To Link's surprise, he saw Rusl walking down the path, away from his house. Rusl, noticing Link, gave a friendly wave before walking over.

"Ah, just in time, Link! I just delivered something to your room!" Link raised a curious eyebrow. 'I wonder what he delivered… perhaps the sword Talo broke?' Rusl then noticed the fishing rod on Link's back.

"Oh, I see you got the fishing rod. Colin will be pleased. And it works better than you would think, right?" Link nodded, prompting a smile from Rusl. "Good to hear. Well, have a good one." Link nodded. With that, Rusl continued down the path towards the town. Link went to walk into his house to see what Rusl had delivered, but was perturbed to notice a disturbing creature sitting on the ladder. He grimaced. 'Is that what I think it is..?' He counted each of its legs. 'Yeah.. that's a spider. A big one too...' He shivered, almost involuntarily. He reached to take out the slingshot to dispose of the spider, but was interrupted by-

"Link has a slingshot! WHOA!" He sighed. 'I was hoping to not get their attention..' Reluctantly, he walked over to the children. Beth's eyes widened, and Malo began staring at Link.

"Wow! You had enough money to buy it, Link?" Link awkwardly nodded. Before he knew it, the children were scrambling around the area tying makeshift targets to different trees and propping them up on the cliff face surrounding the area. He sighed. 'Just watching these kids is making me tired.' When the children were finished, they proudly admired their handiwork.

"Preparations complete…" Before Link could react to Malo's statement or deadpanned delivery, Talo excitedly gestured at the targets.

"Okay, wow, this is great! Let's see how powerful that slingshot is!" He grinned at Link expectantly. Beth scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe you two brats are so obsessed about this. It just shows what little boys you both still are." She turned to look at Link, doing her best to seem uninterested and aloof, but Link could hear the curiosity and excitement in her voice. "These two will never let it go, Link. Just show them." Link smirked and rolled his eyes as he pulled a pellet out of the pouch and prepared to shoot it at the second scarecrow the children had pulled over for him. He took a second to make sure his aim was steady, and then he released the string. He allowed himself a small smile as the pellet hit the pumpkin head of the scarecrow, causing it to explode into small pieces that scattered across the area, thankfully never hitting him or the children - though they were too busy cheering in delight for them to have noticed if anything had hit them.

"Whoa! You hit it! You hit it!" Link smirked as he glanced to see Talo and Beth gleefully celebrating Link's successful shot while Malo simply stared at him. 'These kids sure are easy to entertain.' he thought to himself, amused. Without hesitation, he fired more shots at the makeshift targets and at the scarecrow that had already been in the alcove, until everything the children had set up had been satisfactorily destroyed. He couldn't deny it - the slingshot was fun to use. Before turning around to face the children again, he remembered the spider, then smirked. 'Let's see how the spider likes slingshots!' To his delight, the pellet struck the spider down from the ladder, its legs curled up to its body which had landed some distance away from the ladder. Link resolved to nudge its body away from the ladder, if for nothing else than so he wouldn't have to see it. Again, the children cheered, and Link turned to face them as he put the slingshot away.

"Whoa! Amazing, Link!" Even Malo's expression shifted from his usual blank stare to one of awe, and both Talo and Beth were grinning and jumping up and down in excitement. As they calmed down, Link allowed himself another smile. 'Despite how obnoxious these kids can be.. it is good to see them happy.' Talo beamed up at Link.

"Gee, you really are amazing, Link!" Link rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly, unsure of how to respond to all the praise.

"By the way, Link… Were you expecting Colin's dad to bring something by here? 'Cause he did." Link nodded.

"Oh, yeah! That's right!" Talo looked up at Link. "What was that, anyway?!" Link frowned, slightly. 'If it's what I think it is, you're not allowed to have it again.' Malo's typical expression had returned as he looked up at Link.

"I command you to tell us…" Link sighed. 'Why's this kid have to be so weird about everything?' He turned and walked back towards the ladder up to his house, making sure to kick the dead spider into the grass away from the ladder and away from Epona, and then climbed up into his house.

