Link's Awakening

Chapter Thirteen: Crazy Tracy

Up until that point, I had only explored about a quarter of the island, and leaving Mabe Village the next morning to pass through a whole different region made me a little nervous, given what I had already been through. I remember that it was still raining as I headed out, this time walking toward the east so that I could search for the mysterious Tracy, if she was even still around since the map I found in the library was quite old… so into the prairie I went, constantly on guard for the ones the owl had warned me about… the evil forces who would try to stop me from waking the Wind Fish at any cost.

The prairie was different than the forest and the shoreline, consisting of tall grasses and mostly dead trees, with a barely visible path beaten down to lead the way. It looked like someone had spread out a bunch of gravel a long time ago in the attempt to establish a permanent road, but now only a few of the larger rocks were still visible, while grass was pushing its way up between them. One good thing about the unending rain was that the gathering water weighed down a lot of the taller grass, allowing the young man to see more of what was around him, but according to the map… this part of the island was mostly empty.

A few birds cawed at him, larger black birds that were watching Link as he continued on the path, but other than that his path was largely unobstructed. No Moblins, nor any other strange creatures jumped out from behind the dead trees, making the young man wonder if the owl hadn't been exaggerating the importance of the instruments he had collected so far, especially since this easily manageable walk continued on for more than an hour until he came across a wooden sign with a guiding arrow that read:

CRAZY TRACY'S HEALTH SPA

THIS WAY

Pointing left in an obvious fashion, Link didn't see any reason why he shouldn't follow the sign, since it literally carried the name of the person of the person he was searching for, and the path got a lot more obvious not long after. Stepping onto a well maintained road made of crushed rock like the ones found in Hyrule, there were a couple more signs that kept steering him in a northeast direction, and then it appeared; Crazy Tracy's Health Spa, or at least that was what the big wooden sign on the roof of the cottage as he approached.

Some steam was coming from over on the left side of the cottage, and when he got closer, Link saw that it was coming from what looked like a hot spring, where half a dozen shirtless men were sitting in the water. This was also a common sight in bathhouses in Hyrule, so yes, the young man was pretty well convinced that this place was a health spa, and… and the owner must have lived there as well, since on the other side of the house there were a couple of children playing on a swing that hung from a tree branch.

One of the men in the hot spring noticed him as he got closer, and waved at Link in a friendly fashion, followed by some of the others a moment later, so of course the young man returned the gesture just before he reached the front door. It was unlocked and the latch turned easily, allowing him to get a break from the falling rain as he entered what looked like a shop that could be found in any village. However, the only variety in the items on display was the color of the liquid inside of the many glass bottles.

"Hi there, friend." A friendly voice greeted him. "Welcome to Crazy Tracy's Health Spa; I'm your hostess, Crazy Tracy, and once you see my prices, you'll understand how I got the name."

The overly friendly and cheerful voice came from the… very attractive dark-haired woman sitting next to the counter with her legs crossed. With her hair tied back with an oversized red bow, and a smile that was almost as big, this woman had probably rehearsed that greeting hundreds of times, but it still sounded so genuine that it was hard to resist the urge to buy something. She was just so… cute, and maybe only a few years older than Marin, but… but Link wasn't there to make friends… he had come all the way there to find this woman, or at least he hoped that it was her, so it was time to find out what she knew.

"Thank you, this is a, uh… nice place." The young man said, trying not to sound too awkward. "Excuse me, uh… Tracy, but I'm looking for someone, and I was hoping that you could help me."

Negotiation and interrogating suspects hadn't been Link's strongest topics during guard training, but thankfully Crazy Tracy was a professional merchant, who was more than willing to help him out, provided that the young man was willing to try a sample of one of her latest health potions. Without warning, the brunette dipped a spoon into a vat of some green liquid next to her, and shoved it into his mouth, causing Link to start coughing and take a step back as the potion went down his throat.

Burning hot, and tasting like dried leaves, the young man's eyes were starting to tear up as he considered running outside to let some rainwater fall into his mouth, but then something happened. All at once, Link's body began to tingle kind of like when he slept on his leg wrong all night, but then the lingering fatigue that he had been feeling since washing up on Koholint Island just… faded away. All of the cuts and injuries he had taken in the Tail Cave, the grotto, and everywhere else was just gone in a matter of seconds, making the young man wish that he had some rupees on him because apparently her potions were the real deal.

