Chapter Three
Link's prediction was accurate. Marin wasn't happy.
"What happened?" she sighed as she applied some balm from a coconut shell to her father's ribs, which were beginning to bruise. Link was sitting at the dining table, while the other two had pushed their chairs a little further away so Marin could treat him easier.
"An octorok got me once," Tarin answered for him. "I'll be fine, Marin. Thankfully, Link was there to help."
Link smiled proudly, but Marin didn't look as impressed.
"Then he should have stopped it from happening to begin with."
"No thank you for saving his life?" Link asked with a smirk.
Marin looked down a little, perhaps out of guilt. "Sorry. Yes, thank you for helping him. But he wouldn't have gotten hurt in the first place had you not gone down there."
"Link just wants to get his stuff back before he leaves," Tarin argued.
Marin shot Link an odd look. "Leaves?"
"I need to get back to Hyrule," Link confirmed.
There was a brief look of sadness in her eyes, before she reapplied her previous bearing of disinterest. "Well, I hope you make it back safely, though I'm not sure how you plan on doing that."
"What do you mean? Is there no boat off Koholint?"
The father and daughter looked at each other, perhaps in confusion.
"No," Tarin finally answered. "There's nothing like that here. I've only seen one boat in my lifetime, and it ain't seaworthy. I've never even heard of anyone trying to come or go until you showed up out of… well, nowhere."
"So… I'll have to build my own to get out of here?"
Tarin rubbed his moustache thoughtfully. "Listen here, Link. I'd like to go looking for some 'shrooms that might help with the pain. Maybe tomorrow I'll be feeling up to helping you put a boat together if you don't mind waiting."
"I don't mind."
"You can come with me right now, if you want. I'm going to the Mysterious Forest. Maybe you will see that weird owl."
Link chuckled. "I'll be fine without seeing him again. I think I will just stay here, if that's fine with you."
"Alright then," Tarin said as he stood up, lowered his shirt again, and grabbed his sack. "I'm sure Marin won't mind the company. Don't do anything too bad, you two." Tarin left the house laughing to himself.
After Marin scooted her chair back to the table, the two remaining occupants sat at the table across from each other silently for an uncomfortable minute before Marin opened her mouth to speak. The girl spent several seconds looking around the room at everything but Link before sighing again.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I promise I'm not normally like that. I'm not mad at you. I just don't like seeing Tarin get hurt. It's not normal. The monsters have never been so intrusive… we can't even get to Animal Village anymore."
"I understand," Link replied, who was rather glad to end the silence. "Do you know why the monsters are bothering you more as of late?"
Marin shrugged. "I don't know. I guess they started sometime around when you washed up. But that doesn't mean there is a correlation. That wouldn't make any sense, would it?"
Link tightened up at Marin's words. It was just as the owl had said. Link had brushed it off, but maybe the owl had more substance to its words than just cryptic nonsense.
"Link, are you alright?" Marin inquired as she squinted.
Link put on a smile. "Yeah, of course. And no hard feelings about earlier."
Marin returned his smile with one of her own. "I hope we can be friends, Link. Even if you don't stay here very long, like you say!"
Link feared another awkward silence was in the making, but Marin jumped up out of her chair before any such thing could happen.
"We should go somewhere!"
"Where?"
"I don't know. We'll figure it out! It'll be fun!"
"Err… well, alright."
Marin didn't leave Link much time to process what was going on, as she pulled on his arm until he finally obliged and stood up.
The outside air had cooled as the sun set into the ocean. Marin took a moment to readjust the hibiscus situated in her hair before tugging on Link's sleeve.
"Over there, over there! You should see this!"
Marin was pointing southeast to a building Tarin had not mentioned. Link followed behind as Marin skipped the whole way there. As they walked, Link's attention was caught by a relatively large field full of a variety of crops nearby. Link asked her who owned it.
