Chapter Four
"Well," Link pronounced as he readied himself for whatever lied ahead in the dungeon before him. "Let's see what happens."
The entrance to the Tail Cave was, not surprisingly, built into a hillside. A small cavity that led to a dark tunnel inwards was blocked off by a set of thick metals bars with gaps between too small to allow the passage of anything larger than a small rodent. Three strange statues were built in front of the gate, the center of which contained a keyhole that Link and his guide now stood in front of.
Marin took a step back as Link carefully inserted the key and turned it. Immediately, the ground beneath them began to vibrate. Link looked up as he heard a strange screeching sound emanating from the cave entrance. He was actually intimidated for a moment before he realized that the sound was caused by the center three rusty bars of the gate lifting up into the ceiling rather than some strange monster. The space it left was large enough to give Link passage.
Link looked to Marin with a smile.
"I don't suppose you want to join me in there?"
Marin chuckled as she rubbed her arm. "I have my boundaries, Link. I'll wait right here for you, though."
Link shook his head and put an arm on her shoulder. "No need to do that. You have no idea how long I'll be in here. Go on home, and I'll tell you about it later."
"Are you sure? It's not that big of a deal for me to stay…"
"I'll be fine, Marin. Trust me."
Link gave her a final reassuring smile as he walked towards the entrance to the cave and readied his sword and shield. Marin watched until he had completely disappeared into the darkness.
"I thought you said you would be fine," Marin teased as she dressed a bandage on Link's arm.
"I am fine," Link pouted.
"Link, there's blood all over you."
"I got that from scrapping my arm against the floor when trying to dodge Moldorm's attack. I could have gotten an injury that serious from tripping on a rock in Mabe. And that small cut on my shoulder isn't even worth mentioning."
Marin frowned, but only to hide her amusement. Link had already given a full account of his venture into the Tail Cave, from its monsters to its puzzles, and to its secrets. Link now watched the seagulls in the sky outside the open window to Tarin's cabin while Marin washed and bandaged his injuries.
"Hmm. Of course it was that simple. Anyways, what did you find at the end of the dungeon?"
Link motioned to free his arm for a moment so he could reach for his rucksack. Link dumped its largest possession on the table. Marin marveled as she picked the unfamiliar item up and looked it over.
Seeing Marin's fascination with it, Link explained, "It's called the Full Moon Cello. An interesting name, considering that it has two crescent moons carved out of its face."
"How do you know what it's called?" Marin asked gently as she looked into his eyes.
Link couldn't help but grimace. "I ran into that owl again after I got out. He told me."
"And did he tell you where to go next?"
"What do you mean?"
"He wants you to wake the Wind Fish, right? You'll need the other seven Instruments of the Sirens to do that. At least that is how the myth goes."
"… He told me to go to the Bottle Grotto. I don't suppose you know where that is?"
Marin thought about it for a moment. She was preparing to answer when someone else spoke first.
"North of the Mysterious Woods. It's not too hard to find. The only difficulty is getting to the entrance. It's in the middle of a swamp, and the brush blocking the way is impassably thick."
Link had nearly forgotten that Tarin was on his bed reading a book from the village library. He stood up to join the others as he spoke.
"Brush? Is that all there is? No key to get in?" Link asked.
Tarin shook his head. "Not as far as I can tell. But good luck trying to get through that stuff. 'Cut myself up pretty bad trying to see what was inside once."
"Sounds like you would need something very sharp to get in," Marin said with a sly look on her face. "Like sharp teeth."
Link's face registered confusion until he realized what she was getting after. "No… no, no, no, that's never going to happen, Marin! How do you know about that incident, anyways?" Link looked at Tarin, who shrugged out of guilt, only adding to Marin's amusement.
"You mean to tell me that the great Hero of Hyrule can take down the biggest monsters, but is terrified of some woman's pet?"
"That's exactly right. If I could just kill it, that's one issue; it wouldn't be my first time. The real problem is that I'm expected to act like there isn't a sharp-toothed monster chained up in the middle of town."
Marin began to chide Link for criticizing someone's pet, but her words trailed off as a wailing voice from outside grew steadily louder. All three jumped when someone began to rap loudly on the door. Tarin answered it, revealing a somewhat heavy-set middle-aged woman Link hadn't meet before with tears streaming down her eyes.
