Chapter 2
As they explored the village, Link came across a sign, pointing north, that said "To the lake." A path led through the woods past the sign. It curved out of sight a few yards in. On the opposite side of the village there was another path, but there was no sign. There was no telling what was at the other end of the path. Link made mental notes to remember his way around in case he had to be quick. Turning around, he saw that the Hayens were out in the streets looking for him. He quickly grabbed Tael and ducked behind a nearby building.
Garod went straight across the street and entered another building, except this one was made of wood, unlike the other stone houses. As soon as the other villagers had passed out of view, Link ran across the path and knocked on the door. A small hole opened up in the door and Link saw a gray eye peering out from the dark. The door opened and he was quickly pulled inside as the door shut. It smelled of cedar and rock dust in the old, dark house.
Link couldn't imagine what could be causing that strange, burning, powdery smell in there. Suddenly he heard a grinding sound and a small glow appeared in front of him. He jumped as he saw the small, frail old man's face illuminated from below. The man called Garod was rubbing stones together, and they had started glowing.
"Follow me," he whispered and creaked across the floorboards toward the wall to the right of the front door. Fumbling around with his buttoned pocket, he pulled out a small key, shaped like a snake, with an emerald embedded in its eye. Then, prying out a small wood chip from the wall, he shoved the key into the hole and turned it.
There was a small click from somewhere in the room. Garod stumbled over to a table and pushed it aside. "Help me lift this, will you?" he said quietly, beckoning to Link. He cautiously walked over to Garod, and the man started feeling around on the floor. Link squatted down next to him and noticed a rusting hinge in the old boards at his feet.
"Oh! Here we are. Move over a bit, you're standing on the trapdoor," Garod said, and shoved his fingers into a crack between the floorboards. Link watched as he lifted a small square of the floor up, revealing a stairway below. He followed closely behind Garod as they started down the dark stairs. Garod turned around and pointed to the opening above.
"Make sure to close that!" he whispered. Link reluctantly backed up and grabbed the trapdoor, lowering it until it was closed. Now the only light came from Garod's glowing rocks. Stopping near the bottom of the stairway, Garod turned and placed one stone in a small notch in the wall.
It started glowing brighter, and Link squinted to see past the light shining in his eyes. Garod gasped and stumbled over, and Link tried to grab him with his left hand. Realizing it was in a sling, his right arm shot out in front of Garod. He would have to get used to this.
"My books..." Garod mumbled in pain. Link looked up, and as his eyes adjusted to the odd light, he saw a small room, with hundreds of papers scattered across the floor, books lying face down, pages torn out, and bookshelves leaning against each other, some with broken shelves. He couldn't even see the floor.
The old man grasped the edge of a bookcase, and Link flinched as it creaked, leaning over the slightest bit. Garod didn't seem to notice and continued to mumble worriedly as he shuffled through the papers, trying to get them in order. Link quickly stepped down to the floor and tried to help him sort the papers, asking him which should go where. They started organized piles on the stairs, and worked their way through the room, trying to create enough room to stack papers on the floor.
Tael flew around above, trying to help but not able to lift anything. He flew along a few inches above the papers and read off page numbers and titles; anything he could find. Noticing a bit of color in the sea of yellowed paper, he hovered closer and took a look at the piece of paper. It looked like a map.
"Link, come over here," he called. Link shuffled through the papers as quickly as he could, and lifted the map. It was in good condition, compared with the rest of the library. Seeing "Hayen Village" upside down on the right side of the paper, he quickly flipped it over and continued looking. This could be useful later on.
"Hey, would you let me borrow this, or at least copy it or something?" he asked in Garod's direction, holding up the map.
"Ah! That's what I was looking for! Come over here," the old man replied with a toothless grin. Link found his way along the path he had created, and sat down on the bottom step next to Garod. "Now, this is a map of Myrennia. Over here is where the haunted mountains are; that's where I think the dark kid hides." He pointed to the east edge of the map.
"How can I get into the dark world?"
"Well, if one wants to travel between the light and dark worlds, one needs the pearl of darkness. Supposedly, the king knows something about it, so he would be the one to talk to," Garod said. "I'm not sure how that kid got the pearl, but...well, anyway, I wanted to help you, so take this map, and I also have a spare Glode rock for you."