"The whole village, of course! We all work there on different days and are allowed to take what we need to cook our meals. Farming days aren't my favorite, but you do what you have to do! Getting to do fun things like what you'll find in this building make up for it!"
The building she was so intent on visiting turned out to be some strange gaming arcade. The majority of the one-room building consisted of a large rectangular conveyer belt that carried merchandise of various values. The man who ran the facility explained that for a price of 10 rupees, visitors could operate a crane and have a single attempt at trying to pick up one of the items. Link had never seen such technology before.
"Do you want to try it out?" the owner asked.
Link looked to Marin. "I don't think any of my rupees made it through the wreck."
Marin nodded. She reached into a satchel slung over her shoulder, pulled out a couple of her own blue rupees, and handed them to the man. "You give it a try, Link. I can show you how to operate the crane's controls."
"Do you want to do it first as a demonstration?" Link asked.
Marin laughed nervously. "I don't think the owner is particularly interested in me playing this game again… Let's just say I got carried away last time and leave it at that."
Indeed, the owner was looking at Marin rather suspiciously. Link had no idea what the problem between the two was, but he shrugged it off.
Marin explained the how the system worked before allowing Link to give it a go. Link bit his tongue as he guided the crane over to the conveyer belt and pressed a button that allowed the claw to drop. He successfully grabbed a small bottle of medicine, which was automatically carried to and dropped down a slide to allow Link to pick it up.
"It's pretty impressive to come away with a prize on your first try, though I'm surprised you didn't go after the rupee. It's worth more than that is," Marin mused.
"Sorry… didn't know." In actuality, Link had been aiming for the rupee but had missed and was lucky enough to catch something else. Marin didn't need to know that, though.
Link thanked the owner while Marin waved on the way out. The man sent them off with, "See you next time, pros." Marin winked back at him as he shut the door behind the two.
By this time, it had become dark enough outside for the stars of the night sky to begin revealing themselves. Link couldn't help but admire its beauty.
"Remarkable, isn't it?" Marin agreed after noticing his reaction. "It's best to see from Tamaranch, but I can take you to the next best place if you follow me."
Marin never left much room for Link to speak, but he didn't mind. Link never felt much of a personal need to talk much, and while Marin often had much to say, she never came off as overbearing. Every word she spoke beheld a soft, gentle melody.
Though darkness continued to settle in, Link could determine that Marin was taking him back towards the cliffs overlooking Toronbo Shores. Rather than heading south from here, Marin continued further west, cutting a path through some foliage that Link followed through.
This led to another cliff that Link had not seen before, which opened up to a grassy overlook situated directly above the waters. The waves crashing against the rocks far below were clearly audible as Marin took a seat in the grass. Link lay down beside her.
"This is one of my favorite spots," Marin explained. "I don't think anyone else knows about it, since no one ever bothers to see what is behind all the trees. There's quite a bit to be seen on Koholint, if you really take the time to look. There's a number of gated caves in remote areas of the island. I often wonder about what's behind them."
"You're quite the adventurer," Link pointed out.
"Oh... I guess you could say that. Maybe explorer would be a better word. I'm not particularly interested in fighting or anything like that. So I haven't been out nearly as much the last few days, since the monsters are supposedly crawling out over the whole island. It's sad, really. Restricting."
"If it means that much to you, I can probably clear the monsters off this island. I've seen just a little combat."
Marin flipped over and rested her head on her forearms so she could look Link in the eye. "You're quite confident about your fighting skills, you know. Were you some kind of warrior before you landed here?"
"More or less."
"Hmm. Were you a natural fighter or did you have to be taught?"
"… I'm not sure. I learned as I went, I suppose. Trial by fire. There are places you can be trained, but we didn't have that kind of wealth. I wasn't raised so different from yourself… by my uncle, who's the closest thing I ever had to a father, much like Tarin is for you… now that I mention it, there's actually a lot of similarities between him and my uncle."
"… What's it like back home for you, Link?"
