There wasn't much talk as the boy and fairy made their way down the Great Deku Tree's narrow throat. Navi set a rapid pace that Link quietly did his best to keep up with. She seemed eager to be done with this... he could understand that. The Great Deku Tree was dying, so the quicker they finished this, the quicker they could fix him and get things back to normal. It didn't necessarily mean she didn't like him.
"He's a mere child! Not a hero! Not anyone who is as strong, as wise, or as likeable as you, Great Deku Tree. He's just a child. A mere child."
He shook the thought from his head. He couldn't blame her. He wasn't exactly bursting with confidence either. Besides, she did join him in the end. That must have meant she had some faith in him, right? At the very least, she was willing to try.
He stumbled to a halt when Navi suddenly thrust her arms out and cried, "Wait!" Looking past her, he saw what had caused her to hesitate. There were strange protrusions in the walls: large purple buds hanging from wizened stalks. The buds themselves looked... overripe somehow. A viscous liquid had collected at the split seams and in a pool beneath them just like a fruit would though this wasn't any fruit Link had ever seen before.
"Ready your sword," Navi commanded softly. "But don't make any sudden movements."
Link's muscles tensed at that. "No sudden movements" suggested that there was something here that would react aggressively if he did. Maybe they were hiding in the purple bulbs? He raised his sword and took a tentative step toward the nearest one. He slowly extended the point of the sword toward the bulb to give it a tentative poke.
Navi hissed causing Link to jump in surprise, "What are you doing? Don't just stand there! Take them out!"
Link shook off his nerves. Right. Straight through the bud before whatever was in it knew they were there. He took a deep breath to steady himself and then silently thrust the sword through the bud.
This time he screamed when the bud twisted the sword out of his sweaty palm. Its lips parted and something long, green and sticky slithered out. At first, Link thought it might be some kind of worm coming out of its pod to deal with the threat, and his skin crawled at the thought of it coming for him by crawling up his leg and toward his ear. Then he saw the pod itself twisting and jerking, its lips open in a silent scream, the long, slimy green thing flailing about. It was the bud that was alive!
The other buds were moving, turning their mouths toward him with slimy, green tongues-for that was what the "worms" were-emerging to slurp at the air.
Link felt something strike the back of his head and he spun about to face the threat. Then he heard Navi shriek, "You fool! You lost your sword! All you had to do was cut off their heads! Have you never seen a Deku Baba before?"
No, and he had never heard of one either. Of all the monsters he and the other Kokiri liked to scare each other with, not once had a living flower that could eat you cropped up in their ghost stories. He would have to remember this one, assuming he survived. He turned back to the living flowers-the "Deku Baba."
His sword was still lodged in the first one, though as the Deku Baba flailed, it was quickly losing grip. It cut into the Deku Baba's head, the weight shifting toward the handle until finally it clanged to the ground just beneath the carnivorous flower.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Navi snapped. "Take it! Take it and cut these Deku Baba down!"
It was tempting to go after it. His reluctant fairy was pushing him to do it and the Deku Baba was disoriented after having its head nearly cleaved in half, but something made him pause. The other Deku Baba-three more-were watching him, their tongues flexing in the air.
When the Kokiri issued contests, they were usually one-on-one with rules governing the conditions of the challenges to make them fair. Link liked these. The rules meant that the other Kokiri had to at least consider him equal to his opponent and couldn't speak against him without violating them. In these contests, he could almost believe that he belonged. It was ironic then that it was the unofficial challenges where Mido and his cronies would attack him without warning that Link developed his more useful skills. He had learned to keep an eye on all the other foes besides the one in front of him and had developed an instinct for danger.
Keeping an eye on the three other Deku Baba, Link crouched and raised his shield just enough so that it covered his face but still allowed him to see over the top of it. He shuffled toward the sword while facing the carnivorous plants.
Without warning, a tongue from the closest Deku Baba struck his shield. Awkwardly balanced on his haunches as he was, it didn't take much force to knock him onto his back. Worse still, his back had barely touched the ground when he felt the Deku Baba's tongue wrap around his ankle and start pulling him in.
"Oh no!" Navi screamed.
Link immediately sat up and swung his shield down edge first onto the tongue, deflecting two other tongues at the same time. The shield wasn't sharp enough to cut it, but Link persisted in smashing it. A twinge of panic made him think that he wouldn't be able to get away in time, but as it pulled his leg up to its mouth, the tongue slipped off his ankle. He had smashed enough of the muscle within that it could no longer hold on when gravity took hold. Link immediately began to shuffle backward, but the two other tongues darted in to snatch him up for themselves. He batted one away with his shield and the other with his hand. The tongue wrapped around his wrist and tugged him to the side. He swung his shield down, striking the head of the Deku Baba, which already had his hand in its mouth. Throwing his entire weight behind the shield, he smashed the Deku Baba against the wall until its head split into a pulpy mess. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to celebrate for he felt that other tongue wrap around his throat. He quickly reached back and gripped it just as it pulled him back, sparing himself from being throttled to death. He instinctively threw out his other hand, dropping his shield in the process, and found it gripping the tongue of the Deku Baba that he had crippled. In a stroke of inspiration, he took the tongue and tossed it in a loop around the other tongue behind his head. He managed to catch it again and then, feeling his way, he pulled it into a knot.
