Random abandoned mansion in the mountains.

Okay, I like Yeta, but when she turns into that monster, she's just freaky!

Chapter 36: Snowpeak Ruins

The inside of the mansion was in ruins. The floors were coated in ice and parts of the ceiling had caved in. The staircase had collapsed and hunks of ice were scattered around. But the carpets and suits of armor were still intact, as were the paintings on the walls. Who had owned this mansion? What a strange place. And where did the Yeti go?

Link walked across the entrance hall and through a door. We found ourselves in a cozy room with a fire blazing in the hearth. Sitting on a red couch was another creature like the Yeti, though smaller and wearing a diamond-pattern cloak of some sort.

She turned her head towards us at our approach. Her face peered out from under the hood of her cloak.

"Uh… Sorry… I have sickness, uh. Come closer, uh?" Link walked up to her obligingly. "You cute little human. Husband told me you come. You want to look at mirror, uh?" So, she was Yeto the Yeti's wife?

Yeta continued. "My husband found it, but it pretty thing, uh. But… since I get mirror, I get sick, and then bad monsters appear… So many bad things happen since mirror." That just proves the evil power of the Mirror of Twilight. Zant was just asking for trouble when he scattered those pieces around Hyrule. Not that he cared.

"So we lock bedroom on third floor where it hangs, uh?" Locking it in a room won't make the evil power go away. "Wait… I tell you where key is."

She motioned to a map of the mansion that lay on the table. Link brought it to her and she pointed out an area on the map.

"Fever makes head blurry, but… It probably here in the room marked by this symbol. But right now… can't even get up. Would you bring it to me, uh? Start with door right here." She motioned to the door behind her.

Link followed her advice and we ended up in a kitchen. The Yeti was cooking soup over a fire. He looked up as we approached.

"Uh! You!" As Link approached, Yeto continued talking. "Wife… look bad, uh? Not healthy since mirror. So I make soup for her. Fish from Zora village are most nutritious! You tired, uh? You have some. It give you energy!"

Link peered into the massive pot of soup and jumped as he found a face looking back at him. The head of the reekfish was sticking out of the broth. Well… it might just be me, but that soup looked like it needed a bit something else in it.

Link followed the map Yeta gave him to the supposed location of the key. When we got to the room, we were ambushed by weird ice creatures wielding javelins of ice. We had to duel with them until Link was able to get around and smash them up. Finally we reached the location on the map and found… a pumpkin?

"What's this?" I exclaimed. "This isn't right! She got the wrong location! Want to go back and try to get her to remember where the key is?" So we headed all the way back. But it wasn't that simple. She gave us another location, and we battled our way past more monsters to get to where she told us to go. One particularly evil creature attacked us with a giant spiked ball on a chain. It would have certainly been lethal if he'd hit Link with it. Luckily Link was quick enough to dodge around it and come in with his sword. And he took the ball and chain from the dead monster. A useful weapon, but one problem. It was REALLY HEAVY. When Link was carrying it, he could only stagger around under its weight. So, of course, he had me stash it inside my Fused Shadow mask.

And guess what. Yeta gave us the wrong location again. This time we found cheese where she told us the key would be.

So, for the last time we went back to ask Yeta where the key was. They were pretty nice for big snow monsters, but Yeta sure couldn't concentrate on anything when she was sick.

We brought the pumpkin and cheese to Yeto, who added it to his soup. I don't know. Pumpkin fish cheese soup sounds a bit odd to me, but Link was too polite to refuse. He took a bottle of soup to bring with him as he set out once more to find the key. Well, in this freezing cold mansion, maybe someone needs a hot drink, even it's in such a strange combination as what Yeto made.

And FINALLY we found the key.

Once we got hold of it, Yeta met us outside the bedroom where the mirror shard was locked. She said she'd had some of the soup and felt better, so she led us into the bedroom once Link unlocked the door.

"Thank you. You come inside. Please… This way, uh." She walked over to the wall where the mirror shard was hanging. At last! We'd found the first piece!