"Not sure how to describe it. Hyrule's bigger than here, I guess. Bigger cities, more people. Less personal, though."
"That's just like I had always imagined it…"
Link raised his head in surprise. "Wait… You imagined what? You've heard of Hyrule before?"
"Never mind," Marin said quickly. After a pause she added, "How could I? It's a different world altogether. Like the stars in the sky. I wonder how far away they are, Link. Could we ever reach them somehow?"
Link didn't know the answer, so he stayed silent. It was a comfortable silence, though. Marin's presence was enough for Link, and Link's enough for Marin. Which, the more Link thought about it, was quite strange. They had met only earlier that day, yet the two were perfectly comfortable with each other. Link pondered question as he lay peering into the sky above, but he couldn't think of a good answer.
"We should go home," Marin said finally. "Tarin's probably wondering where we are."
In actuality, Tarin was not even back yet when Marin and Link returned to the house. Marin frowned slightly but remained calm.
"Half the time he'd be asleep by now, but it wouldn't be the first time he came home late. I wish he'd pay more attention to get out of that forest before dark." Changing the subject, Marin pointed to the two beds in the corner of the room. "As it is, we only have two beds for us to use."
"Where were you sleeping when I was in one of them?"
Marin pointed to a bamboo mat rolled up against the wall. "That. It's not so bad, you know. You can keep using my bed, if you want. I don't mind."
Link smiled as he shook his head. "No, that's not going to happen. I'll take the mat. I've slept on worse."
Marin smiled. "You're very kind, Link… but it feels wrong having a guest sleep on the floor."
"Think nothing of it," Link reassured as he rolled the mat out and stretched himself on it.
Marin must have been too worried about Tarin to go to sleep, so she instead continued to probe her guest with questions about his home, food, clothing, and culture. Link did the best he could to answer but found himself drifting to sleep by the end of the hour. A dreamless sleep.
Link awoke to Marin shaking him.
"Hmm?" was all he was able to get out.
"Tarin's still not back," Marin said firmly. "The sun is about to rise, so we'd best be ready to get to the forest as soon as it's safe."
Link's eyes widened. He wasted little time putting his boots back on and gathering his equipment.
Marin watched as he prepared, apparently haven gotten ready before waking Link up. "Your clothes are looking a little rough, you know. Must be from the wreck. I can sow them up if you want."
Link looked at her with a thin smirk. "If it really bothers you, we can look into getting that done later. I must warn you though, I don't have another set of clothes- just this tunic and the undershirt."
The girl appeared uncomfortable but didn't address the issue. "Just get your boots on."
Even after Link was ready, Marin told him to wait as she watched the window. Given the threat of monsters, Marin didn't want to be in the forest without at least some light to give them warning to a possible attacker. One might wonder if she had been awake for some time, only waking her guest as dawn neared. Once she was satisfied that the sky had brightened enough, she turned to Link.
"Alright. Let's make it fast."
For all her talks of going fast, Marin had a hard time keeping up with Link's jog, despite having dressed in pants and a loose-fitting tunic- more appropriate attire for the occasion than the dress she had worn the previous day.
"Are you sure you want to come, Marin? If there really are monsters in there, it's not going to be safe. You might consider looking elsewhere or asking people in Mabe if they've seen him. He might not even be in the forest."
"He's in the forest, somewhere," Marin said decisively. "And you're not going to leave me behind looking for my own father!"
Link wasn't in the mood to argue with Marin, so he didn't. Besides, if the octorok on the beach was any indication of what the monsters were like on the island, then there wasn't reason to have much concern for either of their safety.
The forest was only a short distance northwest of Mabe. Upon arrival, Marin's reasoning for waiting for light was quite clear, as the forest was thick enough that its entrance was shrouded in darkness.
"Are you sure we should go in yet?" Marin asked, finally revealing some degree of uncertainty.
"You can always stay out here, if you want," Link said casually as he continued inwards. Marin pouted but followed him nonetheless.