For a long minute, it seemed like it hadn't worked. Then at last he felt the tongue around his throat slip. He ripped it off and then tumbled away to avoid any other Deku Baba that might try to catch him-a wise strategy though he regretted it immediately for as he rolled, his back struck against something hard and lumpy that shot pain up his spine, making him cry out. It was the sword he had dropped. Moments later, Navi appeared in front of him. "Are you all right?"
Link noticed the expression on her face, one of genuine concern, and he felt an ember of hope spark in him. Did this mean she was beginning to like him? He decided to play it safe by answering, "I've been worse."
"You're careless, you mean," she said flatly, immediately dousing that ember in Link and making him wish he had just kept his mouth shut. Trying not to show how red he was, he picked up the sword and proceeded to hack the weeds from the tunnel, now that he had already neutralized them.
"Are these what was making the Great Deku Tree sick?" Link said, voicing a thought that had just occurred to him and forgetting his vow not to open his mouth.
"That's very unlikely," Navi responded. "Deku Baba aren't parasites exactly. They're weeds that flourish where a steady supply of easy prey is to be found. I strongly suspect their seeds were carried in here by the monster that's actually poisoning the Great Deku Tree."
Right, that would have been too easy, Link thought with a mounting sense of dread. So what is the monster poisoning the Great Deku Tree? It was an oversight on Kaepora's part that left Link, and Navi for that matter, ignorant of the foe they faced. Fortunately, they would get another chance to learn its identity before coming face-to-face with it. Ten steps in past the mess of pulped purple buds, they heard a ruckus echoing down the tunnel: a loud rustling noise like wind through leaves punctuated by high animal squeaks. Link raised his shield and tightened his grip on his sword, determined not to lose it this time.
"Sword at the ready," Navi hissed belatedly. Link rolled his eyes and followed behind her on tiptoe until they reached the end of the tunnel and discovered what all the noise was about.
The chamber into which they emerged was a flurry of activity though it was too dark to see clearly. At first glance, Link thought it was a bunch of giant rats with glowing yellow eyes hurrying about. Then he heard a voice squeak, "Has anyone found it, yet? It's got to be around here somewhere!"
A shock ran through him. He recognized that voice! How could he forget it? No one else had that kind of voice. He turned to Navi and judging by the expression on her face, she recognized it, too.
"Deku Scrubs," she said through gritted teeth.
Two years earlier, the Kokiri had awoken to find their village invaded by an army of Deku Scrubs-creatures that looked exactly like mounds of leaves with eyes. They had been led by a loud and confident Scrub who had called himself Captain Keppu.
"Listen up, you Kokiri worms!" he had squeaked with all the confidence of a general who had not lost a single battle, "This area is now our property! Surrender now or suffer the consequences!" Of course, the Kokiri being like children, they had laughed themselves silly over his voice. They weren't laughing when the Deku Scrubs started firing on them with hard pellets they shot through their tubular mouths. Fortunately, Link, Saria, and Mido had managed to rally the Kokiri, and after quickly gathering their weapons and shields, they beat back the upstart Deku Scrubs though not without a parting word from the would-be conqueror himself, "You may have won the battle, but we will win the war! We'll be back. I swear it! You'll be bowing before the mighty Captain Keppu before long!" Now it seemed he was back, but what was he doing inside the Great Deku Tree?
"It sounds like they're looking for something," Link said.
"I don't care what they're doing," Navi snarled. "They have no right to be here!" She darted forward, with Link chasing after her after giving a cry of surprise. She drew herself to her full height within reach of them and flared her light, causing the Deku Scrubs to freeze in place with squeaks of alarm, save for one. The boldest of them wheeled around and squeaked, "Who goes there! What's this?" He blinked his glowing eyes. Gradually, they settled on Link, and he cried, "Aha! A Kokiri foolishly stumbles into our midst! Come..."
"What are you doing inside the Great Deku Tree?" Navi demanded, cutting off his rallying cry. "I will have this boy cut you all where you stand for this!"
"You think you scare us, little fly?" Captain Keppu scoffed. Link noticed the rest of them trading nervous looks, perhaps remembering how soundly they were beaten the last time they challenged the Kokiri. Their captain continued, oblivious to their unease, "We are on an important mission of the utmost secrecy, which means you won't leave here alive."
"Enough!" Navi glided back to her Kokiri's side. "Link, show these miscreants the error of their ways. Kill them all!"
"What?" Link turned to her in shock. "You want me to kill them?"
Meanwhile, Captain Keppu declared, "Then it is war! Men! To your positions!" The other Scrubs scrambled into a line on either side of him.
Navi answered Link, "It's clear they haven't repented of their wicked ways; first threatening to remove us from our home and now they've invaded the Great Deku Tree in his weakened state, the cowards!" She glanced over at the Deku Scrubs with contempt. Then her eyes grew wide as she saw what they were doing.
"But does that really mean we have to kill them? They're just kids!"
"Link..." Navi tried to warn him.