When asked how he felt, the young man coughed a little more while trying to say that he honestly never felt better in his life, since he hadn't, but then it was finally his turn to ask questions of someone who might actually know things. So Link started out by introducing himself, and saying that he had recently washed up on the island after his ship got destroyed in a bad storm. He told her about finding the old map at the library in Mabe Village, and that it led him to her health spa, where the young man hoped to find the whereabouts of the last stranger to wash up on the island.

"My, that was a while ago now, wasn't it?" Tracy asked, not losing her cheerful attitude as she leaned on the counter. "Just about twelve years ago, if you're talking about my husband… he was so cute, just washed up on shore like a little piece of driftwood."

"Oh good, you do know him." Link sighed with relief. "I was worried you wouldn't be the same Tracy that was written on the map, but… husband? I'm sorry, but you don't look old enough to be married for… a decade."

The brunette giggled, thanking him for the compliment, but assuring the young man that she was not only married to the past person to come from outside the island, but that it was their two children who were playing on the swing outside. Seriously, this woman barely looked any older than Marin, but she insisted that her and the last castaway had a family together, but unfortunately her husband was away on business at another part of the island… and Tracy wasn't sure when he would be back.

"It's really important that I find him." Link continued, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice. "There's so much about this place that just doesn't make any sense, and now this ridiculous owl has me running around in circles, and I just want to find my…

"Owl?!" The brunette exclaimed, interrupting him. "No… no, no, no… please, Link, please tell me you're not trying to wake up the Wind Fish."

Apparently, she knew something about that, too, but before the young man could ask any more questions, she cut him off again, telling Link that the best thing he could do was go back to Mabe Village and forget all about it. The owl, the legend of the Siren Instruments, the Wind Fish, all of it was nothing more than a fairy tale, and if the young man valued his life, then he would give up on the whole thing before it was too late. The last piece of advice Tracy gave him was that it anyone else asked him the same questions, he should swear on his life that he wasn't trying to wake the Wind Fish, and then Link got the feeling that it was time for him to go.

Maybe the crazy part of her name wasn't just for the prices, the young man thought after politely telling her goodbye, and then he walked away, stepping back through the door and out into the rain. The shirtless men must've gotten tired of the water, because they were no longer sitting in the hot spring, and… no, the two children were still playing under the tree, only now they were chasing each other around while laughing, and…

"Halt, in the name of the Prince!" A loud voice suddenly ordered. "Drop your weapons and submit to arrest!"

Looking back ahead as soon as he heard the voice, Link's hand instinctively went for his sword, but then he stopped when he saw that a half dozen men had him surrounded… shirtless men who were now pointing very sharp looking sword at him. Looking back over at the hot spring, and noticing for the first time that armor and shields were stacked up against the wall of the cottage, it only now entered the young man's mind that these people had been waiting for him at the health spa… but how would they have known who he was, or… that he was going there at all.

"I repeat, drop your weapons." The leader of the men continued, keeping his sword ready. "Prince Richard, the Lord of all Koholint Island, has ordered that you be brought in to answer for your crimes… or executed if you resist… now drop your sword, or fall with it."

Crimes? What crimes, Link wondered? Whatever the reasons were for this ambush, the young man knew that even with Tracy's potion, he was no match for six armed men at once, so he slowly took the sword from his sheath, and dropped it on the ground. Doing the same with his shield, Link figured that even if he was being taken away for some kind of trial, at least the ruler of this place would probably be able to tell him more than the brunette had… once the misunderstanding was cleared up, that is.

"As of this moment, you are now the prisoner of Prince Richard." The leader said as the others tied his hands. "You are to obey all orders given to you by the Royal Guard, and any resistance to such orders or attempts to escape will be considered an admission of guilt, and you will be executed. Now march, prisoner."

One of the men stayed behind to gather their armor and shields, while the rest led the young man down the road in a different direction where the ruler of Koholint Island was waiting for him.