Pain

Link paused to take in his surroundings. The opening in the tree had shut behind him, leaving him in total darkness. He could not tell where he was, and without a single light source, his eyes just couldn't adjust. He took a few careful steps forward, not wanting to hit anything.

And then a lantern flickered on. It's fire was green, and in gave the small room a green aura. The room was wooden, like the tree, and the ground was moist dirt. There were three doors, one at the end of the room, and two off to the sides. Link turned his attention to the lantern, which was being held by a freakish, grotesque, scarecrow-kid-looking-monster.

The thing was dressed all in red, and it's clothes were old and worn. It was grinning madly, and it's eyes glowed yellow.

"Hey! Do you want to play?" It asked politely.

Link hesitated, clutching his sword tightly," Um, I'm not sure... I sorta am fighting right now."

"Oh..." the child moaned sadly, looking down. It's eyes turned orange, and the lantern turned into a normal fire. It looked back up and frowned," Wait, never mind. You're an outsider! I can tell! How dare you enter the forest! I don't want to play! You're probably fighting people of the forest. I'll kill you!" as it talked, it's voice grew deep, and it's lantern turned red, and so did it's eyes. It held its hand up, collecting a ball of energy.

It threw the ball at Link, which soared across the room towards him. Link screamed and jumped out of the way as it blew up in a magnificent and powerful burst of color right where he had been standing.

Link charged forward with his sword raised high, ready to bring it down on the creature.

As he reached it and swung, the creature disappeared into a pile of leaves. Link heard a faint laugh as the room was left again in darkness.

"Good luck." he heard the now child-like voice taunt.

Link took a moment to catch his breath, and think back over the structure of the room. He turned, walking towards the door he thought was at the end. Feeling around the dark wall for a moment he finally found the door. He felt the metal handle and tried to pull. The door didn't budge. He tried to push, yet nothing happened. He heard something jingle as he did, and then he realized it was locked!

"Oh no!" he cried.

He shook his head and started to take small steps around the room, looking for one of the doors on the side. Feeling around on the walls for a little while like the last door, he finally found one. He pushed it, and this time, it opened.

Link smiled, having accomplished something. He stepped inside the room, which wasn't completely dark like the first. It had some invisible light source, making the room look as if though several candles were burning. Two wooden statues stood in the center of the room, holding wooden spears. Between them was a small chest. The statues were not carved into anything special. They were just faceless figures in the shape of a hyrlian.

Link smiled, thinking it might be the key to the door at the front. He started to approach the chest eagerly. He was ready to just get all this over with. A few minutes had been enough for him!

As he reached the chest, he leaned over and tried to pull it. The second his fingers latched on, he heard a few clicking noises. They only lasted a second, but they sounded close by.

He looked up and looked stright ahead. Nothing was the-

Smash! A heavy wooden foot slammed into him, sending him back flying. Link cried out in pain and fright as he flew through the air and hit the ground. He moaned and shook his head, getting himself back together. His heart was beating rapidly from the sudden attack. He stood up as quickly as possible to see the two wooden soldiers walking towards him, spears at the ready!

Link raised his sheild up and tenced up his sword arm, ready for a fight.

As the wooden figures reached him, they looked down. They were very silent, and did nothing. For a moment, Link wondered if they were even going to attack.

Then it happened.

They pointed their spears and thrust them at Link in one short and accurate move, as swift as an arrow. Link jumped to the side, the spears going through the air. The figures slowly turned their head, and then started to run towards him as normal as any hylian would. They raised their spears up and started to try and stab him.

Link dodged each attempt with great speed, his fear pushing him to go faster with each move. As both reared back for more, Link took the chance and swung for the nearest as hard as he possibly could have.

Crash! The figure fell back as it's chest broke into pieces, splinters flying everywhere. The arms and head fell to the floor, and the remaining body was forced back onto the ground.

There was a quiet thud! as a spear hit Link's shield, making him stumble over to his side. He snapped his head around to see the other wooden warrior poising for another attack.

Link roared and hurried over to it, swinging his sword horizontally. It hit the thing's side and cut in about two inches. The figure lost it's balance and fell over onto the other side.

Link moved himself into position at it's neck and brought his sword down, cutting off the thing's head.

It never got back up.

Link caught his breath and took a few minutes to look around the room, just to make sure there were no more monsters.

Seeing that there was not, he made his way back to the chest and opened it. Inside, wrapped up in rotting cloth, was a shining silver key. He put it in his work-pant's pocket and slowly walked back into the main room. The light from the chest room made the main room dim, which allowed Link to see that both of the other doors were locked. They were chained, with large, metal locks in the center of each one. The locks almost looked like decorations.

Link hurried over to the door he had first tried and tried to put the key in. He tried and tried, but it never would fit!

Link snarled and let out a loud cry. He ran over to the other door. Hopefully this one would be unlocked!

Fortunatley, it was! Link plugged the key in and turned. There was a quiet click as the lock came undone. He pulled it free, allowing the chains to fall to the ground. He pulled the door open, walking into another lit room.

This time, the light wasn't emitted by an unseen force, but by a very bright torch in the middle of the room, lighting up the area better than the last light source had. In front of the torch was another chest, which Link knew automatically to be a key.

He kept his sword and shield raised as he made his way towards the key chest. His eyes scanned the room as he stood over it, making sure there was nothing else that would attack him.

He leaned down to the chest and touched it lightly and quickly reared back, making sure he hadn't activated anything.

He had.

A large fireball was shot from the torch, which flew over his head and landed in front of the door. Link cried out, realizing the tree might get burned into a crisp. Instead, it didn't. The fire ball slowly levitated up a few feet into the air. Appearing in thin air, a wooden warrior appeared. Half of it was swallowed up in the fire ball, making it look like wooden legs with fire for the rest of the body. Link could just barely make out the burning figure from behind the flames.