Even Tarin looked uncomfortable when the woman threw her arms around him.
"Oh Tarin, Tarin! It's just too terrible!"
"Umm… I'm confused."
"My precious BowWow… my pride and joy… He was dognapped, Tarin! I was returning home from a walk, and I saw moblins carrying him away towards the mountains! I can't believe it, Tarin… you must save him!"
"Me?" Tarin muttered uneasily.
"It's you or no one!"
Tarin's face was a mixture of shock and horror. Link watched the episode unfold in silence until Marin bumped his shoulder. He looked at her only reluctantly, knowing what Marin was aiming for- Link to volunteer to help. But going off to save BowWow was a horrible idea- the world would be better off if the moblins killed it and helped contribute to the extinction of all chain chomps.
"I can do it." Link nearly covered his mouth in surprise at what he had said, while Marin shook her fist in a feeling of accomplishment. Upon hearing Link's words, the older woman quickly stopped crying and released Tarin. She then walked towards Link with open arms, causing him to back his chair up as far as he could before running into the table.
"You would do that, young boy? You really would?"
"Duty is duty, ma'am," Link answered less than enthusiastically.
The woman squealed and proceeded to wrap Link in a tight hug. It was intense enough that even Marin and Tarin grimaced as if sharing in Link's pain.
"Link's not going to be able to help you dead," Marin remarked, coming to Link's aid. The woman laughed her off but did ultimately relent.
"Alright, alright. I can't thank you enough! Please, I'd give anything to have him back... I'm Madame MeowMeow, by the way."
Link smiled back, actually genuinely this time. "It shouldn't be an issue. Does anyone know exactly where I should be looking?"
"There's quite a few caves along the mountainside," Tarin suggested. "I'd start there."
Link stood up and went to his sleeping mat for his sword and shield in full expectation of Marin's reaction.
"Wait, Link… you don't actually plan on going now, right? You're still recovering from getting the cello! I think you've had enough action for one day."
Link continued to gather his belongings. "The longer we wait, the further they can take BowWow away and do something bad to him. And if I delay today, I risk running out of daylight. The sooner the better. Madame MeowMeow, you agree, yes?"
Madame MeowMeow nodded her head quickly. "Yes, yes, absolutely! Link knows best!"
Rather than trying to fight Marin any longer, Link directly headed for the door. He said his goodbyes as he rolled down his sleeve covering the arm that had been treated. "I'll be back in time for dinner tonight, so plan for three."
"Make it four," Madame MeowMeow added as Link started his journey.
Link's reasoning was actually legitimate- he had little idea where to look for the moblins that kidnapped BowWow, and he didn't want to get involved in a scuffle in the dark. Link first passed through the Mysterious Forest, as it was the only route to the north that Link was aware of. After returning to the Koholint Prairie, Link pushed further north to the nearby mountain range.
In a fight against daylight, Link spent the next hour scurrying along the mountain ledges' rocks and crevices for any sign of a potential hideout. After finding no such evidence, the Hylian turned to a different approach. Link pushed higher up into the mountains and took a perch on an outcropping looking over the scenery below. Here, he had the ability to watch the various moblins as they marched across the island. Though most of the island that he could monitor seemed relatively devoid of movement, there was a small area of high activity not far way. Taking note of their patterns, Link noticed that a significant number of moblins passed behind a certain hillside and never reappeared, while others came out from it seemingly out of nowhere.
Link now had his prime target. As he pushed himself off of the rock to finish his mission, though, Link paused as he looked over the island for the first time for the simple sake of admiring it. Koholint truly was a beautiful place. To the east he could see a significant amount of unfamiliar land- a second community, a sizeable castle, a majestic bay. All locations that the residents of Mabe found to be too dangerous to return to, all full of potential secrets. The more Link thought of it, the stranger Koholint seemed. The island was so isolated, and its residents so strange. There was a talking owl, a woman named Madame MeowMeow with a pet monster, and a giant egg resting on top of a mountain. Link craned his head to get a look at it. Link could almost feel a strange force emanating from it. Marin was right- Link had to follow the owl. His curiosity had to be satisfied.
Link took a minute to breath in the fresh air before leaping down and once again preparing himself for a fight.
