First, the replies and the handing out of cookies! You're lucky Dragon-Charmer16 gave me the idea at the last minute to submit her re-mails as reviews under an anonymous name. Otherwise this chapter wouldn't be here. WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?

JMG: Well… you're half right. So you get half a cookie. Good thing they're big cookies… (gives half a cookie with a three foot radius) Yah, you're lucky I messed up on Chapter 3. Otherwise this would be Chapter 4!

Ilovelinky: I'm glad you like it. I update once a day, as long as I have five reviews when I sit down to do so.

Zeldafreak123: Yeah, it's okay… but the fight scenes aren't nearly as good as your own!

Dragon Charmer16: Actually, the mystery of the injured arm is revealed this chapter and elaborated next chapter. And there will eventually be a third story with Kaze in it… Just not yet. I'm still working on this one.

Dragon Charmer16: Yep, 'cause she misses her friends and wants to be a part of the fun too! You get a whole cookie! (gives cookie with six foot diameter) Enjoy! Heh, and you may not believe it, but all the fortunes I had them get were actual fortunes that I got at one time or another. 'Made in USA'… some kind of cryptic message. Hey, it's CHINESE food! Why is it made in the… oh, yeah. Nevermind! (nervous laugh)

GUUUYYYSSS! Hurry up with those reviews, will ya? I guess you're all starting school, aren't you? I haven't started yet. September 9 is when I go back! Grrr… I need to get that summer reading done sometime soon. Yah, well… I'm sure you all don't care. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 5: Clues

Stacking the dishes from their meal was like playing a game of Tetris, but that's another story entirely. The rain had died down and the sun was shining, so they ventured outside to discuss their plans.

"Zelda, did the scribe encode more than one book with the location of the Staff of Dreams?" Link inquired. The young queen shook her head. "One was dangerous enough, but two would be ludicrous," she explained.

"That Wythe man had such strong evil power radiating from him that I could probably pinpoint his location when we're within a reasonable distance," Malon suggested. Link nodded. "That's a handy talent indeed," he muttered. James, afraid of being left out of the journey, decided to make his own talents known. "I… I'm really good with a slingshot!" he exclaimed. The other four looked at him for a brief moment, then turned back to their conversation.

"So it's Malon, me, Kaze…"

Zelda interrupted Link's dealing out of the party members. "I want to go too, Link!" she said. "It's my fault that Wythe got the book, so it's my place to make sure that we get it back."

Link disagreed. "You're the only ruler Hyrule has," he explained. "If something were to happen and you were to die, there would be no one left in the Royal Family!" Zelda bowed her head. It was true, but she still didn't want to just sit around and do nothing.

Link resumed. "Malon, Kaze, me, and James," he said. James beamed. "Really?" he shouted unbelievingly. "I can come?" The hero smiled at his younger friend. "Of course. I asked you to come along from the very beginning," he reminded.

"Where are we going to go?" Malon asked. In truth, it was a question that everyone was wondering, but also one that no one knew the answer to. "Let's find Navi," Link suggested. "She'll be able to point us in our next direction."

Next the question of where to look for Navi arose. James had the interesting idea to consult Tingle the 'Fairy'. While no one wanted to face the speedo-wearing thirty-five-year-old, it was the only clue they had to go. "The inhabitants of Hyrule Castle Town are staying in Kakariko," Zelda explained. "The village has expanded well into Death Mountain, and it's become a beautiful city. Maybe someone there can tell you where to find Tingle."

Luckily, it wasn't far to Kakariko City. The market was set up and bustling with activity. Malon began to wander around the shops, James following her. Link and Kaze went in search of someone who might have seen Tingle, or better yet, Navi herself.

"Excuse me," Link said, tapping the shoulder of an elderly man in a blue robe. "Have you seen a middle-aged man wearing green and red clothes? He often floats from a large, red balloon and makes maps."

"Oh, you mean Tingle the Map-Maker?" the man said, pointing to a building a little distance away. "He doesn't wear red and green or float from a balloon, but he's the only map-maker we know of." Link, confused, thanked the man and headed for the house he had been directed to.

"Tingle sounds like a freak," Kaze snickered. Link nodded. "He is," he warned.

But when they opened the door to the shop marked 'Maps!', inside they found a middle-aged man with a loose white shirt, brown pants, and bronze hair. "What can Tingle do for you?" he asked, leaning on the counter he was standing behind.