The figure pointed a blacked and flaming finger at him. Link blinked, unsure of how to respond.

"What is-" he was cut off as a small fire ball was shot towards him.

He yelped and ducked as the fire ball hit the chest and exploded. Nothing was left burning, but the small shock wave had forced Link onto his stomach. A few splinters from the wood floor found themselves in his left arm.

Link groaned and flinched, forcing himself up just in time to roll to the side as another fire ball was launched at him. He stood up and jumped far to the side as another one came and impacted where he had been laying. He looked up to see the burning warrior pointing it's finger at him again.

Link ducked and ran forward. He felt the heat as the fire ball passed over his back. He stood up straight and swung low. The blow from his sword forced the thing's leg off. A few sparks flew off in random directions, burning Link wherever they landed on him for a few breif moments each.

The figure hopped and staggered, and then it got it's balance again. It raised his arms back out, ready to launch another another attack.

Link raised his sword up and charged forward as fast as his feet would carry him, bringing his sword down on the figure's arm. It split open, and the front half fell to the floor. As it did, it stopped burning. All's that was left was ash on the ground. Link looked back up at the monsters and swung at it, cutting off it's head. Another pile of ashes and charred wooden landed on the floor. The fire stopped burning, and the rest of the body was reduced to the same, messy black ash, which all fell to the floor in a heap. The legs to a few aimless steps, and then fell down into the burnt upper body, with no more motion.

"Can this get any worse?" Link asked himself aloud, looking around, just in case more were to show up.

None ever did, so he made his way to the chest and opened it, taking out a key. Deciding he'd need light, he took the torch too.

He tramped over to the next door and unlocked it. Pulling it open, he entered another very dark room. It was a circular hallway, two paths going off it different directions just to meet at the end. In front of him was another locked door.

"Oh, great!" he cried, starting to walk down the hall tiredly. The room was quiet, the only thing he heard was his breath. Finally, he found another door. It was not locked, so he eagerly opened it.

It was a small, square room in the center, with a chest at the end. Link placed the torch in a convienient holder by the entrance, and took a few more steps inside.

As he reached the chest, he gave it a small kick with his boots to activate the next obstacle. In response, from the dark shadows in the room. strange bats squeaked and flapped their wings, shooting out into the room, filling it almost instantly. The door shut, trapping Link in with the swarms of bats.

As one landing on his forearm and bit his shoulder with a powerful force, making him scream, he realized what these bat-like creatures were.

Kesses. The man-killing monsters that usually resided in deep forest or caves. Many people who were atccked by swarms were litterally eaten. Link cried out as another bit his knee, tearing off a bit of flesh. Link swung through the air, killing at least ten. The others squeaked and flew faster around him. A few more bit him, sending him into greater pain.

Link screamed and closed his eyes, swing his sword all around him. As he did, he could feel the blade making impact with the Kesses, killing one after another.

Soon, the room was silent, and he opened his eyes to see a mass of dead Kesses about him. THe door was open again, and he was sure the danger was gone, now.

He cuaght his breath and sat down. Bite marks covered his legs, arms, and there were small tears in his shirt. This was madness. He could not do this. He stood up, ready to leave the dungeon, when the thought hit him. The exit was sealed!

Link moaned in frustraition. There was no possible way he could take anymore of this! The Kesse marks stung like crazy, and his splinters were starting to bother him. Who knew what else lay ahead? Would he be hit by a fire ball, stabbed by a spear, beheaded, what?!

Reluctantly, he opened the chest and pulled out the key. He grabbed the torch and found his way back to the locked door. He plugged the key in and unlocked it before proceeding into the main room.

It was the center of the tree, and it's cieling was as normal as the others, but it was expansive! In the middle, it looked like piles of black sand were formed up in certain paterns. In fact, it almost seemed as if...

...A smiley face. It was taking the shape of a normal, smiley face! Two large mounds to the left and right on one half of the room, and a large happy smile on the bottom half.

Link took a few more steps towards the powder. It emitted a strange, smokey odor.

It only took Link a second to figure out what it was - gunpowder! The stuff used in celebrations in Hyrule for fireworks!

Link leaned over and lit the stuff. It flared, and then, in a matter of seconds, the smile was on fire. Link hurried over and lit the two eyes. As he did so, the room was lit up a great amount. It was bright! Link rubbed his eyes and blinked them rapidly, getting used to the extreme light. A lot of black smoke was rising from the flames.

"Oh Nayru..." Link whispered to himself," I've gotta get out! This is going to choke me!"

As if in response, a large amount of smoke found it's way into his lungs, making him cough loudly.

What had he been thinking? This was all crazy! This was never going to work out! Why hadn't he just give up before entering this goddess-forsaken tree?!

He looked around frantically before spotting an old ladder at the end of the circular room. He sprinted over to it and climbed to the top and forced open the hatch that was above it. He pulled himself up into the next room and slammed the hatch shut. He had left his torch at the bottom, but it did not matter. Torches burned along the walls in this small room he found himself in.

A wooden statue stood in the center, just like the other two had rooms before. But this time, it held a large, thick, wooden sword.

Link took a step towards it, sword raised, and then it snapped to life.

It's limbs creaked as they first move, but then after a few swings of it's sword, shakes of it's head, and jogging-in-place, it was silent, just like the others. It ran over to Link, bringing it's sword down on him.

Link screamed and stepped to the side. The figure turned back to him and swung again, this time hitting Link's side. It sent him flying into the wall.

Link cried out in pain, his hands letting go of his equippment and flying onto his side. It was probably brusied a great amount, and it hurt like crazy.

Link laid back and moaned. The figure was walking toward him, but he could not get back up to fight. It just hurt to much...