"Besides," Link continued, "I don't think there will be anything in here worth worrying that mu-."
Link stopped as he felt a rush of wind pass right by his face. He didn't register what it was until he heard the shaft penetrate a nearby tree.
"Should have seen that coming…" Link complained. Realizing the gravity of the situation, though, Link pushed Marin on the shoulder. "Get out of here, now!"
Marin obeyed- not too soon, as a second arrow cut through the air where she had previously been standing.
Link grimaced as he drew his sword. "Alright, show yourself!"
He peered between the trees as well as he could to try identifying his assailants. Just as he prepared to turn the other direction to see if someone had come up on him from that side, Link spotted a large form half-hidden behind a tree about fifteen yards out. He could tell the creature was in the process of pulling out another arrow its quiver. As the monster lifted his bow to fire, Link executed a simple dodge, causing the shot to be well off its mark. With a yell, Link pounced on the monster and put his blade through its chest before it could launch another projectile.
Link had little time to waste before he heard another monster approaching from his left side. Link pulled out his sword and rolled out of the way. Enough light was now filtering through the branches for Link to see that he was fighting against simple moblins. This moblin was welding a sword, who executed a poor slash at the dirt in front of the Hylian. Link jumped off the ground and made a jab at the moblin. The monster only managed to defend two slashes before Link put him on the ground alongside his companion.
Link returned to the clearing to look for additional enemies.
"Link, are you alright?" a familiar voice shouted not far beyond the tree line.
"Yes! I'll be out shortly. I'm just making sure there's not more of them!"
Link took every precaution by listening for any noises, checking the ground for footprints, and searching behind the larger trees. Link was almost ready to call it good and head back when he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Link immediately swung around with his sword in hand.
To his surprise, the tip of his blade was no more than a foot away from Marin's throat. She was evidently surprised as well based on the diameter of her open eyes.
Link quickly lowered his sword. "What were you thinking sneaking up on me like that?! Did I tell you to come in?"
"You said it was safe," Marin mumbled.
"No, I said I was checking to see if there were any others! I could have killed you! I've been trained to attack anything that comes up on me without warning! I'm a warrior, Marin! I've killed a lot, and killing you would have been all too easy!"
"… Well… to me, you're just Link," she answered in a voice so simple that Link's frustration was checked.
The named man returned his sword to his sheath slowly with a sigh.
"You have no idea how much weight that name carries."
Marin grabbed his hand and shook it with a smile.
"Then I don't want to know what it means. I'm happy with knowing just that you are a good person and friend."
"Just be careful, alright?" Link said more calmly. "Please don't do that again. The last thing I want to do is hurt you."
Marin nodded sadly. Link wasn't sure just where the conversation was going, but it prematurely ended when Marin looked down to her foot. Both raised eyebrows as they watched a rather large raccoon clawing at Marin's boot.
"Umm… do you want me to take care of that thing?" Link asked.
"Like… take it home?"
"Well, I actually meant either kill it or toss it away, but sure, we can do that, too."
Marin glared at Link disapprovingly. "Don't be ridiculous," she said as she held the raccoon up. "The animals on Koholint are all very nice. I'm actually surprised I haven't seen anything like this be- … Uhh, Link…" Marin turned the raccoon so that Link could see its face. "Is it me, or does this thing's face remind you of Tarin?"
Link raised an eyebrow. "There's some semblance, maybe, if you look at long enough… but what's significant about that?"
"What if it's him?"
"Now you're the one being ridiculous."
"You haven't spent enough time on Koholint. I've seen weirder, trust me."
Link shrugged his shoulders. "Not convinced. What would you have me do if it was him, anyways?"
"I think I know my father's face when I see it. Maybe that's why it was trying to claw at me… because he was hoping I'd recognize him. There's only one person we can go to if we want to find out for sure."
"And who's that?"
"Syrup. She's a witch that lives to the east of here. Don't worry, she's nice."
