"YOU WANT ME... to jump."

"Of course," Linder said with terseness.

"That," Link said, looking over the vast empty space before him, "sounds difficult."

That was an understatement. The gap between the forbidden woods and the forest haven was a massive channel, big enough that a small island could've fit inside.

As he was gazing over the edge of the cliff, Linder ran past him and jumped off. Link let out a small gasp, but then Linder safely began gliding.

Linder gripped onto two large clover-like plants, the tops of them rapidly spinning.

"More difficult if you get left behind!" Linder's fading voice shouted.

Link swallowed, gripped the deku leaf in both hands, and ran off the precipice. The leaf billowed up with air, and shot up above him. He held on tight, and glided gently across the channel.

Link let out a sigh of relief. He forced himself not to look down.

"You're drifting downward a lot," Linder said over the wind, slowing down so Link would catch up with him.

"How do I go up?" he asked.

"Turn your leaf to follow me," Linder called.

Link did his best to turn the leaf, angling it to the right. He started drifting in that direction. Suddenly Link blasted up high in the air, and his stomach was grudgingly pulled along. He fought nausea, then was fine again.

"Stay following me," Linder said, "we need a great deal of height to get over the brambles."

Thankfully, the following updrafts weren't as catapulting as the first. He'd already been launched by a catapult, and that had already been enough for him before he did this.

They glided over the first swaths of thick, thorny growths, and Link began to weave back and forth just to avoid some of the taller thorns. He settled onto solid ground just after Linder.

"That was terrific!" Linder said. "I don't get to jump the gap nearly enough!"

"Easy for you to say," Link said, "if you fall, you won't sink like a stone in the water."

Linder laughed. "I think you are mistaken Link. The children of the forest do not fall."

The fanned out leaves of Linder's flying clover drooped down, and drew close against the top of the stalk. Linder leaned on it like a walking stick, watching as Link rolled up his deku leaf, and placed it in his satchel.

"You ready?" Linder asked in an almost excited tone.

"Yes," Link said, starting to walk alongside the Korok, "though I'm surprised you're so..."

"Invigorated?" Linder guessed, "I'm finally rescuing my brothers and sisters. We're striking back against the darkness of these woods - we're taking the fight to them!"

"Yes...," Link said, "fight."

"I begrudgingly shrank back from the might of these creatures," Linder said as he twirled his staff around him, "but now I walk beside a seasoned warrior!"

Their gnarled trees and plants became increasingly harder to see as they traveled deeper into the woods. Link dragged his feet slightly as they walked.

"I think -" he began in a somber tone.

Linder stopped twirling his staff, and his masked face looked to Link.

"I think this will be quite a fight," Link said, quickly changing his words.

"Oh it will be for sure!" Linder said. "These woods -"

Link's mind was suddenly jolted.

He'd planted his foot in front of him, and it had struck into empty space.

He was falling. His gut swung upward. In a split moment, Link reached into his satchel, and snatched the deku leaf.

It caught the rushing air, and he held on through another stomach lurch. His speed slowed, and he continued to slowly fall.

He took a deep breath to recompose his thoughts. It was alright. Probably. He was still in nearly impenetrable darkness.

"Linder!" he called.

"I am alright Link! Are you all together?"

"Yes," he answered. He stumbled a bit as his boots struck thick grass. "Barely."

Link looked around. He could barely see anything. He drew his sword, feeling his way around. The sword's blade caught brambles, and Link cut them away. Even after cutting his way, the thorns tried to snag on his clothes.

They were like sharp, dark clawing fingers.

He did not like this place.

"Linder?" Link called again, hacking away at thorns.

"Agh!"

Link flinched as his sword struck some wood. Gerudo.

"Watch where you're swinging next time!" Linder said near him.

"I didn't hit you did I?" Link asked fearfully.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"No," Linder said, "but the branch you struck did. So watch yourself in the future. Not that you could watch anything this time it's so dark, but... just be careful."

"I'm sorry," Link apologized. "I... I'm not quite the warrior that you need right now."

"We'll see about that," Linder said.

Link heard some scraping sounds, and suddenly a flame illuminated their immediate surroundings.

"There," Linder said, putting away a tinderbox in a bag on his waist. He raised a torch, using it to examine their surroundings. The light from Linder's torch barely caught hold of any details.

"I have determined," Linder said after a minute of looking around, "that it is very dark."

"How will we keep going?" Link said, "we could fall again, and it could turn out worse than last time."

"Take hold of my clover staff," Linder said.

Link grasped his right hand above Linder's.

"If we fall," Linder said, "I'll at least slow us down. For the rest of the time, keep your weapon ready. I don't think I need to explain why."

"This seems very dangerous," Link remarked.

"Ha!" Linder laughed, "of course it is."

"Even if we had more light," Link said, "we wouldn't know where we're going."

"We can see a few feet in front of us," Linder said. "And that is enough to begin walking."

"But what if we fall?" Link asked, "or are attacked by something?"

"But what if we keep going?" Linder turned Link's words, "what if we defeat the evils of this forest? I fear the same things as you, but I do not let my fear overwhelm my hope. Let us walk."

So they began walking. Link kept his sword ready, and his hand firmly gripped on Linder's staff. Link kept his eyes focused on the boundary of light cast by the torch. There were times where they felt brambles, and had to change their path. They had to climb over some fallen logs.

Once, Link was sure they were about to fall again, but it was thankfully only a depression from a small stream.

They'd kept a fair pace for about a half hour, and the brambles became less thick as they left the boundary of the island. Link stopped, halting Linder's movement.