He held his hand out to Link, holding the other rock he had been using. "Rub it against any hard surface nearby to make it glow, but it'll wear off after about an hour, so use it wisely."
"Thanks," Link said, "here, let me help you clean the rest of this up."
"Oh, you don't have to!" protested Garod.
"No, you need the help, and I need some way to thank you. I'll put all the paper into stacks, and you can sort them," Link said, standing up and getting to work straightening his previous piles.
"Well...thank you, you're too kind...I just wish I knew how this happened..."
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Link set off down the path into the forest in the direction of the lake. Taking a look at his map one more time, he confirmed the location of the castle, on the other side of the lake. As soon as the trees parted, he froze. One eyebrow raised. Over the center of the lake, nearly black clouds were crowding above a small island.
As far as he could tell, the island was covered in snow. It looked half a mile away, and there was white mist or something blocking his view. Suddenly a cold breeze swooped in from the lake, and he shivered. He started moving again, and as he rounded the lake along a path between sand dunes, a huge palace came out from behind the storm, just where it was shown on the map.
"Hey...do you think we'll have an easy time talking with the king? We probably won't be allowed in..." Tael mumbled.
"...You're right," Link said, stopping again. "Well, let's go anyway, and we'll see when we get there. There may be another town there."
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As they approached the castle, Link noticed how large it was. Getting a look through the archway on the other side of the drawbridge, he saw there was a small village within the outer wall, and then behind another wall lay the castle. A small stream connected the moat and the lake ahead. There was a stone road stretching west into the forest, and it crossed the stream, leading to the drawbridge.
Before he went through the gateway, he turned around and looked at the small island again, shaking his head. The clouds were still there, and only there. "You know, I think it might be a good idea if I went alone," Link said, recalling Tael's big mouth.
"That's not fair!" Tael shouted. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have found anything out about Dark Link!"
"Well, if...if..." Link looked at Tael for a few seconds, then groaned and said, "fine. But we don't want to attract attention. Trust me; when I first went into a town with Navi, everyone-"
"Who's Navi?" Tael asked. It occurred to Link that he had never told Tael about Navi.
"She was my old guardian fairy. She disappeared a year ago. I was looking for her when skullkid found me and led me into Termina. But that's beside the point. Most townspeople don't see fairies often, and I don't want people staring at us. Just hide under my hat or something." With that, he grabbed Tael, lifted his hat, and shoved him in, pulling the hat back over his head.
"Hey! Let me out!" Tael screeched from inside.
"Be quiet. You can either hide under my hat or stay out here."
"Fine! So let me go already!"
Link sighed and took his hat off again, and Tael flew around in a circle a few times to stretch himself. "Now, just stay here until I get back. If you get bored, too bad, this was your choice." He adjusted his hat until it was comfortable, and then casually walked through the market gates.
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Lively red, blue and yellow banners flapped in the wind. Neatly pruned bushes, flowers and trees were crowded together in several small, contained earth mounds. The upbeat sound of fiddles, flutes and tambourines played throughout the market. The delicious aroma of freshly baked bread wafted into Link's nostrils. He looked around with a crooked open-mouthed smile. This was even better than Hyrule Market.
"The freshest fish in Myrennia! Get them while you can!"
"Beautiful beaded necklaces from afar! They're on sale only today!"
Link pushed his way through the crowd, looking at each booth he passed. The variety of products was endless. There were artistic glass vases, twisted wind chimes, freshly fried cucco, even scented firewood. He was inspecting a rug when he realized that he didn't even have any rupees with him and he had no use for a rug. Shaking his head, he tried to block out the vendors' shouts and headed toward the inner wall.
Finding his way through the crowd, he found that an iron gate guarded by a soldier blocked the path up to the castle. Link approached him, imagining what to say. The guard looked down at him and cleared his throat.
"Can I help you?"
"Well...I need to see the king," Link replied.
"I'm sorry, but you can't get in without the king's permission," he said. "Were you invited?"
"No, but...I need to see him...I have to ask him some questions."
"Well, like I said, unless you have a signed letter allowing you inside, I can't let you through."
"Ok, well...thanks anyway..." Link said, wandering off into the crowd. He had to see the king. It was his only hope for stopping Dark Link. But how could he get in?
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