Chapter 10
Quest for the Forest Emerald
The companions were all startled to see Anakin vanish. Link reassured them that Anakin would be back and led them to their horses. Epona neighed in expectation as she saw her master approach. Link smiled and rubbed the Epona's mane. Epona muzzled his neck and he laughed. Link fed her some lumps of sugar and hopped on. The travelers were soon riding with haste through the woods and were nearing the Sacred Forest Meadow. Link slowed as they neared the entrance to the meadow. It was nearing midnight when he noticed the pale full moon. He sighed in exasperation.
"Great, the wolfos are probably on the prowl!" he muttered.
Aragorn's eyes widened when he heard Link's mutterings.
"What on Hyrule is a wolfos?" he said in bewilderment.
"A werewolf like creature that guards the entrance to the meadow." Link explained.
Aragorn nodded. All of a sudden a loud, piercing howl silenced all conversation.
"They're here." Link said ominously.
Link stopped Epona and jumped high into the air and transformed into his twilight form. He landed with a soft thud a moment later. He quietly padded over to the gate and waited. Within seconds, a whole pack of Wolfos appeared out of thin air and started sniffing him. The leader growled in respect. Link bared his teeth in a show of might and the wolfos are howled in horror and vanished into the night. Soon after, the great black Iron Gate that led to the Sacred Forest Meadow swung silently open. Link padded back over to Epona and leapt high into the air and was once again a Hylian. He landed silently on Epona with ease and rode off towards the gate with his companions following silently after him. After a while they entered a maze of great dark hedges. Link stopped and turned to his companions.
"Beware of the Moblins lurking beyond every corner." He said with a warning.
The travelers nodded. Link slowly rode around the corner with his sword raised. All of a sudden they heard a loud yell and were startled to see a giant Moblin charging towards them! Link was in the air as soon as he spotted the great Moblin. He spun wildly as he neared the Moblin and landed softly in front of the monster with a smile. The Moblin was standing there motionless with a look of great pain on his face. Aragorn couldn't figure out what had happened. Link stepped to the side to reveal that the Master Sword was stuck in the Moblin's stomach! Aragorn nearly laughed out loud.
The heroes continued on through the perilous labyrinth. They soon reached the steps that led to the Forest Temple. Link focused all his strength in the Force and rode silently and slowly up the stairs. All of a sudden he made a mighty leap and landed head to head with a giant monster holding a massive hammer! Link drew his sword once again. The monster lifted the massive hammer and swung it down. Aragorn closed his eyes and winced at the inevitable impact.
When he opened his eyes a moment later, his eyes widened in shock. Link was standing to the side with a smile. The monster howled in rage and lifted the hammer once again. As the hammer reached the ground where Link was a split second before, the Hylian was in the air. A second later he drove his sword down into the monster. The monster made one last wail of defeat and landed with a tremendous thud on the ground, never to wake again. Aragorn shook his head in bewilderment. Epona galloped up the stairs and halted in front of Link. Link mounted once again.
He led the heroes at a great pace to the temple. When they got there, Aragorn and Gandalf could see no visible entrance.
"Terrific! We can't get in!" Aragorn moaned in exasperation.
Link just chuckled and gave them a wink.
"Or can we?" he said with an arched eyebrow.
While Aragorn was still puzzling this out, Link took out a device with a hook at the end of it. Aragorn was even more confused when he saw it. Link pointed the device at a massive branch of a nearby tree and pressed his thumb against a button. A second later, he was hurtling at the speed of light towards the branch.
"He's doomed! He will surely slam into the tree!" Aragorn cried in alarm.
Aragorn closed his eyes in horror. Moments later he opened his eyes expecting to see Link on the ground, but to his utmost amazement, Link was standing on the branch waving at them! Aragorn laughed in amazement. Link had done it again! This was the era of Link's legacy. Link would indeed be Hyrule's hero. Aragorn used the Force to leap to the branch and was standing beside the young Hylian a moment later. Gandalf followed shortly after. Link raised his hand towards Malon and Ilia and within a second the two women were hovering in the air and soaring towards the branch. As soon as the two landed they carefully jumped off and stood by the door to the Forest Temple. Link and the other two followed shortly after.