As Link had expected, upon circling the aforementioned hill he had spotted from the mountainside, he was greeted with the sight of a cave entrance. The interior of the cave was relatively bare, which suggested to Link that either the moblins were not intelligent enough to build well-designed accommodations, or that they were constantly on a rotation between bases. Both seemed like reasonable possibilities.
Whatever the case, the inside of the cave was stark. In the first chamber, the room was entirely empty with the exception of a few torches lining the cavern walls, various weapons scattered around the floor, and a single moblin.
The moblin, seeing Link's approach, reached for a spear resting against the wall. Link, rather than trying to charge it and kill it with his sword before the moblin could react, also went for a nearby spear. Between Link's speed and closer proximity to a weapon, the moblin didn't stand a stance. Thankfully, it also gave no warning before dying, allowing Link to continue onward undetected.
The second chamber, accessible by a pathway in the back corner, turned out to be more of a chore to overcome. A sort of meeting was in progress, which Link had the misfortune of walking in on. The moblin in the first room was presumably a guard that had miserably failed his duty.
These moblins were better equipped for a fight, as they had their weapons resting next to them where they sat in a circle. However, their combat organization was not well thought out. Rather than ambushing Link, they allowed the more experienced fighter to control the pace of the battle. Link was able to zone them well enough with his sword that he could take either one or two moblins on directly. Link took one down after another, though he did earn a couple cuts in the process, each of which would inevitably earn a scolding from Marin.
At least Madame MeowMeow would be happy, because Link could hear what was presumably BowWow thrashing against its imprisonment down the next hallway.
Once walking through the next passage, rather than seeing BowWow, Link found a final moblin larger than the others he had faced who appeared to be their leader. He was already armed and was seemingly waiting for the fight.
"Ah, an assassin! Sent by Madame MeowMeow, I presume?"
"I wasn't aware that your kind could speak. Why didn't you help out your friends while I was back there finishing them off?"
"I wanted this to be an even fight," the moblin said with a toothy grin.
Link chuckled haughtily. "Whatever. One last question- what exactly was your reasoning for stealing the chain chomp, anyways? Why now?"
"I have heard of your arrival, Messenger of Awakening; the one to challenge our authority is here. We determined we would need the strongest creatures of Koholint on our side if we hoped to defeat the one spoken of."
"Well, you're not wrong. I'm satisfied… I'm all yours, moblin!"
The fight didn't last long. Though the moblin was undoubtedly stronger than the others, it also fought recklessly, meaning Link only had to make strategic moves to finish him off. The moblin's words were more interesting than the fight, but Link didn't have time to process them too much.
Link was probably more intimidated by BowWow alone than the entire army he had just taken down. He took each step gingerly after seeing BowWow tied up in the back of the next room. BowWow was chained to a post, as usual, but would still able to attack Link within a certain range. Despite having second guesses, Link crossed into this territory. Thankfully, BowWow made no motion of attack. Even so, Link was delicate in undoing the chain, making sure to not accidently tug on BowWow and possibly provoking him.
Once Link had the chain under his control, he slowly walked around the chain chomp and towards the tunnel out. Hopefully, BowWow would follow him before Link had to start physically dragging him.
Linked winced as he felt the chain behind him slacken, indicating that BowWow was finally moving in for the kill.
Rather than feeling the sensation of being eaten, though, Link merely felt a blast of air. Before he could open his eyes, Link was nearly pulled to the ground as he was suddenly being dragged forward himself. BowWow wasn't trying to kill Link- he was merely leading him out off the dungeon. Link had to decide whether to let go of the chain or follow BowWow's lead. Link chose the later, as he was more concerned about not being able to keep up with the chain chomp's pace and losing him rather than getting hauled in the dirt.
Fortunately, the turns on the way out kept BowWow from gaining enough speed to bring Link to the ground, and the chain chomp stopped once back outside, allowing Link to regain his breath. BowWow bounced around until he faced Link directly.
"What do you want?" Link asked the creature as he leaned against the rocks outside.
BowWow only stared at him.
"Don't look at me like that. I just saved you, you know. You should do something useful rather than just looking at me like I'm supposed to do something else. Well, I'll tell you what I'm supposed to be doing- getting into that Bottle Grotto. I thought you might be able to get me in there, but I'm not exactly confident given your attitude right now."
