Sable grew perplexed as she followed the path, the hunter appeared to have vanished. She was beginning to wonder if perhaps she had imagined the whole battle. After the confrontation with Midna, Sable could not be sure if anything she saw was real. However the fact of the matter was that she was quite helpless right now and definitely not ready to travel Termina. She hoped Koume and Kotake were nearby, she was sure her luck would run out eventually. A shadow on the ground then caught her attention and when she looked up she saw a red balloon floating overhead. Strangely there was a short man dressed in green and red like a fairy floating from it. He was madly scribbling things down on a piece of paper.

"Hey!" she called to him "Can you help me out a little?"

The bizarre little man kept ignoring her so Sable knelt down as picked up a sharp stone. With an accurate throw she sent that stone hurtling towards his balloon. The red balloon exploded in a flash of magical sparks. The man let out a short screech as he landed on the ground perfectly.

"Sorry, but I needed to get your attention," Sable said bluntly "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Me?" the little man cheered "I am Tingle the mapmaker!"

"Why are you dressed like a weirdo?"

"Weirdo? I am not a weirdo! I'm at the age of thirty five and still a believer in fairies! But looking at you, you are not a fairy."

Sable cocked an unimpressed eyebrow "How perceptive of you."

He pouted and turned his back on her "Sorry, I'm not interested in helping if you're not a fairy."

"Can you please at least tell me if you know anyone called Koume or Kotake?"

Tingle looked over his shoulder "Well, seeing as you said please. Head down this road and you'll soon come to a tourist information booth. Koume lives there, everyone knows that."

"Thankyou"

"Tingle, Tingle, Kaloo-Loompah!" he cheered as he sprinkled green fairy sparkles everywhere. Sable stared at him in confusion, this peculiar little man was started to give her the creeps. Tingle smirked "Those are Tingle's magic words. Don't steal them!"

"I won't" assured Sable as she ran off 'What the hell is wrong with that guy!? Well, at least I know where to go now.' She was so caught in her own thoughts that she did not see the figure walking ahead of her. Finally crashing into the back of him and sending her tumbling onto the corpse of dead Wolfos. Given he was a rather solidly built individual, he was merely pushed forward and remained standing.

Onox turned around to find a jester girl had fallen on top of his kill. He helped her to her feet, he saw the Wolfos' blood now stained her blue and charcoal clothes. "Well, at least the blood isn't too obvious with those colours. Sorry about that, I was a world away there." He laughed to himself "Did not hear you coming at all."

"That's alright, I should've been watching where I was going." Sable dusted herself off as best she could, nervously averting his gaze as she realised she had left her mask at the observatory.

He noticed her peculiar appearance, giving her the look of a terminally ill patient. However he too possessed strange eyes like her, although his were bright red and only mildly bloodshot. For a moment he looked around at the swamps, thinking that perhaps she had seen a foe nearby. When that revealed nothing he smiled gently "First time on the road alone, huh? I'm Onox by the way but everyone calls me Ox. And you are?"

She nervously met his gaze "Sable, and yes, this is the first time I've ever left Clock Town and actually been to Termina."

"Nice to meet you," he bowed, his polite manners belaying his rather uncouth appearance "So what brings you to the swamps?"

"I'm looking for Koume and Kotake, I was told Koume lives at the end of this road… is that true? That strange man in tights told me, but I don't know if I trust him."

"Yeah Tingle is a complete crackpot, but he is Termina's best cartographer. Anyway I was heading near Koume's place, want to walk with me?"

"Thanks," Sable followed his lead, the chain of his flail rattling with every step Onox took. That sound alone seemed to deter any of the hungry eyes and ominous shadows lurking amidst the trees. Anxious from the surroundings and in need of a distraction, Sable asked "So what do you do Onox?"

"I work for my sister Vera, well, she's not my sister by blood but our families are friends and my folks wanted me to get some life experience so I was sent to work for her." Onox smiled broadly "I will admit it's hard because Vera likes making masks of nightmarish demons. So we travel all over Termina to look for scary monsters for inspiration. I'm sort of her…" He paused for a moment as the words came to mind "Errand boy."

Sable repeated "Errand boy?"

"Well, I act as the distraction for the monsters so Vera can draw out her designs, at a safe distance of course."

