Chapter 38: Deku Palace Vault
As the tour boat made its way through the Deku Swamp, Zelda noticed that the cloudy sky overhead was becoming increasingly darker and there were flashes of lightning. This became increasingly worse once the boat reached the Deku Palace which was a situated on an artificial island made of wood with towering walls that were brightly colored with trees along the inside and a towering structure that was shaped like the trunk of a tree. There was a wooden dock for the boat and a bridge leading up to the palace walls where two Deku Scrubs that looked identical to Leafi stood.
"Is it just me, dear, or do the Deku Palace guards look nervous?" asked Prospera as she stood next to Rich.
"I say, you're right," replied Rich and then he signaled to Leafi. "Would you kindly ask your brethren at the door to see if there's anything wrong?"
"What? You think I'm related to those guards?" Leafi said glaring at Rich and Prospera angrily.
"Calm yourself, Leafi," Kasai said soothingly. "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just…this weather…" Leafi said, shivering slightly. "Something about it is making me jumpier than usual."
"Then perhaps you should stay on the boat while I continue the tour," Kasai replied, pulling the level that lowered the stepladder.
"No, no, I can still do it," Leafi insisted. "I'm fine now."
"If you insist," Kasai shrugged.
Following the Deku Scrub, everyone got off the boat and onto the bridge that led to where the two Deku Scrub guards stood. Leafi spoke to them in a language none of the Hylians could understand, and then the two guards used their heads to push the palace doors inward revealing a garden full of trees and flowers. Everyone ambled about the garden for a while until it started to rain forcing them to run into the trunk-shaped structure. Inside, there was a circular room with a large fire-pit in the center and several stone chairs where several tall Deku Scrubs were seated. But there was one who sat above the rest that had a roundish wooden body with a leafy beard and mustache, and he had a round orange bulb growing on top his head.
"Deku Leader," Leafi said bowing. "I bring you tourists from the Hylian District."
The Deku Scrub with the large bulb raised a staff which consisted of a pink flower with a Deku Nut inside it. "You've come at a bad time, Leafi. We were about to hold a trial."
"A trial?" Prospera exclaimed.
"For who, your majesty?" Rich asked.
"This monkey," the Deku Leader said, waving his staff toward a cage with a white monkey sat screeching wildly. "He's been accused of kidnapping my daughter, who has gone missing since this morning."
"But what proof do you have?" Zelda asked, stepping forward. "For all you know, the monkey could be innocent."
"How dare you speak to our leader in that manner!" shouted one of the Deku Scrubs.
"You should be put in a cage yourself!" replied another.
"Are you saying that my judgement of the accused is false?" asked the Deku Leader.
"No," Zelda replied. "I'm just saying there's a possibility that you're mistaken."
The Deku Leader's grassy eyebrows raised slightly. "Then you're saying I'm wrong?"
Zelda shook her head. "Not at all, Deku Leader, but how can you be certain that the monkey is the culprit?"
"He was seen with my servant, Deku Butler, who went off to look for my daughter and hasn't returned since."
"And what makes you think that there's a connection between the monkey being the last thing to see Deku Butler and him kidnapping your daughter?"
The Deku Leader grumbled. "If you think you can prove the monkey is innocent, then find my daughter and bring her back safely. Otherwise, I shall arrest you."
"On what charge?" Impa asked.
"For meddling in affairs that are none of her business!" The Deku Leader snapped. "Now leave before I change my mind."
"Not until I know where the Deku Butler went," Zelda said. "Or at the very least, could you tell me where you last saw him?"
"Near the Deku Shrine," the Deku Leader said reluctantly. "You'll find it west of the palace."
So with that, Zelda, Impa, Lana, and Sheik left while everyone else stayed looking baffled.
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At the Deku Shrine, which was a dimly lit tunnel leading up to a wall with a Deku Scrub's face on it, Zelda and the others were confronted by a Big Octo blocking the entrance. Together, they defeated him thus causing the wall to suddenly open on its own. On the other side, there was a dark tunnel with no lights inside. Stepping in, the four made their way through the tunnel which sloped in a downward spiral until they came to a flat bottom. Noticing some unlit torches, Zelda used the Kokiri Fan to light them revealing a large rectangular room with several arched pillars and flaming skulls with bat wings flying around.
"Bubbles," Lana noted. "This place is definitely cursed if those things are here."
"Oh, it's much worse than that," said a Deku Scrub with long legs and arms that was lying beside the entrance to the tunnel. He had two small bushes on the sides of his head, a curly green mustache, and a tie made of two leaves.
"Are you the Deku Butler?" Zelda asked, kneeling down in front of the Deku Scrub.
"I am," the Deku Scrub replied before coughing up tree sap from his tube-like mouth.
"He looks hurt," Lana said, noticing several scratches along the Deku Butler's body. "But I'm not sure if my magic can heal Deku Scrubs."
"There is one way," Deku Butler said, pointing to the other side of the room. "Within the Deku Palace Vault there is an underground well filled with water that has strong healing properties. Unfortunately, the creature who guards the well, Raitoad, is very upset and is holding the Deku Princess there against her will."
"So you were there?" Zelda exclaimed.
"Yes, but I barely escaped," replied Deku Butler before he coughed up more tree sap.
"Try not to talk too much," Lana said. "You'll die faster at this rate."
"I realize that…but if you plan to rescue the Princess yourselves, then take this." Deku Butler gave Zelda a map of the vault showing all the various passages and doors. "It'll save you some time wandering around blindly."
Then as the Deku Butler passed out, Lana said, "I'll stay with him. The rest of you go on."
"Not I," Impa said, standing next to Lana. "Someone needs to stand guard while you tend to the Deku Butler's wounds."
"Oh," Lana replied, glancing disappointedly at Sheik.
"Do you want me to stay instead of Impa?" Sheik asked.
"No," Lana said, shaking her head. "You can go with Zelda if you want. She needs protection too, you know."
"I can take care of myself, thank you," Zelda said confidently and walked into the room.
The tile Zelda stood on collapsed and see fell down into a deep hole.
"Zelda!" Sheik cried, and dove in after her.
To be continued…