After Link finished his spiel, BowWow took a couple of bounces to rotate his strange metal orb of a body before taking off to the west. Link groaned- he had let go of the chain while resting, forcing him to try and catch up.
BowWow apparently had much more stamina than Link, as he slowly extended his lead, allowing Link to only keep BowWow in his sights during longer straight paths. This game went on until Link was led into a swamp covering a swath of the land along the mountain range, slowing him down even further. Link began to grumble until he realized where he was- the swamp surrounding Bottle Grotto. Link couldn't help but smile as he trudged on.
BowWow was not far ahead. By the time Link arrived, the chain chomp had already cleared out a path through the brush to the dungeon's entrance. Despite his misgivings, Link patted BowWow on the side, who had been staring at him with his mouth hanging slightly open expectantly.
"Alright, I'll give it to you. You did it… You really did it."
Marin exhaled deeply as the constant wind blowing off the ocean onto Koholint from all directions sent their laundry line into a spin and wrecked havoc on her hair. It also had the added effect of blowing the scent of a ready dinner from inside the house in her direction. Madame MeowMeow had already arrived and, upon discovering that Link had not returned, began bemoaning that the mission must have failed and BowWow was lost forever. Link was of course fine, but Marin didn't have any interest in listening to the woman predict how his demise had occurred. Marin had excused herself on the pretense that she needed to check on the clothes, though she was well aware that they wouldn't be dry yet.
At least the wind gave her the opportunity to straighten the lines. As she readjusted the clothes, though, she found her gaze drifting to east. The sun had already fallen over the other horizon, and twilight was beginning to creep forward. Maybe Link really had gotten himself in too deep this time.
Marin's melancholy didn't last long. She spun around as she heard more screaming from the house. Madame MeowMeow, not surprisingly, came running around the corner with her arms in the air. She shook a surprised Marin by the shoulders.
"It's him! It's my BowWow! You can hear him, can't you, young girl?"
"Uhh… I don't think so, but maybe y-."
"- No, no, it's most definitely him! Coming from that direction!" Madame MeowMeow pointed towards the Mysterious Forest.
Marin would have shrugged her shoulders had they not still been under the older woman's control.
"I'm sure you're right, I ju-."
Marin cut herself off this time when she finally did hear what was unquestionably the sound of BowWow's heavy hops. Moments later, BowWow came into view, making leaps across the path from the forest into Mabe. Link followed just behind holding onto BowWow's chain.
"Oh, look how close they are, Marin! Your friend is walking my boy!"
Marin couldn't help but laugh in amusement and relief. Link looked like he was having difficulty keeping up with the chain chomp, and he would have no time to rest before Madame MeowMeow ran out to meet them. She first hugged BowWow before hugging Link and singing him praises. Marin's chuckling only tapered off after Madame MeowMeow gave him a gross kiss.
Eventually, Madame MeowMeow revealed her desire to take BowWow back to her house before returning to eat, leaving Link and Marin alone. Marin regained her amusement as he walked up to her unattended.
"Well, congratulations, Hero," she teased. "You've finally overcome your greatest fear, I see. Nothing can stop you now."
Link actually did carry a new air of confidence, but perhaps it was his humble beginnings that prevented him from ever being completely lost. "You say that, but I think that passage into Bottle Grotto would have been too much for me. Thankfully I had BowWow to take care of it before I let the Madame take him back."
Marin eyed him suspiciously. "You don't plan on going there tonight, do you?"
Link laughed as he ruffled Marin's hair. "No, of course not! I'm far too hungry for that!"
Marin followed him as he walked towards the door. "Madame MeowMeow would be disappointed if we started without her."
"Well, as long as long as I'm one of the people eating, I don't think she'll get onto us."
Marin paused. "You're probably right about that," she said with a hint of bitterness.
Though Madame MeowMeow's unrestrained displays of affection towards Link rubbed Marin the wrong way, the night was still a success. She and Tarin had put together a nice meal that helped Link reenergize after a long day. By the end of the night, all four were enjoying themselves. When Madame MeowMeow finally left, she expressed her desire to have dinner again- perhaps next time inviting even more of the residents of Mabe. Tarin bit his lip, unsure how he could fit any more people at his table, but told her that he'd consider it.