We saw Yeta reflected in the mirror as she stood in front of it, gazing into its strange etched surface.

"Here… mirror. You look at it, uh. Uh… So pretty. Pretty… Uh… So pretty…"

Something was wrong. Yeta started twitching and a strange shadow fell over her.

"Pretty… Pretty…mirror… Lovely." She started groaning, and suddenly she wheeled around and we were no longer facing Yeta's sweet face, but the face of a monster! The mirror had turned her into a monster!

"NOT TAKE MIRROR!" she screeched.

Suddenly all the windows shattered and ice shards came pouring in through the cracked glass. The ice swirled around the monster Yeta and lifted her into the air, forming a massive ice barrier around her. The ice mass landed on the frozen floor and started sliding at Link. I quickly handed Link the ball and chain and he swung it over his head into the ice block, cracking it. He rolled to the side out of the way of the sliding ice monster and smashed the chain mace into it again, further cracking the ice shield around the ice monster.

Over and over again he bashed the ice until it finally shattered and Yeta fell to the ground. Was that it? Had we won?

But no! She let out a screeching cry and suddenly a ring of huge pointed ice cones formed around her and she enveloped herself in more ice armor. She floated into the air above us, surrounded by the ice cones.

All of a sudden, the ice blocks began falling. Link started running, but his feet slipped on the icy ground and he had to drop and roll to keep from getting smashed. He quickly wheeled around and used the chain mace to bash a few blocks out of the way. Then the massive ice shield containing monster-Yeta dropped.

Link slid quickly out of the way. I couldn't help thinking that ice skates might be useful in this situation, but I decided not to mention that to Link while he was fighting such a monster.

With another bash of the mace, he cracked Yeta's shield, but if floated up into the air again and started trying to flatten us again. One of the blocks struck him and he went sliding across the floor until he bumped into the wall. The blocks surrounded him, ready to crush him as he was cornered, but Link kicked himself away from the wall and slid away on his back just before the ice spears impaled him. As Yeta's ice block dropped too, Link, still sliding along the floor, twisted around and sent the chain mace skittering across the floor where it shattered Yeta's shield. The monster slammed back against the wall and shrieked in fury. She fell to the floor and the ice dissolved, leaving the room in its previous state.

Yeta, back to herself, was on the floor, stunned.

And there was the mirror shard.

I emerged, sighing in rfelief. "Well, we have two mirror shards now." Two including the one left in the mirror frame. I took the second shard. "Two more left, Link. Still… I feel bad about the way we treated that girl." It wasn't her fault she attacked us. It was the magic of the mirror. She had been nice to bring us to the mirror and offer it to us. Even if she did make us wander all over looking for the key.

"To think the Mirror of Twilight has the power to change people like that." It was disturbing. What else would we encounter that was brought about by this dark magic? "This world… ALL worlds… can be cruel." I stowed the mirror shard inside my mask. "Let's hurry up and collect the rest of those pieces, Link! We have to before more innocent creatures have to endure the suffering this poor girl did." What else would we have to face before it was all over?

I opened a portal. "Well, let's go search for the two that remain."

Just then the door opened and Yeto stomped in. He saw Yeta lying on the ground and let out a mighty roar. He charged forwards, knocking Link to the side, and leaned over Yeta.

"Uh…" Yeta groaned. "Uh… What… What wrong with me?"

Yeto helped her sit up. It was funny how much bigger than her he was.

"Very strange… You just dreaming, uh," he said in his booming voice.

"Yeto!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Mirror you gave…" she turned towards the empty spot on the wall where the mirror shard hung.

Yeto shook his head. "Forget mirror, Yeta. No. Look into eyes of Yeto. Look in reflection of Yeto's eyes. There true beauty!"

I felt like we were intruding on something. They didn't even notice Link and I sitting by my portal.

Yeto lifted Yeta in his arms. "Who need mirror?"

"My love, uh!"

They hugged each other.

"Ah, Yeti love," I sighed, giggling to myself. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Link stepped into the portal and we left the mansion in the mountains.