"Vera? Why does that name sound familiar…" Sable's eyes widened as she realised "You mean you work with Veran! The legendary mask maker!?" Onox nodded back to her, Sable felt herself blush "Wow! Really!? I've seen her masks and they're amazing! Every year at the Carnival of Time I look forward to seeing what designs she unveils."

Onox was dumbstruck "Really? I usually help at the stall at the carnival, how come I've never seen you?"

"I usually wear a Keaton mask over my face because people get a little uncomfortable with the way I look."

"A Keaton mask… and you always wear that jester hat and weird vest?" Sable nodded in response, he clapped as he recalled "You're that spruiker for Honey and Darling's arcade during the carnival." He laughed out loud "How come we've never met until now?"

"Probably because we're both busy working while the carnival's on."

By then they had reached the end of the southern road. Sable was welcomed by the sight of Woodfall rising from the distance. This iconic dead volcano was a landmark of the Southern Swamps and apparently led to its creation once it extinguished. The fertile soil acted as an ideal catalyst for this radical transformation. Woodfall was regarded as the main water source for the deeper part of the swamps and the Deku settlements. The mountain shone eerily with violet and purple shimmers beneath the sun. The Deku believed this was because it protected the Woodfall Temple, the resting place of the Southern Giant.

Closer to where Sable and Onox stood were the edges of Woodfall's lakes and rivers that snaked through the flora. At the edge of the riverbank was a large hut on stilts with a roof made of woven plants. The nearby shrubs had been grown in decorative rings upon the ground. A path veered off into the overgrowth alongside the flowing river. The water was partially covered in flowers and large lily pads.

"That's Koume's house right there," Onox waved to her as he headed down the other path "Well, welcome to the swamps, I'll probably see you around as Vera and I stay here for a few months before travelling again."

"Thanks Onox, you really saved me back there."

"Call me Ox! It's easier to yell." He called back to her before disappearing down the path.

Sable walked down the sturdy jetty, noticing the series of boats tied beneath the hut and floating on the river. She climbed the nearby ladder to see that a sign was nailed beside the front door listing its opening hours. Uncertainty plagued her mind once more as her hand moved to the door handle. With a soft click the door opened and she walked in.

Upon entry to the strange hut Sable saw a burly gentleman flicking through photo albums. He was too preoccupied by his books to even notice her. The large hut was decorated with various trinkets and paraphernalia tourists would be interested in purchasing. Yet the interior felt a lot larger inside than the hut appeared on the outside. The wooden walls and floors were made from the various trees she had passed on her way here.

"Oh a customer" rasped a voice from the other side of the room.

Sable noticed a dark booth in the corner with an eerie lantern glowing overhead. Sitting at the desk was an old hag with silver hair tied up in a large bun. She was dressed in strange robes coloured in black, white and reds. A red gemstone rested just above her forehead and glinted at her as the hag looked Sable over with a calculating gaze. Her eyes coming to focus on Sable's pendant as she croaked "Welcome to the Swamp Tourist Hut. How can I help you?"

Sable hesitated for a moment "Actually I was looking for a witch named Koume… a lady called Midna sent me to find her…"

The old hag chuckled "You're looking right at her, you're Stalfos and Ambi's kid, right?" she gestured to the pendant "Everyone in your family has come to visit me sooner or later, Midna really is a stickler for tradition. Then again I can't blame her given what happened in Ikana all those years ago."

"So you knew my parents?"

"Of course I did, I trained Stalfos, and his grandmother, and his great grandmother, the list goes on. My sister and I were good friends of Midna so we've been training her descendants for ages. Ambi on the other hand was a witch like us and the witch and warlock community is pretty small these days so we all know each other." Koume disappeared for a moment and opened a hidden door "I was wondering when you'd finally come here Sable, last time I saw you, you were just a baby in Ambi's arms." The witch grabbed her by the wrist "Now come along child, no need to be shy, we have so much to discuss."

The back room of the hut was Koume's home, a small apartment that consisted of her bedroom and the main room. The rooms were littered with all manner of spell books and trinkets, skulls of various beasts, most Sable could not recognise. In fact there appeared to be a wealth of ancient relics from Terminan lore displayed in this room. It only made Sable wonder just how old Koume actually was and how she had managed to live so long. A large cauldron bubbled away in the centre of the room, kept warm by a phantom flame that needed no fireplace. The room was illuminated by will o wisps creating a rather unnerving atmosphere.

