The Legend of Zelda: Goddess of Secrecy

Dungeon Chapter 1 - The Deku Fortress

            …into the musty ruins that was the abandoned fortress of the Deku Scrubs. The main chamber had carved trunks for supports, doubling to serve as columns to decorate the entrance. And other than the walls, the fortress didn't appear to be made of anything but wood. Vines and cobwebs hung from almost everywhere. A few pots littered the corners, one of the few things that plant life hadn’t settled on, though dust had.

            Link pulled his sword free of its sheath and hoisted his new shield on his right arm. Kaepora hadn’t trained him for very long with the defensive item, but he knew the basics of it and that this was a sturdy piece of work. It wouldn’t last long anywhere that had large amounts of fire, but here it fit, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

            “The Deku Scrubs must have known about all the rooms in the Temple. There should be a map around here somewhere of the entire Temple.”

            Yore perched himself above Link; far enough away to not be in Link’s way, but close enough to see. The hawk was smart, smarter than any of the birds Link had dealt with up until now. Granted, most of those were Cuccos, and Cuccos could hardly do anything on their own.

            Link searched the room. It was three stories, if you counted the narrow platform atop the wall of vines in the back, with four doors throughout the room. There was one staircase leading to the second story, which split off and wrapped around the walls. It looked like a hub for the whole building from where Link was standing.

            Cautiously, Link walked further into the building. It was almost too peaceful for a place rumored to be filled with monsters. Which was why Link wasn’t completely surprised when something shot out at him.

            The Deku Nut split open on the ground, its yellow sap flowing out of the dark brown shell and a dizzying smell wafting out in thin streams of air. Link twisted his shield arm around, the next projectile bouncing off and landing on the floor with a soft thud.

            Yore swooped in towards the Wild Deku Scrub sitting on a ledge above the entrance. His talons dug into the bark of the monster, making it screech in pain. Link quickly grabbed fallen Deku Nut and lobbed it at the Scrub. It stiffened from the impact, before hardening into a husk and dissipating into a dark cloud of smoke.

            Link scanned the room, looking for any other monsters. A few baby skulltulas hung on the wall of vines in the back of the room, but there wasn’t anything visible at the moment. Link moved to one of the doors on the ground floor, hoping to actually find something useful. As he reached the door, the stone slab lifted up on its own accord.

            “It’s an enchantment in the Temples throughout Hyrule. It helps keep the Demon Lord’s minions at bay, but eases access for friends of the Goddesses.”

            With Yore close behind, Link continued into the next room. A few Keeses fluttered around on the far end, but Link saw a new enemy much closer to him. It was about a human's height, with wrinkly purple skin, wielding a club, and only covered by a loincloth around its waist. Yore glided over the monster, his wings gleaming even in the weak torchlight.

            “That’s a bokoblin, Link. They’re weak and have poor defenses. A few clean hits should do the trick.”

            Link twisted his sword around in his hand, before walking a bit closer to the monster. He whistled to Yore, then glanced at the Keeses in the back of the room. The hawk understood the directions and quickly flew off to the other corner to keep the bat-like creatures distracted while Link dealt with the bigger problem. He leaned back on his heels, preparing for the first attack.