Link thought about complaining, but he had come across benevolent witches before. Besides, the sooner Marin accepted that the raccoon was in fact not her father, the sooner they could try other avenues of finding him.
"Alright then. Lead the way."
Marin's eyes beamed with a sparkle of adventure. "Great! follow me!"
The journey took them further into the forest twilight. Happily, there were only a few moblins ahead that were far enough away to leave the two alone. While waiting behind a mossy trunk for one of them to continue walking further from their intended path, Link spotted a foreign object lying a short distance away which turned out to be Tarin's rucksack. Link wasn't too happy about the discovery, which he suspected was left behind when Tarin was kidnapped or killed, but Marin decided it must have been lost after Tarin's transformation into a raccoon.
Whatever the case, Link carried it with them as they escaped the forest to the east to an area Marin referred to as the Koholint Prairie. A short hike to the south lead them towards an oversized dead tree standing alone in the open terrain of shin-high grass. A large hole carved into the side of its hollow trunk revealed its use as a hut.
Link wasn't keen on entering the dark abode, but Marin walked in without a second thought. Seeing her confidence, Link had little choice but to follow.
The tree was large enough that the room inside was comfortably sized, if poorly lit. When the two entered her dwelling, the witch was at a desk looking through one of her numerous books. Link thought that she looked remarkably similar to a witch he had meet back in Hyrule… and Holodrum… and Labrynna, for that matter. Apparently all witches met the old, thin, somewhat creepy lady label.
Syrup did not acknowledge them until Marin finally called out her name. Even then, she was very slow in pushing her book away and looking up.
"I am not familiar with your new friend, Marin. He is not from around here, is he?"
"No, Syrup… Link here is actually from Hyrule!"
"There is no place called Hyrule," the woman said deliberately and authoritatively while looking Link in the eye, which bothered Link quite a lot. Marin must have felt the same, as her smile waned slightly.
"Well, whatever the case, we are in need of help," Marin continued as she set the raccoon on Syrup's desk, brushing some of the witch's various kinds of clutter out of the way. "We think Tarin may have been transformed into this thing."
"She thinks, actually," Link corrected. Marin rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.
Syrup squinted at the raccoon for a minute before picking it up and examining its face.
"Tarin hasn't been spending much time in the Mysterious Forest, has he?"
"Actually, that's where he went when we last saw him… And it's where we found this raccoon."
Syrup chuckled to herself. "I don't know if this is your father or not, little Marin, but strange things can happen in the Mysterious Forest. There's only one way to find out, and it will take a special kind of brew. I'll need several sleepy toadstools to put my potion together, if you can manage to find them."
Marin smirked as she reached to take Tarin's bag from Link. "Trust me, if it's a mushroom, you'll find some in there."
"I don't know, dear… these things are rather rare… wait… well, indeed there are a couple in here! Give me a minute, and I'll have what you need."
Both Link and Marin watched in silence as Syrup went to work. After handing the raccoon to Link, Syrup first chopped the stems off the toadstools and then cut the heads into smaller pieces. She then dumped the slices into a cauldron full of boiling water that was already over a fire. As Syrup stirred the pot, a yellow precipitate began to form within the solution. After continuing to stir for a couple minutes, Syrup tossed water onto the fire to extinguish it and allow the cauldron to cool.
While waiting, there was an awkward minute where the three looked between each other without speaking. Link eventually mentioned how nice the weather was. Marin and Syrup picked up the conversation from there.
The witch cut the discussion short when she determined the potion was ready. After grabbing a cup made of a strange material and setting it on top of a long pipe in the corner of the room, Syrup lifted the cauldron, carried it to the pipe, and dumped its contents into the cup. The water drained into the pipe while a large pile of dust accumulated in the cup. Syrup then carried the cup to a nearby workbench. Pulling out a small sack from a cabinet, what remained in the cup was then transferred to the bag. Syrup then handed this to Marin.