To his surprise, he found a large box sitting on the floor nearby his small kitchen. Curiously, he walked over and opened it, finding- 'Yeah. That's what I thought. It's my wooden sword.' He sighed as he put it on his back next to the fishing rod, a mixture of relief at having it back and annoyance at Talo for breaking it in the first place. With his sword back on his back, he left his house and began climbing down the ladder. He had almost made it down the ladder completely when-

"Ooh, my! Isn't that a wooden sword, Link?" Link stopped climbing down the ladder to close his eyes and give a long sigh.

"Whoa… She's right!" Link's mouth twitched into a frown. "Hey, can I see it for a sec?" Link huffed. 'Absolutely not, you broke it the last time I let you use it. I can't have you break the sword again, it took Rusl a long time to fix it.' When Link was still stubbornly hanging onto the ladder, Talo's voice became more whiny.

"Seriously! Lately these monkeys have been coming out of the woods and playing tricks on us! We want to get them GOOD!" Link turned to look at Talo from his position on the ladder, giving him a clear disapproving glare. 'I'm not having you run off with my sword to harass the wildlife, Talo. They're just monkeys, I very seriously doubt they mean any harm.' Talo, whether willfully or obliviously, met Link's glare with a big grin.

"C'mon, teach us how to use a sword!" Link turned back to face the ladder, huffing. ''Us', he says. Talo, you and I both know what you were really asking.' His arms tiring, he finished his descent from the ladder and turned to face the children, giving them each a stern look. Then he shook his head. Talo was shocked, Malo narrowed his eyebrows.

"What?! Aw, gee, why not?!" Link brought the wooden sword out to pointedly gesture to the places where it had been damaged by Talo's previous "adventure" into the forest. Talo's expression became indignant.

"Aw, c'mon, I won't do it again! That was just because I didn't know how to use it!" He gave Link a big grin again. "This time I'll know how to use it, so it won't happen again!" Link frowned. 'As if that was the only reason you broke my sword.'

"Get off your high horse. Just show us."

"C'mon, be a pal, Link… Teach us how to use a sword!" Link, now ignoring the children, began to make his way back to Ordon Village to thank Rusl for fixing his sword.

Or rather, he would have, if three children hadn't scurried to stand in front of the only path from his house to the village.

"Where are you going?! You gotta teach me how to use a sword!" Link scoffed, looking at Talo. 'And so your true motive is revealed.' Each movement Link tried to make was countered by the three children shuffling to block him. He sighed. 'They're not going to give this up, are they.' He glanced over at Colin, who was gently petting Epona. 'Why couldn't you three be more like Colin…' He took some moments to consider his options, to come to terms with what would happen to his sword. Again. Then he sighed again and walked back over to the scarecrow, gesturing to the children to come watch. Talo cheered.

"YES!" The three children ran back over, excitedly staring up at Link. He sighed again, and began re-assembling one of the scarecrows that had been damaged by the slingshot.

Talo grinned at Link, having picked up a small stick to mimic Link's movements.

"All right! First off, we wanna see THAT move! The slice!" Link took a moment to close his eyes and focus his thoughts. His exasperation at the children for badgering him into teaching them how to use a sword, his annoyance at Talo for breaking his sword, his concerns over what they would do with the new knowledge… All of it slowly faded away. In his mind, he saw just himself and the scarecrow, even the children fading into the background. With a swift and fluid movement, he brought the wooden sword off of his back and sliced at the scarecrow. He heard the sword clatter against the bucket that was its makeshift armor. Next to him, he dimly heard a small child mimic what he had done with an enthusiastic "YAH!"

"Wow! A horizontal slice! Was that it? Was it?" Link did not open his eyes, wanting to keep his focus. "I think I've seen you do a vertical slice before, too." Link was about to shift to swing his sword when Talo cleared his throat.

"All right, next…" Then Beth interrupted Talo.