Now that his men were in position, Captain Keppu barked out his commands, "Ready..."
"I think we should talk to them first," Link went on. "Maybe see if we can help them find a home. I think that's what they're really looking for, and if we help them..."
"Link!"
"Aim!"
Link was startled by Navi's vehemence, but he screwed up his face in determination and ploughed on, "No! Listen, maybe you wouldn't understand what it's like to not belong anywhere, but I do, and I... I vowed I wouldn't do that to anyone else. Even these guys. So if you've got a problem with my..."
"FOR FARORE'S SAKE, LINK! THEY'RE ABOUT TO ATTACK!"
"Huh?" Link snapped his focus to the line of Scrubs, their tubular mouths aimed in his direction.
"Fire!"
With the lightning-quick reflexes that had pulled him out of more scrapes than Mido wanted to remember, Link raised his shield just in time. With a surprising amount of resilience, considering it was a mere slab of bark that had fallen off the Great Deku Tree's face, the shield repelled the hail of pellets. Two of them did manage to get by, grazing his shoulder and right leg, but they served more to galvanize him than cripple. With a roar, he charged forward, swinging the shield like a battering ram. The Deku Scrubs immediately scattered with squeaks of alarm. Captain Keppu alone remained though it seemed he was frozen with fear not determination as he was quaking when Link bore down on him. Finally, Link had his sword at his throat, and the self-glorified captain was reduced to a whimpering infant.
Navi flew up close to Captain Keppu and she hissed venomously, "You should know that you deserve this death, for what you've done to the Great Deku Tree."
"But I didn't do anything!" Captain Keppu's voice came out as a hoarse whisper.
She ignored him and instead turned to Link. "What are you waiting for?" she snapped impatiently, "Do it!"
The sword trembled as Link struggled to keep it aimed at the Deku Scrub's throat, which could have been either the weight of the sword or the impending dread of what Navi was asking him to do. Either way if he showed weakness now to either the Scrubs or his fairy it could be all the worse for him, losing both the leverage he had over the Scrub leader and any chance he had of earning Navi's respect. He had to show the Deku Scrubs he meant business without actually carrying out her sentence. Thinking quickly, he said, "Not yet. First I want to know what it is you were looking for in here."
Captain Keppu gulped and said, "That's top secret..."
Link pressed his blade more firmly on the captain's throat and he squawked in terror. Then one of his men piped up, "A green stone! It's a glowy green stone."
"A stone?" Navi momentarily forgot her bloodlust to process this. "What do you want with a stone?"
"Secret..." Keppu groaned but his subordinate continued, "We don't know. That's just what the hooded man said we should look for. Said the Deku Tree might have it hidden somewhere."
A hooded man... Navi mused. Lady Faron's words came back to her, "Dark forces are at work here, twisting events to bring about their wicked designs." Was this man responsible for the malady afflicting the Great Deku Tree? What was this green stone he wanted the Deku Scrubs to find?
Link posed these questions to the Deku Scrubs, drawing a slow line across Captain Keppu's eyes. He was very careful not to actually touch him, as Keppu was trembling, the leaves on his body rustling noisily. The Deku Scrubs answered, "We don't know his name or what he looks like, and he never said why he wanted it. Just that if we found it, he would help us find a safe place to live."
"Like inside the Great Deku Tree?" said Navi, her voice dripping with venom.
One of the Scrubs shook his head vigorously. "Oh no, no, no, no, no! Not here! Too dangerous! Not with her here."
"Her who?" Link asked.
"The Queen," said the Scrub and he gulped. "Down below. Down in the farthest depths of the tree. You can hear her scratching... scratching... scritch, scritch!" He shuddered and the others gave small squeals in response. "I wouldn't go down there if I were you. She'd snatch you up in her giant claws and feed you to her brood!"
"Claws..." said Navi thoughtfully. "This Queen... you're not talking about a Queen Gohma, are you?"
Link's heart skipped a beat. A Gohma? He'd heard of that monster before. It was one of the beasts the hero of old fought in order to reclaim the Golden Power. Unfortunately, there weren't many details on it other than it had an impenetrable shell and giant claws. Its only weakness was its single eye, which the hero had shot using a magic bow.
"N-not so loud!" the Scrub squeaked, trembling so hard he was stuttering. "Sh-she'll hear y-you!"
Navi shot down between the Scrub's eyes, grabbed one of his leaves, and pulled him in close. "Where is she?" She hissed. "Show us where she is or he will cut your leader's throat!"
"C-c-c-c-can't!" the Scrub's voice was hoarse with fear. "Sh-she'll... eat... eat us!"
"Very well then." Navi straightened and then turned to Link and gave him a nod.
Doing his best to hide his dread, Link returned the nod and then drew back his arm.
"W-Wait!" Captain Keppu cried. "I can take you to her! Don't kill me!"
Shaking with relief, Link sheathed his sword. He quailed when he saw the furious look his fairy shot him and for a moment, he thought she was yelling at him when she said, "You had better not be lying to us. We will kill you if you are."
"Upon my word," said Captain Keppu with an eager nod, "I swear I will lead you to the Queen."