To the travelers' deep dismay, the door to the temple had a magical barrier in front of it. No one could pass through it!
"Well, it looks like your sister left us a little surprise." Aragorn commented wryly.
Link rolled his eyes.
"When will she ever learn?" he said sarcastically as he waved his hand at the barrier.
Within mere seconds the barrier dissolved. Link dug an ancient key out of his tunic and unlocked the door. The travelers slowly followed him in. as soon as they had all passed through the doorway, the door was bolted behind them.
"I sense great evil." Link whispered ominously.
The others nodded in agreement. Malon and Ilia looked petrified. Link gave them a heartening grin and led them down the flight of stairs. They soon reached main chamber of the temple. As they walked in, all the lights suddenly went out. There appeared, before them, an image of the Sage of the Forest, Saria! She greeted the young hero, Link, with a heartfelt smile. She soon turned bitter.
"Your sister has betrayed Hyrule! Shortly after your departure, she turned on me and imprisoned me in a crystal! Of all things! Before I could blink, I was in the presence of the Evil King, Ganondorf Dragmire! I was infuriated! I tried to escape the crystal with my magic, but it was no use. Zelda's enchantment is more potent than mine and I was utterly trapped! Ganondorf just cackled with glee to my utter dismay. I was seething. He gave me one last wink and I was instantaneously transported to the Forest Temple. "She explained.
Link was struggling to control himself. Zelda had betrayed the sages! He soon calmed himself and focused, once again on Saria's tale.
"Link, you must rescue Hyrule. To succeed in your quest, you must restore all the temples to their former glory and collect all the sacred gems of Hyrule. The first gem, the Emerald of the Forest is being guarded by a most evil creature deep in this temple. May the Triforce protect you." Saria said as the lights reappeared.
To the travelers' sheer bewilderment, the sage had disappeared. Link shook his head in amusement. It looked like history was once again repeating itself. He chuckled at his quandary and turned to the others.
"Well, once again, I have been thrust into the role of the Hero of Hyrule." He said with a chuckle.
Aragorn nodded. It seemed that this was Link's legacy.
"Well, in order to find the boss's lair, we'll need to find a map of the temple and a compass." He explained as he led them to the first door to their right. As they entered the next room, they noticed a great well. Link smiled as he remembered his previous experience in the Forest Temple.
"We're in good fortune, my friends! For this is the well that has a secret passage at the bottom!" he said with a grin.
Aragorn raised one eyebrow in skepticism.
"So, we have to drown in order to find this 'secret passage'?" He joked.
Link sighed in impatience.
"No, you fool, first we have to drain the well!" he chuckled.
Aragorn chuckled in embarrassment.
"Oh, well, there is that." He mumbled.
Link approached the well and raised his ocarina. He began to play the Song of Storms. All of a sudden a great dark cloud appeared over the well and the water evaporated. Link then leapt into the well with a grin. The others followed more carefully and slowly climbed down the ladder. Once they had all reached the bottom of the well, they saw Link leaning casually against the wall.
"Took you guys long enough." He chuckled.
Aragorn rolled his eyes.
"You're going to get yourself killed one of these days." He said with a smirk.
"There have been many close calls over the years." Link admitted with a grin.
Aragorn rolled his eyes. Link led them solemnly down the dark passage way down in the deep depths of the Forest Temple.
"This passage has been kept secret for many ages. I used it on my quest not that long ago. We are approaching the end of the passage." He whispered.
As they got to the end of the secret passage the travelers spotted another ladder.
"Amazing, this passage leads to another well!" Gandalf whispered in fascination.
"Which is in another room." Aragorn added as they climbed out of the well.
After every one had climbed out of the well, Link led them deeper into the room. They soon reached a great stone wall that was completely covered with vines. Aragorn looked at the wall with a cocked eyebrow.
