they saw a Mothula duo. The bugs were easily taken down, and the two continued to advance.
In the next room, they saw a large door with an ornate lock. They ran to it, and Link unlocked it. The two quickly ran into the room, hoping Makar was ok. Link smiled as he saw the little wooden boy standing on the enormous petals of an oversized beautiful blue flower. He was about to run forward when Horus stopped him.
Just as Horus did, poor Makar was snatched up by an odd, pink and purple flower, and the blue petals around it closed. The thing attached itself to the ceiling with vines, and hook ended tentacles flailed out under it. "Link, I have an idea! I'll distract the tentacles, you knock it down!" Horus said, taking flight. He flew at the bud, and kicked it to get the monster's attention. It shook at lashed out at the flying boy. Link took aim, and sliced the vines attacking it to the ceiling.
As the beast lay stunned, Link ran and slashed at the smaller flower inside. Horus noticed the larger petals begin to twitch though, and dove down and took hold of Link. He flew him quickly off the plant, just before it closed but landed with a crash. "Looks like we'll have to watch out for that." He huffed. Link nodded and Horus went back to distracting the vines.
Once again the plant was knocked down; Horus picked Link up this time though and flew him to the plant. Link lashed out with his sword as they flew by before the body could shut. They repeated this one more time, and the plant withered and died. Makar was free! Although, once again, Horus's arms were to sore for flight at the time.
"Swordsman... Birdman…Are you the ones who rescued me? You have my thanks! When all went dark around me, I thought my time on the earth was over. But... why are you here, swordsman and birdman? What? The Great Deku Tree sent you?! Oh! Th-That's right. Today's the day of our annual ceremony! Oh, I'm in trouble! I shouldn't be here! I must get out of here immediately!" Makar squeaked. The trio quickly returned to the Forest Haven.
"Oh, Makar! You have returned safely!" the great tree said.
"I'm sorry, Great Deku Tree... I know you warned us many times, but still I did not listen…"
"Do not worry, Makar. You are safe now. Just be more careful from now on. You have done well, Link and Horus. I must thank you for your brave deeds. Here is that which I have promised you. Please accept it." the tree then began to shake, and a large green pearl fell from his branches. Link picked it up, and put it away. "It is my hope that this pearl shall lead you to a fair destiny! All is well, Makar. Do not cry. Please... Play your songs for me as you always do."
"Oh, that's right! We must begin our ceremony soon, before the day ends! I'm sorry to keep you all waiting. Let the ceremony begin! Oh Great Link and Horus... As my thanks to you, I shall play even harder than I normally do... I hope you enjoy it!" Makar said, and with that he began to play.
The ceremony began, and the Koroks took flight picking up the seeds the Deku Tree made. Great Deku Tree! This year, you have once again produced some splendid seeds. "With these seeds, we will continue to spread new forests across the Great Sea."
"Let us go, Koroks! To the sea!"
"See you all next year!"
"Take care!"
"Farewell, great swordsman and birdman! May the winds of chance bring us together again someday!"
Horus watched wide eyed as the small wooden creatures flew off. "An admirable goal, I must say…Perhaps next year I can get my tribe to aid you." he said.
This made the Deku Tree smile and chuckle warmly. "That would help quite a lot young one." He said. The duo, now finished with their task here, took their leave. What awaits them next, only the gods themselves may know.