"Ooh! Ooh! I wanna see that other move, Link! The stab!" He dimly heard Malo scoff. Again, he took a moment to focus his mind, after having been distracted by the children's cheering and questions. The world around him faded away, and the scarecrow in his mind now had a slash across its armor where the wooden sword had struck it. Once he was ready, he thrust the wooden sword forward and towards the scarecrow, again hearing the sound of the sword striking the bucket. Beth cheered in awe.

"Ooh, Link! Just amazing! Since you're at it, how about you show us that other move…" He held his sword at his side, waiting for Beth to specify what she meant. "Y'know, that little twirly thing you do! I love that! What do you call it? A spin attack?" For a moment he opened his eyes again, just to ensure that he was still standing in front of the scarecrow. The spin attack had a serious risk of him accidentally striking the children if he wasn't careful. Once he was sure he was positioned correctly, he closed his eyes again and re-focused his mind once more. The imagined scarecrow of his mind now bore both a slash across its armor and a gash where the sword had stabbed at it. He took a few extra moments to focus himself, picturing the motion he needed to make. Then he drew back his sword, and in one movement stepped forward and spun the sword in an arc. He heard the sword strike the scarecrow again, and in his mind the scarecrow now had a third slash across its armor. Beth cheered again.

"Ooh, WOW! Thanks, Link!" Then, a slight pause, and her voice became embarrassed. "I'm sorry you have to waste your time with these little brats when you must be tired from doing all the important stuff you do!" He allowed himself a smirk. 'Says the one who has asked for two moves from me. Even Talo has only asked for one so far.'

"Hey, wait! You've gotta show us the jump attack before you go! You know, the one where you go 'HYAAH!' and leap through the air!" The excitement in Talo's voice was clear, despite Malo's barely-audible scoff. Link opened his eyes again to see the children all staring at him expectantly. This one would require him to stand some distance away. He walked some steps away from the scarecrow and the children, then turned back to face the scarecrow. He studied the distance, and again made sure he was positioned correctly. Then he closed his eyes and focused his thoughts. He braced himself for a long jump, and when he was ready he leapt towards the scarecrow and brought the sword down on it with a satisfying clang. He heard the makeshift helmet split apart and fall to the ground, and then he heard all three children excitedly cheer.

"WHOA!" He opened his eyes and turned to face the children, who were all staring up at him with awe and admiration. Talo grinned excitedly, even as Link placed the wooden sword back on his back.

"Thanks, Link!" Then he paused, and groaned slightly, looking down at the ground. "So, uh, I… I think I get it… Kinda…" He paused. "Hmm… Maybe not…" Then he shook his head and looked back up at Link. "So this means that anytime one of those naughty monkeys shows up…" Link frowned and shook his head. 'No, Talo, I don't want you going after the monkeys. They're not even a threat anyways, they're just a little annoying.' Suddenly Talo's head turned to the path out of the village, and his expression became one of surprise.

"WAH!" Link turned to look towards Talo's gaze to see- 'Hylia's sakes, these monkeys have awful timing…' The poor creature, seeing Talo turn to face it, turned and scurried away towards the forest. Link turned to try and stop Talo, but the young boy slipped away, shouting "C'MERE, YOU!" as he ran after the monkey. After a surprised pause, Malo and Beth ran after Talo, likely to try and stop him from getting into trouble again. He turned to see that Colin must have brought Epona out from her alcove, although Colin himself was nowhere to be seen. He dashed towards Epona and leapt up into the saddle, urging her into a quick trot towards the forest.

He found Beth standing not far away from his house, slightly off the path, looking tired and worried. She turned to look up at Link as he pulled slightly on Epona's reins to slow her down to a stop.

"Talo and Malo went chasing like crazy people after that monkey." She sighed, exasperated. "I can't keep up with those two…" Nodding, Link again nudged Epona into a quick trot. He stopped again near the entrance of the spring, where Malo stood. Malo, like Beth, was tired, and worriedly looking towards the bridge that led to the forest. Link brought Epona to a stop, and Malo looked up at him, pointing towards the bridge.