By the time she had left, the three were ready to prepare for bed. One after the other, they changed clothes using a small closet. Tarin offered Link some clothes to sleep in, which Link accepted despite them being significantly too large to fit him well. All three dressed quite heavily for people about to go to sleep, an expected symptom of having an unfamiliar guest in the house. It worked to bring something to Link's attention.
"You know, it's not fair for me to keep living with you like this until I can get off the island. Is there anywhere else I can sleep, such as an inn?"
Tarin laughed. "No such thing here. No, you'll have to stay with somebody or sleep out in the grass."
"It wouldn't be my first time," Link noted as he slowly unrolled his mat.
"No, no, we wouldn't have that. It's not that much of an inconvenience. In fact, I think both me and Marin have actually enjoyed having you over. You can stay as long as you need."
Marin spun her hair around a finger as she sat down on her bed.
"How long do you think you'll be here, Link?" she asked softly.
"I honestly don't know. I have some unfinished business that I need to deal with first. Then we have to start working on that boat… Sorry that we aren't on that yet, Tarin."
"No problem there," Tarin said with a grin.
"And hopefully that owl saying I can't leave is as ridiculous as he sounds," Link mused, "Otherwise, I'm not even sure how I'm going to get off of this island if the boat doesn't work."
"What if you can't?" Marin asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Nobody's ever even tried leaving Koholint. Can it even be done?"
"I got here, didn't I? And that's never been done before. Yes, of course I can leave!"
"And that's a priority?" she pressed.
Link was a bit confused. "Yeah, of course. I love it here… I really do. But this island isn't home. Not for me. Even if it was home, I'd have to leave again at some point. My heart… my soul… it needs adventure."
Marin smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in it. "Maybe one day I can go on one of those adventures with you," she whispered. Link heard her, but she didn't seem to be saying it directly to him. Responding would almost feel like an invasion of privacy, so Link didn't comment.
The conversation quickly went quiet as the three lay down to go to sleep. Link was too busy contemplating their last conversation to close his eyes, though. He couldn't shake the feeling that he had somehow upset Marin, which greatly agitated him. He wasn't sure what he could have said differently to make matters better.
His thoughts were interrupted by a large thump that shook the floor he was lying on. Link was preparing to jump up to investigate its cause when he realized what it was. After a few seconds of shuffling, another body was perched up beside him.
"Tarin's asleep," Marin commented.
"I noticed. Why aren't you?"
"I wanted to talk a little. Are you going back to the Grotto tomorrow?"
"Probably."
"As I thought. You know where to go, so there's nothing for me to do this time. Here's my plan. I've explored a lot of the island and have a pretty good idea on where many of the Siren's dungeons are. The problem is, all of them are locked up, and I have no idea how to get them open. I'll be asking around, seeing if anyone has any leads."
"Sounds like a good idea. I'm sure the owl will show up with some advice as well."
"Finally seeing that the owl has some merit, ehh? Well, I don't want to keep you up, Link. I know you're tired. I just wanted to check in and see what's the story. G'night."
Marin shifted to start moving back to her bed when Link stopped her.
"Marin?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"You were right. I don't think I could force myself to leave the island until I see what these dungeons are really about. These instruments… they're real... at least some of them. What do you think will happen if I get them all together?"
"I don't know. You might be able to wake the Wind Fish, though."
"And what would happen if I do that? How do I even do that?"
"No one really knows what will happen if you wake the Wind Fish. Nothing tells us. They do say that maybe he'll grant you a wish."
"Yeah, that's what Tarin said. Just seems kind of vague."
"Sorry, I'd tell you if I knew. As for how to do it? … Well, no one really knows that either. The instruments are supposed to be magical, though, so they'll probably explain themselves if the time ever came. I hope they'd let me pick a song to play for the Wind Fish if I ever had the chance. I'll teach it to you later, if you remind me."
"Yeah, I'd like that," Link muttered. "I'm sorry for all the questions, you should go to sleep."
"Well, I did kind of start the conversation, so no apologizes needed. Good night, Link… again."
And with that, Marin crawled her way back to her bed. Link thought that it seemed like a strange way for their conversation to end. For some reason he wanted to say something more or… something. These bizarre thoughts kept Link up a little longer, but he ultimately settled on being glad that Marin seemed to be over her earlier melancholy. He slipped out into unconsciousness within half an hour.