===== December 9, 2022 - Floor 3: Necluda Province, outskirts of Kokiri Forest =====

The sound of steel rang out across the battlefield, as the three heroes clashed against the hordes of monsters now teeming from the bulblin camp. Link, Zelda, and Paya slew everything in their path as they made their way inside the walls of the camp itself. After several minutes of combat a larger monster spawned with two health bars and the name "Keep Boss" above its head. Said 'boss' proved little more than an annoyance when confronted with Link and Zelda's combat prowess, and fell fairly swiftly. When it did, another shrine burst from the ground.

Link and Zelda descended into the earth, leaving Paya on the surface after some debate about her 'not being worthy' to go with them. They emerged in the cavernous shrine with a waterfall a short distance away. The familiar monk's voice greeted them:

To you who sets foot in this shrine, I am Ha Dahamar.

In the name of the Goddess Hylia, I offer this trial.

===== The Water Guides =====

The pair approached the waterfall, which was cascading down the wall to their right in front of a ledge that looked just too high to climb. They tried boosting each other up, but for whatever reason they could not maintain their grip long enough to pull themselves up.

"So, these surfaces that the shrines are made out of are clearly not meant for climbing," Zelda thought out loud.

"Which means we have to figure out another way up," Link continued.

"Another way up... another way up..." Zelda started absentmindedly tapping her foot in the shallow pool in front of the ledge while she repeated those words.

Splash. Splash. Splash.

"Umm, can you do that anywhere else but in that pool?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry..." She stepped one foot out of the pool, and a light bulb went off in her mind. "That's it... that's it!"

"What's what? Zelda, what are you talking about?"

She looked excitedly up to the ledge as her idea became a vision. "Not water, ice... Link, use the Shiekah Slate!"

"The Shei- of course!" Link fired up the Cryonis rune and used it to create a pillar of ice in the pool tall enough for them to climb and then step up onto the subsequent ledge, past which they found another waterfall and another ledge, but this time there was a drop off instead of a pool. Thinking quickly, Link used Cryonis to create a pair of pillars jutting out from the wall, which he and Zelda then used to climb up to the next ledge.

"So, pretty much all of these shrines are going to depend on using this Sheikah Slate to get through the puzzles inside. Does that seem like a safe bet?"

"It does to me, although this is the first one we've come across that wasn't either a tutorial or a combat trial. So we don't exactly have a whole lot of information to go on."

"True enough... in any case, let's press on."

Press on they did, and the shrine opened up into a massive cavern with another waterfall on the far side of the room. Embedded in the wall were a pair of large ramps with a gap between them, a see-saw directly below the gap, and a glowing round pit on the ground near a closed gate. Periodically, a ball would fall down from a pipe in the ceiling, roll down both ramps, and disappear into the abyss below...

...only to reappear from the pipe moments later.

"Looks like we need to get that ball into that pit," Zelda surmised.

"Any ideas on how to do that?" Link asked, the solution already forming in his own mind.

"Cryonis. Put ice blocks above the low ramp, under the high end of the lever, and between the low end and the pit." Link followed her instructions step by step, creating a perfect path for the sphere to roll into the pit and open the gate.

Turning back to the stairs leading downwards to the exit, Link spied a chest on a platform in between the first two waterfalls they had come across but about twenty feet in the air. He realized he would need to create a set of Cryonis pillars to reach it, which by now seemed simple enough. He created the first block and climbed on top of it, while Zelda turned back towards the giant abyss to focus on a giant cracking sound she had heard.

What was that noise?

Surveying the wall, she saw there were only two blocks of ice still in place. The first one must have shattered when he used the rune again. "Hey, Link?"

"Yeah?"

"Looks like you can only have three ice blocks set at any one time. If you try to make more, they'll crack in the order you set them."

"That's another useful piece of advice... good job." He stood on top of his newly created ice block and aimed the rune at the wall once again to create the next step up. Unfortunately, he aimed it a little too close to where he was standing, and the block pushed him away from the wall and into the abyss!

Zelda watched in horror as Link plummeted to his death...

...only to reappear on the platform in front of her moments later!

She cautiously approached him as he slowly got his bearings back about him. "Chris? Is - is that really you?"

Link got back to his feet as the confusion gradually left him. "Yeah Lanay, it's me." He looked at her, then the waterfall where two ice blocks jutted out in the form of a staircase. "Looks like I aimed the rune a little too close to myself."

"Forget about that... the pitfall should have killed you."

"Yeah, it should have..." Link thought back to the ball above the far abyss. "Maybe death mechanics bend somewhat while we're in these shrines?"

"Who knows..." Zelda hugged Link close to her. "For right now, I'm just glad you're all right."

Link returned the hug and added a forehead kiss. "Me too."

Their latest brush with death now behind them, Link climbed the two ice pillars once again, creating a third to reach the treasure chest which contained the Timeless Hyrulean Leggings. He rejoined Zelda on the platform below and secured another Spirit Orb on the way out of the shrine.