"... They went that way. The rest is up to you, Link…" Malo took a moment to sigh. Link nudged Epona back into the quick trot, then nudged her into a hasty gallop across the bridge. 'Talo probably chased that poor thing into the forest. He'd better hope he didn't go too far in, it can get really dangerous, especially for a little kid.'

He stopped Epona to look around the immediate area, frowning when he saw no sign of Talo or the monkey he had been chasing. Seeing a fence blocking the path further into the forest, Link frowned again. 'That's new. Wonder when this was added?' He nudged Epona into another gallop, and she easily cleared the fence. He didn't even take the time to admire the spring, instead hurrying into the small cave. The two reached the end of the cave, and he sucked in a gasp as he saw the large fence that normally blocked the larger cave now swung wide open. 'Don't tell me Talo went in there…' He glanced to the left, seeing a person sitting by an extinguished fireplace. 'Maybe they saw where Talo went?' He nudged Epona into a trot towards the person, who turned up to look at him and then waved.

"Whoa! An Ordonian! Hey, guy!" Link frowned. 'So he hasn't seen Talo…' He was about to turn and ride Epona back towards the cave, when the man looked up at Link and frowned as well.

"Listen, I'm not sure you should be wandering the woods without a lantern. Just because it's daylight doesn't mean it's safe." A small bird landed on the man's shoulder, though he seemed not to notice. "There are a ton of caves and dank spots around here that get pretty dark even in the middle of the day." The strange man turned to grab something from next to him, then held a lantern up for Link. "Here! Go on, guy. Take this!" Link took the lantern, then nodded to the man in thanks.

"See, I sell lantern oil here…" The man grinned up at Link. "I'm trying to drum up sales by giving away free lanterns! It's a business tactic, guy!" The small bird flew away as the man absentmindedly scratched at his head. "See, as long as you've got oil to fuel your lantern, you can light your way and set fire to stuff. They're the best!" Link nodded in thanks once more. 'I really should be going now, there's no telling where Talo has gotten himself now.' The man pointed at his extinguished fire.

"Go on, guy! Try setting a fire under that big pot!" Link sighed. 'I wonder if this also has to do with his 'business tactic'. Wouldn't surprise me.' For a moment he debated just turning Epona around to chase after Talo, but then against his better judgement he found himself hopping down from the saddle and bringing out the lantern the man had given him. With a careful swing of the lantern, the wood of the campfire was brought to flame, and the man smiled as he enjoyed the warmth of the fire. Link hadn't even noticed that the forest had a slight chill, he had been so focused on chasing after Talo. The man grinned at Link.

"That's right! See! It's on fire, guy!" Link frowned. 'I'm not a kid, you don't have to treat me like one.' He scoffed. 'Maybe I should've just gone after Talo after all…' The man didn't seem to see Link's annoyance. "Yeah! You keep using that lantern anytime you feel the need. And if it runs out of oil, you come see me to get it refilled!" Exasperated at the man for wasting his time, Link quickly put the lantern out and hopped back onto Epona's back to get back to chasing Talo. When he reached the entrance to the cave that had been gated up, he noticed something strange sitting in the path. Evidently Epona also noticed it, as she refused to go any closer to the cave. He patted her neck reassuringly, then jumped back out of the saddle. 'Poor girl… It's okay Epona, I'll get rid of whatever that thing is.'

He drew the wooden sword and cautiously walked closer. Once he had drawn near enough, the thing moved to reveal itself as some kind of monster. It looked like some kind of plant, though it had rows of sharp teeth lining the opening of what would have been its flower. A grossly shining tongue slithered out from between those teeth, and the creature snapped viciously at Link, causing Epona to rear up in fear. Then Link noticed the green saliva dripping down from the strange creature's mouth. It lunged at him again, and he responded with a sword swing that smacked the creature across the side. It recoiled, though the swing didn't seem to have hurt the creature. Link grimaced. 'How did Talo make it past this thing?' Then he noticed something laying on the ground, far behind the monster. His heart sank. 'Tell me that isn't…' He didn't finish the thought as the monster lunged at him again, and this time he dodged the lunge and sliced at the stalk of the monster. The monster retreated back into the ground, and where it had stood was a pod of seeds. He took a moment to crush the shell with his boot, then added the seeds into the pouch of slingshot pellets Sera had given him. Then he rushed into the cave to look at the object he had noticed behind the monster.

