Chapter 5

"Wake up, Link..." an old, raspy voice echoed in Link's head. Something grabbed him and gently shook him. Link groaned and opened his eyes. Garod stood above him. "Ah! Good, good! I was beginning to think you might not come around. You might want to consider not passing out in front of my house again tomorrow night, I won't be there."

"I passed out again? What happened?" Link squinted into the bright light and sat up. He was in the same room as last morning, but this time only Tael, Garod, and doctor Pedanski from last morning were in the room with him. The doctor spoke up.

"Garod woke me up last night after finding you. He had heard a sound outside and there you were, lying on the ground. Said you looked pretty bad. I ran some tests on you during the night. Seems you had shadow poison flowing through you. I also found traces of it on the glass bottle you had with you. Don't worry about it though; it's all right now."

"What IS shadow poison?" Link asked, his eyebrows scrunched.

"It's made from a certain plant found in the swamp to the northeast. It can be used in almost any food or drink. It's tasteless, colorless, and quite deadly. It causes the symptoms you were having last night, and then, if it isn't treated soon, it'll kill you. The only known cure is the nectar of a flower in the Kenak jungle, east of the swamp. Luckily I had some."

"Oh, and Link?" Garod said quickly, "when you're feeling better, I want you to come to my house. Remember, it's right across the path, the only one made of wood. Just come right in." He opened the door and walked outside, letting it swing shut.

"Sorry Link, but your hat's gone," Tael said. "I tried to carry it, but it was slowing me down too much, and I couldn't stand being in those woods any longer, so I left it. I went back to get it earlier this morning, but it wasn't there any more."

"That's okay," Link sighed. "I would have done the same thing. Did you ever see Dark again?"

"Nope. From the time you dropped me on the ground until the time I found you, I was alone. But I'm worried about all this. He might come to the village and do something tonight. Remember how we've never seen him in the daylight? I wonder if he finds it irritating. That may be a good thing to remember."

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"And I never got to talk with the king. The whole trip was pointless. All I got from it was a bottle full of poison. And now I don't even have that any more."

"Oh, don't worry. I washed it and saved it for you," Garod said, standing from his chair and walking into another room. Link followed. "For the time being, we can forget about the king. We need to talk about all these threats. Somehow, the stew you had was poisoned. Where did you get it?"

"I bought it from some restaurant in the market. The guy was about to close, but he let me in. He was looking at me kind of strangely."

Garod opened a door in the hallway and went into the kitchen, where the bottle was sitting on a table, sparkling. "Here you go," he said, handing it to Link. "Anyway, you know to stay away from him. Now. You say this 'Dark Link' had no reflection. That would indicate he isn't really in the light world. However, if he were in the dark world, you would just see a shadow on the ground. My theory is that he is sort of in between the two worlds, if you understand."

Link nodded. "I think so. So, he has access to both worlds at the same time?"

"Exactly. I'm not sure what advantages he might have because of that, but it worries me. Now, follow me. I was searching for information about the pearl of darkness, and I found something interesting."

The three went back into the main room and Garod opened the trapdoor to the basement. He continued to talk as they made their way down the stairs.

"Apparently the king hid the pearl in an ancient shrine, located in the woods east of town, long ago. He sealed the temple doors, and it hasn't been touched since. The only way to unlock it is with the legendary Elemental Sword, combined with the four medallions that power it. Unfortunately, he scattered those throughout the land as well."

"So, the only way to get the pearl is to go collecting all those things? Where can I find them?"

Garod placed the Glode rock into its socket and went across the room to one of the bookshelves. "Nobody knows but the king. It says here that his ancestor used to have a map, marked with the locations of the four medallions. Nobody knows where he kept it, but I think I have an idea where."

"So then we DO have to worry about the king," Tael groaned, "I knew it."

"No, no! The map is supposed to be still hidden in the south castle."

"South castle?"

"The castle of Myrennia used to be to the south. A long time ago, we were at war with Ikana, to the west. We had sent spies to investigate their land, but they never returned. Instead, the Ikanian army did a surprise attack on our castle. They defeated us, our castle was ruined, and the king had been killed in the battle. Many say the Ikanians brought a curse, and it was released upon the land when they defeated us."

"Really? What kind of curse?" Link asked.

"The land started withering over the next few years, and the forest died away. Now all that's left is a barren wasteland, a desert of crusted dust. Well, the Myrennians who had escaped noticed something was happening to the woods, so they fled north. A new castle was built under the previous king's son, the one you visited. But, I think you still may be able to find the map in the south castle ruins."

"And how is that?" Link sighed, listening to Garod flip through the yellowed pages of a book.

"Says here the secret room is in a basement, a few floors below ground. It's probably still intact."

"So...how did you get this, if it's so secret?" Link said, looking at Garod suspiciously.

"My ancestor was the king's most trusted attendant. He was the only one the king allowed into the secret room, and he wrote about it in his journal. Not even his son knew about it. I don't know if the map is there, but it's your best chance. Now, you need to get some rest. You can't go out there with your broken arm," Garod said, gently escorting Link upstairs.

"No, I have to go. If I wait too long, Dark might do something to the fairies. I can't hide from him forever."

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After drinking his fill from the village well and filling his bottle with water, he had set out down the unmarked path south in a jog, despite Garod's advice. After a few minutes, he started running faster.

"Link, slow down! You're just going to hurt yourself more!" Tael panted, trying to keep up with Link's constant running. Suddenly he ran straight into the back of Link's messy, sandy blond hair. "Hey! Why'd you stop?" He flew up over Link's head.

Link was standing on the border between dark, rich soil, lush grass...and dry, cracked, light brown dirt. The "desert" stretched out into the distance in front and to both sides. Looking around cautiously, Link took the first step into the quiet, lifeless wasteland.

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