Paya sat on the platform polishing her blade as Link and Zelda returned from their subterranean excursion. "That didn't take long," she remarked. "Come, we must press on to the Kokiri Forest."

Link and Zelda filled Paya in on what they had learned about the shrines so far. They also attempted to pick her brain about their discoveries in the Monument of Heroes and the Imperial Library, but nothing really seemed to register with the Sheikah warrior. "Perhaps once my sister is safe, I will accompany you on your journey. I would like to learn more about these legends you speak of."

{An NPC accompanying us permanently? How is that even possible?} Link questioned Zelda in French so as to try to avoid Paya's understanding.

{I've pretty much stopped question 'possible' and 'impossible' in this world. Maybe it's just her script, who knows.}

{Valid point...}

The trio approached a giant hollow tree trunk. "This is it," Paya said, "the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. Ready your weapons, for this once peaceful glade has been overrun with wicked monsters."

"Anything special about them we should know?" Zelda asked Paya.

"They will try to kill you," she replied. "Kill them back."

"Short, simple, and to the point. I like it," Link mused as he drew his sword and shield.

===== Kokiri Forest =====

No sooner had Link, Zelda and Paya entered the forest then they were besieged by two giant pods with teeth. They jumped, rolled and dodged as best they could to try and avoid their attacks, and eventually found themselves out of range. "What the hell are these things?" Zelda exclaimed.

"Deku Babas," Paya replied. "Their bite is nasty, but their stalks only reach so far so it's easy to stay away from them."

"That keeps them from killing us," Link quipped, "but how do we kill them?"

"Their heads are invulnerable as long as they're still rooted to the ground."

"Hmm..." Link cautiously approached one of the Babas with his shield raised. It reared back for a moment, then lunged to strike. Link countered with a shield bash, causing the plant to stand up straight on its stalk. Link rushed in with no hesitation, slashing away at the stalk as much as he could before it recovered. The head was now focused on Link, so it had no way of protecting itself from attacks from behind, which Zelda quickly took advantage of to finish it off. They used a similar tandem approach to slay the other Baba on the other side of the hollow.

Now safe for the moment, the party took in their surroundings. The Kokiri Forest wasn't so much a 'forest' itself, as it was an open grassland bordered on all sides by trees. There were several large trees that looked like they had been fashioned into buildings. On the far side was a tunnel, but neither Link nor Zelda could see what was on the other end of it. Nor did they see any inhabitants of this forest, despite clear signs that people lived here. Most likely they were cowering indoors due to the presence of the monsters, so Link and Zelda proceeded to do what they did best: slaughter every single monster they came across. There were only Deku Babas and Deku Scrubs, little impish sprouts that spat nuts at the players. Defeating them was easy enough: they just had to knock the nuts back at the Scrubs, after which they fell to a single sword strike.

Once the Forest was completely void of enemies, a triumphant little tone played and people started coming out of their tree houses. "Quickly, put your weapons away," Paya cautioned. "As you can see, the Kokiri are easily frightened and we may need their help to find my sister."

"If she didn't come out when we cleared the forest, chances are she's not here," Link suggested.

"Link's right," Zelda concurred. She had her eye on the far side of the forest. "Let's check out that tunnel. It's the only other place she could be."

"Very well, if you insist," Paya ceded. Settled on a course of action, the trio proceeded through the tunnel at the far end of the forest. After passing through several bends and slaying several more enemies, they emerged in a giant clearing dominated by a single massive presence.

"I... don't believe it. It really is real..." Paya whispered, almost dropping her weapon in awe.

"What's real?" Link asked as he came up beside her. "Oh... that's real."

"What is 'it,' though?" Zelda asked.

Paya pointed at a giant tree which looked like it had a face. "The Great Deku Tree. We had heard of a guardian spirit that dwelled inside a tree deep in the forest. But none of our tribesmen have been permitted on this ground in hundreds of years. So the stories eventually became legends and myths."

"I see... looks like Kiwi might have thought this would be a safe enough place to hide," Link said as he walked toward the tree's open 'mouth.'

"How can you be sure?" Zelda asked him.

Link bent down, picked something up from the ground and showed it to Paya. "These look familiar?"

"Kiwi's hairpins..."

The party stared at the tree, which seemed to beckon them ominously inside.

"Link, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Dungeon crawl full of monsters and a final boss to slay to rescue the damsel in distress and hopefully clear the way to the next floor?"

"Great minds think alike, it seems. Paya, you with us?"

"I am with you," Paya said as she drew her weapon. "For my sister."

"Then let's go clear a dungeon," Zelda affirmed, drawing her own weapon.

"I wish I had some inspiring words of bravery before we go in here..." Link stammered as he drew his own weapon.

"Hey, none of that... remember the promise you made to me when we first started out in here."

"Yeah, you're right." Link swallowed hard and remembered his resolve. "Get as strong as we can, and stay alive."

Zelda pulled him down and gave him a long, morale-boosting kiss. "Get as strong as we can, and stay alive."

Steeling themselves against the impending doom, they descended inside the Deku Tree.