Link stared in shock. This… was Tingle? "What happened to you?" he blurted. Tingle raised an eyebrow. "My father kicked me out," he chuckled. "Said that everyone has to get a life at some point or another. So now I make maps from the view of Hyrule I get from the very top of the mountain."

Since Link obviously wasn't going to say anything, Kaze took it upon himself to speak for him. "You know where to find a fairy called Navi?" he demanded, slamming his hand upon the counter. Tingle withdrew a bit and looked at the walls in contemplation.

"Not that fairy in particular, no," he admitted. "But in my travels to the peak of Death Mountain, I've seen the light of fairies glowing through cracks in the stone walls. I think there are monsters living in the mountains which hunt the fairies… For what, I don't know."

Link growled at this new knowledge. What kind of monster would kidnap innocent fairies? And for what purpose? He ran out the door and headed for Death Mountain immediately. Kaze, calling for him to wait, hurried after his friend.

"Link! Shouldn't we tell Malon and James?" he suggested. Link shook his head. "Don't want to put them in danger," he said simply. Kaze nodded in understanding. The hero and the thief were halfway up the mountain when they began to notice the cracks in the rocky walls that Tingle talked about.

Link leaned his ear against the slit and listened hard. He could hear no sounds from within. They spent hours testing every flaw in the stones to no avail, never turning a thought to how Malon and James were doing.

"Where could they be?" James whined. Malon shrugged with a sigh. "Maybe we should find a room at that inn," she proposed. The ex-Bomber nodded and they approached the hostess. "Excuse me, ma'am," the redhead ranch hand said. "One room with two beds, please."

The woman gave them the key to their room and they ascended the staircase to their chamber. On the way they passed a strange woman with long, black hair and dark purple lipstick. Her eyes were crimson and her skin was so pale it looked to be white. She glared at James and Malon as they passed.

Malon gasped and stumbled. James helped her to the room with concern. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Malon shook her head. "That woman," she whispered. "I felt a stronger presence of evil from her than from Wythe!"

Back on Death Mountain, Link and Kaze were still testing the rock walls for hollows. Night was descending upon them. The stars were emerging from the blanket of daylight. Link looked upon them with an exasperated sigh. Their only lead to Navi's whereabouts was the piece of information given to them by Tingle, and he wasn't always the most reliable source.

"Look!" Kaze exclaimed, pointing to one of the walls the inspected earlier. A slight glow was shining from the crack. In fact, all over the mountain tiny lanterns of blue light were being lit. Link set a bomb beside one of the walls, but when it exploded, the wall was left undamaged.

Next he tried Din's Fire, which was also unsuccessful. "Darnit!" he shouted, kicking the stone. It crumbled away at his touch. Kaze chuckled and peered into the small cavern. There were tiny cages within. Inside each cage was a desperate little fairy.

"Go!" one of them commanded. "The Moblins are out now, but they'll be back any moment!"

Link and Kaze exchanged glances. "I can take any old Moblin!" they said simultaneously as they moved to undo the locks on the cages. "These aren't regular Moblins," a different fairy explained in a voice stripped of all hope. "These are Dark Moblins. They've grown insanely powerful by eating fairies. Not only that, but they were created by Kuro's strongest servant!"

"Whoa, whoa, back up," Kaze said. "Who's Kuro?"

A fairy in a different grotto gave a cry of dismay. "The Moblins are returning!" she called in a shrill, panicked voice. Many of the fairies began to cry and try to pull the locks off of their cages. A great thunder of heavy footsteps approached. Link and Kaze readied their weapons. From around the bend appeared two lumbering Moblins with black skin and red markings. Link's grip on his sword faltered and his eyes grew wide.

"What is it?" Kaze hissed, his gaze not wavering from the two Dark Moblins that had stupidly not yet noticed them. "Those monsters," Link whispered back. "They're the ones that defeated me. They're the ones that injured my arm…"

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Tada! The mystery of what happened to Link's arm… REVEALED! Next chapter, the return of Navi and the battle against the Dark Moblins. After that, things really start heating up! Five reviews. No less, but more is certainly appreciated… Go review or no update! AND I MEAN IT! Now excuse me while I go an download some Zelda screensavers and wallpapers! (frolics away)