Amid the sounds of the woods, Link heard a loud buzzing sound.

"Gohma," Linder seemed to curse. "I need to put out the torch."

"Wa -"

Link was unable to stop him. The darkness became thick again. A moment later, his eyes adjusted, and he saw small patches of sunlight coming through the forest canopy.

"Why did you -"

"Shh," Linder cut him off again. "I perceive we are being watched."

Link heard a clicking sound. He swallowed like a rock was in his throat, and slowly turned his gaze upward. It was another, fletching, gigantic insect.

Link grabbed Linder and jumped out of the way, right as the insect struck the spot they had been.

The insect raised its head, and its pincers writhed as it shrieked.

Chillingly, it rose off the ground, gigantic green wings buzzing rapidly.

Link drew his sword and shield. The two of them held their weapons in a defensive stance. The insect's twitching eye stared back at them as it hovered, daring them to attack.

This thing was more clever than the monster at Dragon Roost. This creature was smaller, could fly, and had the advantage of the lack of light.

When they moved, the insect moved.

"A mothula," Linder whispered. "A winged one."

Link discreetly slipped his hand into his satchel. He grasped onto his rope, feeling the hooks at the end. In a swift movement, he made the first move.

He flung his makeshift grappling hook at the mothula, and struck it in the side. The creature cried out as Link tore his hook back. He'd removed some of the creature's many writhing legs, and damaged its wing.

The mothula began moving rapidly around them, striking out with shiny black claws. Link darted out of the way of a flying charge from the creature, and tripped on a thick tree root.

That was very fortunate, because it struck out with its pincer right where he'd just been. Linder however, ducked under it and gave it a nice thunk in its abdomen with his cloven spear.

The strike distracted the mothula, and got it caught partly into a tree. It hung from it's already damaged wing, and the wing sickeningly ripped off.

The now fairly wounded mothula fell hard against the ground, and began rolling down into a large depression. Link took a deep breath, seeing that the mothula, for the moment, was immobile.

"That was a fine fight!" Linder said. "Great skill with your hook my friend. The best strategies turn any item into a weapon!"

"Thanks," Link replied.

He moved cautiously towards the mothula, hoping to finish it off.

The mothula started moving.

Wait. Not the mothula. The ground beneath it.

Link jumped back as a thick tree root curled around the mothula, tightening its grip as the insect tried to escape.

"Get away," Linder said in an uncharacteristically serious tone. "Now."

Link slowly retreated backward.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"A Kalle Demos," Linder said. "An ancient, vicious plant that we thought had died with old Hyrule..."

In the shadowy light, Link watched as a gigantic plant revealed itself. It was a large glowing pod, reaching out with multicolored tentacle-like roots and vines.

"It knows we are here," Linder said. "The only escape is through victory."

Link clutched his weapon tighter, gazing at the plant as it ingested the shaking mothula. After the insect was swallowed whole, the plant shockingly pulled itself up into the air by its living vines.

Unlike the mothula, this plant did not fear taking the initiative. Link began smacking away and cutting vines with his shield, having a difficult time in the low light.

Several times the tendrils began to wind around him, but he cut them before they tightened. One caught his sword arm, and he smashed the vine to the ground with his shield.

Linder was using his cloverleaf to fly out of danger, cutting vines himself.

"Link!" he called, "I need you to distract it! Just keep it occupied! I'm going to cut the vines holding it off the ground!"

Link took a deep breath after another attack. He ran beneath the plant, the snaking vines not far behind, and then into the shadows, pressing himself against a tree trunk.

Looking down, he could see the vines feeling their way around for him. Link figured that since they couldn't see, they had to be sensing for something else.

He hoped it wasn't smell.

Link decided to risk revealing himself, and ran from his hiding place.

He spun around, watching as the vines wrapped around the tree and pulled it to the ground. The vines began reaching up for Linder.

"Look out!" Linder yelled.

The vines finally snapped under the weight, and the whole plant fell down onto the forest floor. It's eerie glowing light increased, then faltered.

The massive petal like sides of the pod fell open, revealing a smaller pod inside, quivering.

Link wasn't waiting any longer.

He sprinted and jumped at the plant, and severed the inner pod. The pod's spiny opening just barely missed him, and limped onto the inside of the larger pod.

Link crushed it with his boot for good measure.

"That was incredible!" Linder floated down on his clover. "Who says you're no warrior?! You're the finest I've ever seen."

Link smiled tiredly, catching his breath.

There was movement beneath the thick petals of the plant. Link backed away defensively. A bulge pushed up the petal, then travelled to the petal's edge.

A korok peeked up through.

"Linder!" the Korok burst out.

Within moments, over a dozen Korok's began crawling out from beneath the dead plant. The Koroks had a touching reunion, all of them talking at once to their friend.

Link glanced back at the plant, where a final Korok revealed himself. This one was shorter than the others, and walked slowly and methodically towards the group.

"Makar!" Linder exclaimed with enthusiasm, embracing him.

Makar humored Linder's gesture, but seemed to be a bit less boisterous.

"Who is this Hylian?" Makar asked thoughtfully when Linder finally let him go.

"This is Link!" Linder said, "he is the finest warrior I've ever seen, and he is the reason why these woods are reclaimed!"

"Hmm," Markar hummed thoughtfully. It sounded like wood softly creaking.

"Thank you my Hylian friend," Makar said.

The Korok looked up at the light descending through the forest canopy.

"Celebrations can come later. For now, we have a great work we must accomplish."