"If that furry thing is your father, then this should fix him back to normal. Just hold some of the powder under his nose. This compound should have many other useful applications. You may keep it as a gift."
Marin nodded. "Thanks, Syrup. I'll return the favor sometime." Then turning to Link, she asked, "Are you ready? You do the honors."
Marin held out the bag and allowed Link to reach in with one hand while he continued to hold the raccoon with the other. Though the bag was quite full of a yellow powder, Link only stuck in his index finger and extricated that which stuck to his finger. Syrup handed Marin a string to close the sack for future use. Once done, Marin motioned for Link to do it.
Link had just barely positioned his finger beneath the raccoon's nose when it breathed the powder in. Without warning, the raccoon leapt out of Link's grasp and sprinted out the entrance.
"Link! Don't let Tarin escape!" Marin reproached as both ran out to follow him. Syrup waved goodbye with a crooked smile as they left, but neither Link nor Marin saw it.
Link stopped once outside to readjust to the brighter light conditions, causing Marin to bump into him and nearly knocking both to the ground.
"Do you see him?" she asked as she helped balance Link.
"No, nowhere."
"Well, I hope he didn't run off into the forest again." Marin slapped Link's arm in a manner that was somewhere between playful and serious. "I can't believe you just let him go!"
"I didn't do it on purpose… Wait, Marin... do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"A voice. Behind the tree."
Link grew more confident in what he heard with each passing second as he followed the sound to its source. Once around Syrup's tree, he smiled as he saw Tarin lying on the ground scratching his head some distance ahead.
"Tarin!" Marin yelled as she slid to the ground and gave her father a tender embrace. While Marin looked ecstatic to see her father in good health, Tarin simply looked dazed.
"Oh… hi there, Marin… how exactly did we end up all the way over here? I was just in the forest a few seconds ago. Why, I must have fallen asleep at some point… I kinda remember having some strange dream where I was a raccoon."
Marin looked up to Link in not so subtle amusement. For whatever reason, the two there initiated an unspoken mutual agreement to not tell Tarin what had happened. It would be their secret.
"Well, whatever happened, we need to get you home, Tarin," Marin said as she patted his back.
"I'd love to do that, but I'd like to find my rucksack before going back. I must have left it somewhere."
Marin looked to Link once she realized it was still on Syrup's desk. "Can you get it while I help Tarin get back on his feet? And say goodbye to Syrup for me."
Link nodded. "Just one thing though, Tarin."
Tarin looked up to him. "What's that?"
"Next time you need some mushrooms, find them somewhere other than the forest."
Tarin looked to Marin for help, but the young woman shared the Hylian's sentiment. Tarin had no choice but to laugh. "If that' the way you see it."
Link wasn't entirely convinced Tarin would follow through, but he'd take it. Upon his return to the tree, Link found Syrup still standing exactly where she was when they had rushed out. Without Marin around to act as mediator, Link wanted to get out as soon as possible. He uneasily reached for the bag, half expecting Syrup to stop him. After taking it off the table and taking a couple steps back, Link felt comfortable enough to say a few words.
"Thanks for your help… the potion worked. Marin and Tarin both send their regards."
Link bowed and turned to leave. He stopped when he heard Syrup speak.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up, young lad. But treat her well while you can."
Normally, Link would be curious enough to ask for clarification, but Syrup was rather unsettling to him. What could she really know, anyways? He walked out without a reaction beyond a momentary pause.
By the time Link rejoined the others, Marin already had her arm wrapped around that of Tarin as they slowly ambled back the way they came.
"Tarin's rather sore and hungry, so we're going to head back home if that's fine with you," Marin told Link as he walked up.
"That's what I'd expect. I can carry the bag till we get back."
The going was rather slow, as Tarin was almost too weak to walk, even with the assistance of both Link and Marin. Link was patient enough that he wouldn't have minded were he not worried about being jumped by moblins again.