"You're not thinking of climbing this are you?" he asked as he turned to Link.
"Let's climb!" Link responded with a sly grin.
So they all began to climb. All of a sudden they were all attacked by giant spiders! Or at least what looked like spiders.
"Jump!" Link barked at his companions.
Seeing no other option, they all jumped and landed with several thuds on the ground. As soon as Link had landed, he had pulled out his bow and arrows. He was fitting an arrow to his bow and aiming for one of the spider-like things as the rest of the company got up. The next thing they knew, Link had shot it down. As the creature landed by Gandalf's foot, the old wizard bent down to examine it.
"What in Middle Earth is this?" he asked in bewilderment.
After Link had finished off the rest of the creatures on the wall, he turned to his companions.
"That my friend is a skulltula. It is usually found on vines. They are quite weak at the abdomen actually and once you stab the abdomen the fight is usually over." He explained.
Gandalf nodded in fascination. Link jumped up and once again began to climb the wall. The others reluctantly followed his lead. After several minutes of climbing they finally reached a landing. After everyone had safely landed on the platform, Aragorn noticed a door.
"This place is filled with secrets, indeed." He breathed in amazement.
Link opened the door and they all walked in to the next room. In the center of the room was a small chest. Link walked over to it and opened it. Inside were the map and compass! Link jumped for joy. He then led his companions to a door at the far end of the room. They quickly sped through several rooms of this sort until they reached another chamber with a great chest adorned with all kinds of gems. Link slowly walked up to it and opened it. Inside was the key to the Boss's room and an item that Link thought he recognized as the boomerang. But he was highly mistaken. This was no ordinary boomerang; this was the boomerang of Gales! It could summon up gusts of wind once thrown. Link's eyes sparkled in fascination.
"Oh boy, looks like Link's found another toy." Aragorn joked.
"Now to find the Forest Emerald!" Link said with a smile as he led them to the final door of the dungeon.
It was a great stone door with a massive lock on it. Link pulled out the key he had just obtained and unlocked it. They all walked in cautiously. All of a sudden Link spotted a small green gem in the middle of the room. He slowly walked to the edge of the circle of red earth and took a few small steps on to it. Almost immediately the earth shook. Link grabbed the others and ran to the wall.
"Stay away from the creature." He whispered.
The others nodded. All of a sudden two giant tentacles with heads popped out of the ground with an even bigger one between them! Malon and Ilia shook with fear.
"It's some sort of Deku Boba." Link whispered in bewilderment.
Link scratched his head in perplexity.
"I've never come across this monster in any of my quests." Link whispered.
He finally shook himself out of his daze and quickly began a Jedi Meditation.
"A Jedi is always calm." He repeated to himself.
He opened his eyes once again and began to walk towards the terrifying monstrosity guarding the Forest Emerald. The Deku Boba spat venom at him as he approached. Link drew his sword and pointed it at the creature.
"You will cease and desist this instant!" Link growled menacingly.
All he got was another mouthful of venom. He ran a hand down his face in disgust. He shook himself off and brought his sword up in front of him in a defensive stance.
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Link said with a smirk.
The beast gave one last roar before it began its attack. Link had to weave and dodge its drops of venom every few second as well as avoid being crushed by the two smaller creatures defending it.
"This is starting to annoy me!" he said with a growl.
He tried to sever the two smaller creatures with his boomerang but it was hopeless, they were too strong.
"We're doomed!" Link gulped in terror.
All of a sudden he thought he heard a voice in the wind.
"Use the seeds!" the voice said.
Link strained his ears for more but there was none. He began to look around for 'seeds'. All of a sudden he tripped over a great red deku nut!
"Of course!" he said in understanding.
He picked it up and waited for one of the smaller creatures to open its mouth. As one did, moments later, Link popped in the seed. The monster writhed in pain as the seed exploded in its mouth. Several moments later, it moaned and shriveled up. Link smiled in triumph.
