Chapter 7 - Fiery Seeds of Burning Doom

"A slingshot!" said Link as he shot at a dodongo, which exploded. "They couldn't put bow and arrow in that oversized chest. It had to be a slingshot." He shot three goblins in succession, all of them fell after being hit in the head.

"You seem to be a good shot with it," said Neri.

"Imagine me with a bow."

Four keeses, monsters identical to bats, fell in the distance. Neri wasn't even sure they'd seen Link. The little fairy gulped and made it a point to be more open in her conversations with the Hylian.

"What am I supposed to do with this anyway? There's only one more room I have to explore before heading to the boss's lair and I can't get past it because there's webbing all over the door."

"You uh- haven't tried looking in jars or cutting grass to find more things," said the fairy.

Link turned and set his dark blue eyes on the fairy. They seemed duller, somehow. Off in a way. "You're right," he said leadenly. "That might help."

Link walked toward some jars lying in the corner of the room. Neri sighed once she thought he was out of earshot.

It took two rooms with jars, but they finally found some strange seeds. They were a dark red with black spots and felt hot to the touch. Link held one between his thumb and index finger, inspecting it curiously.

"Fire seeds burst into flames when they hit something with considerable force," said Neri. She thought Link twitched after she spoke, but couldn't really tell. He stood up slowly and put the seeds in a pouch carefully, very mindful of his movements, and hung it by his belt.

They walked for a while, not directly to the room blocked by webs. Neri flew behind Link all the while. He was uncharacteristically silent.

They finally came to a room where Link pointedly walked to a group of keeses that were flying around aimlessly. They noticed Link and immediately took off after him. Seven seeds flew. The keeses suddenly burst into flames and fell to the ground as the fire consumed them.

"Heh heh." Link chuckled.

"Wow! Good aim," said Neri.

"Hahahaha."

"Link?"

"Hahahahahahaha."

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha."

The distant laughter echoed weakly in the monster's lair. Surely there would be a sacrifice for it soon, after all this time. Its whole body tingled with anxiety, anticipation making it's extremities fidget.

Still, there was something in the laughter. Something that made it retreat a little into the magma pit where it had been sleeping.