His footsteps slowed as he drew near. 'No doubt about it.. That's the stick Talo was using as a sword.' For a moment he was surprised that it hadn't been broken, but then he frowned. 'If Talo dropped his sword… What happened to him?' Then he noticed how dark the cave was and brought out his lantern. 'Guess I should be glad that weird guy gave me this.' With that, he ran deeper into the cave.

Inside the cave, he noticed an unlit torch. 'Maybe lighting this will make it a little brighter in here.' He reached forward and lit the torch, and to his satisfaction the immediate area did grow brighter. He took a moment to look around himself. The grass from the forest slowly tapered off, leaving only dirt and the rocky walls of the narrow cave. 'I guess Epona wouldn't have wanted to come in here. She's never really liked tight spaces like this.' Truth be told, even Link felt a little claustrophobic at the cramped cave. But he had to continue forward, for Talo's sake. He began walking forward again, but stopped when he noticed a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness, on the ceiling. The eyes flew down towards him, and by instinct he brought out the sword and slashed at the keese before it could reach his face. Some steps further, and he saw another torch, and he was surprised to notice wooden flooring beneath his feet. He lit the torch, and took a moment to study the floor. The wood itself was old, rotting in some places, and covered in mold and dirt in other places. Whoever had put this flooring here, it had been a long time ago. For a moment Link wondered why, though ultimately his concern over Talo won over his curiosity and he pressed further into the cave. As he continued through the darkness, he saw another of the strange plant monsters. Hooking the lantern to his waist, he brought out his sword and quickly disposed of the monster.

After continuing through the cave for some time, he found a large spider web stretched across the cave walls. He frowned, fighting back another involuntary shudder. There was no way to continue past the web, and for a moment Link felt defeated, until he glanced down at the lantern on his waist, and he grinned. Bringing the lantern up, he swiped it across the web, and to his satisfaction the web quickly caught on fire and burnt away. Then he noticed more wooden flooring leading deeper into the cave. Eventually the dirt almost disappeared entirely, though the wood beneath his feet was still covered in mold and grime. He didn't have much time to notice this, though, as he heard a small rat snapping at him in the darkness. He lunged forward with the sword and stabbed at the rat, not wanting it to get the chance to attack him first, and the rat fell dead. Then he noticed the pots dangling from spider webs, and another unlit torch. He first opted to light the torch, to save some lantern oil - he wasn't sure just how deep this cave went, and he didn't want to run out of oil before reaching the end of it. Drawing out his slingshot, he shot at the pots, sending green Rupees falling to the floor. Then he noticed a small path to his right, and despite his concern over Talo his curiosity won out and he ventured into it, pulling out the lantern again so he could properly see.

Another plant monster hungrily snapped at him from the darkness, and in the middle of him slashing at the stalk his sword happened to also strike down a keese that he hadn't even seen. He paused for a moment, enjoying the feeling of accidental accomplishment. However, he couldn't relish the moment for long before another keese flew down at him. He swung his sword in a wide arc, and the body of the keese went flying back into the darkness. As he continued down the side path, he eventually found another unlit torch, as well as what looked to be an old chest. First, of course, he lit the torch, allowing him to see the moss growing at the bottom of the rock wall and to see that the chest was curiously unlocked. He put the lantern away for a moment, before bending down to see what was in the chest. 'It's.. a yellow Rupee. Who locked a yellow Rupee away in a chest in the back of a cave?' He shrugged to himself as he put it into his wallet. 'I don't have time to worry about that, I need to catch up to Talo.' With that thought, he left the side path and continued down the main path.

It wasn't long before he found another spider web stretched across the path, which quickly fell apart with the flames from his lantern. At last, he saw the light of day on the other side of the cave, so he put the lantern away as he ran towards the cave's exit.