"So you're the latest in a long line of shape shifters, looks like you have a lot of training to do, there's no way you're ready to take on the legendary beasts right now," Koume sat down in her arm chair, gesturing to the seat opposite her "Come, sit, does talking to a witch make you nervous child?"

Sable followed her instructions robotically as she perched on the edge of the chair "Well, I've never met one before."

"First time on the road I see… not even of human blood either"

"But… how could you-" Sable realised the stupidity of her remark "Well… people usually think I'm sick, not that I'm… you know… another race."

Koume put a finger to her lips before she remarked "I'm a real witch dearie, although we can't be overly open about it these days. We are gifted in the ancient ways of magic which is why I am here to train you."

Sable reached for her bag to retrieve her notebook. She turned to a clean page and readied her pencil "What are these legendary beasts you speak of? And how did you know my parents? I don't even remember them."

"You're interviewing me?"

She flicked through the pages to show Koume her work "No, this is for taking notes on these beasts. I… I like finding out about Terminan folklore."

"Quite studious, maybe this won't be as hard this time around, Stalfos was a nice fellow but by the Giants he was dense most of the time. Ambi was a wise one so that's probably where you got your brains from and being raised by Shikashi would've helped that too. That old fool is also a friend of ours, used to drop past here and give us cosmic maps so we could keep track of the lunar phases," Koume laughed to herself "Kotake and I trained your father in the ways of the Gomess, like we train any of the Gomess descendants, of course only if they ask us to." She smiled to herself, leaning back in the chair and floating a footstool in front of her to put her feet up "Your mother was a Terminan, but also a witch so she was somewhat familiar with what your father was."

Sable shyly admitted "To be honest I had no idea Termina had such a magic focused culture until recently."

"Terminans are modern thinkers dearie so they tend to forget the ancient ways but that is their choice." Koume cracked her bony knuckles "Sadly, Ambi passed away from sickness when you were a child and then your poor father…" she shook her head "Accidently swam to close to the shore of the Great Bay and pirates killed him thinking he was a monster. After that, Shikashi, Kotake and I had to work out what to do with you. Shikashi ended up taking you back to Clock Town, the swamps are far too dangerous for children."

"I see," Sable paused for a moment and then refocused "Anyway I came regarding this," she held up her pendant "Apparently you can help me."

"That's Midna's fused shadow alright… We're going to have to start at the basics, shape shifters need to know how to fight just as well as any warrior. Then we need to teach you how to reap souls." Koume smiled back, a flame of excitement in her eyes "Once you're good enough I'll send you to claim the soul of the Forest Fox, the legendary beast of the swamps from the Woods of Mystery. However to seal it you'll need help of the Great Fairy of the Woodfall and a Deku Scrub to draw it out." She stood on her seat "Either way there's a long road ahead of you."

Sable titled her head and nervously asked "What's a Forest Fox? I've never heard of them."

"In each region of Termina, there is a legendary beast, given Midna is your ancestor the souls of such creatures are very fitting of your lineage. You already have the soul of a dragon, the beast of the east, in that pendant of yours, but you are by no means ready to take its form." Koume clasped her hands like a wise sage "After all, a shape shifter absorbs the souls of other creatures into their body to take on their forms, there must be a mutual level of respect for one another in order to do so. That dragon does not respect you in any way as you are now." She sat down once again "The other two beasts are the Fire Salamander of the north and the Ocean Tiger of the west. You'll need the help of the Great Fairies of Snowhead and Great Bay to seal them once you've acquired their souls of course." The old witch then eyed up Sable, currently the child was nothing special yet there was a certain passion in her eyes. It shone through when she wrote her notes, a curiosity, a desire to discover hidden truths. "So, here's the deal, you live here and train every day until you can successfully bind the soul of the Forest Fox to yours. You'll live in the attic of my hut and devote yourself to the magic of the Gomess tribe." She leant over, offering a hand "Do we have a deal?"

Sable shook Koume's hand firmly "Yes, I want… no, I need to find out more about these Gomess and how they work. If I need to learn this magic to do so, then so be it."

Koume cheered "Excellent we start tomorrow!"