They were only halfway through the forest when Tarin asked if they could take a break. Link frowned, but didn't have much of a choice but to concede.
Marin and Link guided him to a nearby moss-covered boulder that was large enough for Tarin to comfortably lean against.
"Let us know as soon as you're ready to go. We don't have much time to waste," Link warned. Marin looked at him disapprovingly, which was returned with a shrug. Annoyed as Marin might be, she didn't fully understand the risk of an ambush.
"Alright, Link," Tarin answered, "I should only need a couple minutes…. this moss is rather comfortable, you know. Really squishy. I think there's enough room for another if one of y-."
Tarin yelped as he abruptly slid down to the ground. The moss he had been half leaning- half sitting against was apparently unstable, as it tore off the rocks it was clinging to as he fell.
When Link reached down to help Tarin back up, he noticed something interesting- a small cavity near the base of the boulder that was exposed after all the greenery ripped off. Upon seeing it, Link released Tarin's hand, which would have caused him to fall back down had Marin not been holding onto his other hand. Marin was again ready to complain about Link, but he was too busy bending for a better view of the secret chamber to care.
Seconds later, Link was extracting an old, rotting chest from the cleft, which caught both Marin and Tarin's attention.
"What… what is that?" Tarin asked as he regained his footing.
Link opened the small chest rather than answering verbally. For a moment, he thought it was completely devoid of anything. Before he began to say as much, though, Link spotted an even smaller object lying in one of its corners.
Link closed the chest as he held up his find for the others to see.
"A key."
"A key for what?" Marin asked.
Link was about to admit that he had no idea when a voice rang out from behind him. Link grimaced when he recognized it as that of the owl.
"The Tail Cave. You will find it south of the village."
"And what if I don't want to go to the Tail Cave?" Link asked as he rotated to face it.
"You did not wish to come to the Mysterious Forest, and yet here you are. The Wind Fish is watching, hero."
This time, Link would have continued asking the owl questions had it not flown off. Link maintained his frown as he addressed Marin and Tarin.
"Sorry about that. Don't mind the owl."
"Why not?" Marin interjected. "What do you have to lose?"
"What do I have to gain from following the whims of a talking owl?"
"Tail Cave is a dungeon, Link… One close to where we live at that. Dungeons are where most of the monsters seem to come from. If you were to clear it out with your, err… skill set, it might help with our recent problems. Don't tell me you aren't a little curious?"
Marin did have a point. While Link was a little bothered by the fact that an owl was stalking him, hearing it from a friend was quite different. And what if the owl was telling the truth from the beginnig? The more Link heard, the more difficult it sounded like it would be to get off the island. There would only be one way to find out if the owl was putting him on the right course- see what lied at the bottom of the Tail Cave.
Link slowly smiled as his sense of adventure returned to him. "You know the way there, don't you, Marin?"
"Of course! It's not a far walk at all! While some of the other dungeons are pretty remote, everyone knows about this one. The quadruplets will be jealous when we tell them we found a way in."
Link lifted the hilt of his sword just enough to see the gleam of his blade. "Then after we get Tarin back home, why don't you say we give it a visit?"
Author's Notes- The Tarin-Raccoon is one of the more cornball scenes I included from Link's Awakening in this plot, albeit approached a little bit different than in the game. Weird and corny are very important aspects of the game that help make its charm, but for the sake of writing a story, I feel some of it would create distractions from what I'm trying to do with the story. For this reason, a lot (not all!) of the weirder elements will not be included (i.e. Ulrira's phones, the ghost, trading sequence, etc). I'm not trying to ruin what will be there, but I don't want to get hopes up for people that might want to see everything. I chose to include this scene to at least allude to some of that weirdness as well as allowing some of the later also-strange material to not come as much of a shock, because it involves some other characters besides Link (Tarin, Syrup), and because it allows me to set up some plot points (Magic powder, Tail Cave, Link's evolving relationship with Marin, etc.). So there's my reasoning!