"One down, two to go!" He said with a smile.
He repeated the process with the other smaller creature and soon all that was left of the boss was the giant Deku Boba.
"Oh boy, this is going to be a challenge." Link gulped.
All of a sudden he heard an animal call. He looked up to spot a baboon smacking his butt at Link on a platform high above the Boss. The baboon grabbed a giant Deku Seed and swung past the Boss on a zip line.
"This may work to my advantage." Link said with a smile.
He hastily readied his boomerang and prepared to make his move the next time the baboon flew by. As the baboon came into focus, Link released the boomerang. The boomerang released a gust of wind that caught the deku seed. The gust sent the seed into the Boss's mouth moments later. The Boss attempted to swallow the seed, but before it could, it exploded.
The Boss wailed and dropped to the ground with an open mouth revealing a strange ball attached to a tentacle. Link dashed over and started hacking at it with his sword and shortly afterwards triumphed. The creature gave one last wail and finally exploded in a brilliant flash of light. Link had triumphed! Out of the creature's body came the Emerald! Link slowly walked forward and picked it up carefully in his trembling hands.
Once he had the shining green emerald in his hand he was transported to the roof of the temple. As he opened his eyes he discovered Saria smiling at him. Saria, however, was not alone. By her side, was Link's father, the King of Hyrule! Link blinked in shock.
"Father, I thought you had been captured by Ganondorf!" he managed to say.
The king chuckled.
"I managed to escape the castle prior to Zelda's betrayal. But, my escape is of no concern to you. What matters is the present state of Hyrule. With Zelda's betrayal, we have only you to rely on. I will now be and forever will be the King of Red Lions." The king announced.
Link widened his eyes in surprise. He suddenly remembered a dream he had of his future descendent, the Hero of Winds. In the dream, the Hero of Winds was aided by a great red boat with a lion's head. The boat was actually the King of Red Lions!
"Uh, father, I believe I have information about your future." Link stammered.
The king's eyebrows shot up in alarm.
"What on earth are you talking about, my boy?" he said in suspicion.
"I had a dream," Link began.
The king looked at Link expectantly.
"Well, get on with it, son." He urged.
"In the dream, I saw my future descendant with you." Link continued.
The king scratched his beard in deep thought.
"How many years are we talking here?" he asked his son.
"Hundreds, maybe thousands." Link replied.
"Well, anyway, you were in the form of a great red boat with a lion's head. Later on, you revealed your true identity to my future descendant and the next Princess Zelda." Link added.
The king nodded thoughtfully.
"Was that all?" he asked.
Link was about to nod, but then rememebered he had left out the most major piece.
"Hyrule was under water and Ganondorf had captured the next Zelda!" he finished.
The king's eyes bulged out at this piece of news.
"Hyrule under water? What on earth could happen to cause that?" the king murmured.
"Well, back to our current crisis," he said as he waved a hand.
"Once again, you have proved yourself, my son. Your next step on your quest is to meet with our allies and reunite them against Ganondorf." He explained.
Link nodded. But, before the king could continue, Rauru, the Sage of Light appeared. He nodded at Link and turned to the king.
"Oh, King of Red Lions, I come bearing news from beyond the portal." He began.
The King nodded his head for Rauru to continue.
"Our young hero's companions are going to need all the help they can get." He continued.
Link looked alarmed. Suddenly Gandalf, Aragorn, Ilia, and Malon appeared on the roof.
"We shall return to Middle Earth with all haste." Link told Rauru, the king, and Saria.
The three nodded and all but Saria disappeared.
"Link, my friend, you have done well. You have obtained the first spiritual stone, bear it well. Farewell and May the Triforce be with you." She said as she as well vanished.
Link turned to his companions.
"We shall ride for the portal tonight and be in Middle Earth once again by dawn." He said as he slid down to the ground.
His companions followed his lead and soon all were once again at the entrance of the temple. Link was already on Epona. The others hastily mounted as well. Link bolted off into the early evening mist leading the others back to the edge of the forest.