A Link to the Past
Chapter Forty Five: The Fortune Teller
Unlike the Dark World where the shores of Lake Hylia were only accessible by swimming in, in Hyrule all Link needed to do to reach the area where the fortune teller lived after leaving the dunes was keep moving through the plains past the entrance to the cisterns. So far there weren't any guards patrolling this part of the province, and why would they? The armored men had no way of knowing that there was a secret entrance from the water filled tunnels up into the throne room of the castle, and the young man was grateful for this since it meant getting a break from fighting from his life, be it from guards, wild creatures, or the abominations walking the Dark World.
Having been raised with stories of his grandfather and uncle's adventures, one would think that he was in some way prepared to face those kind of things, but as a little boy who never left his home province before, honestly Link had always thought they were making most of the tales up. And why would he have believed otherwise? Ganondorf and his hordes were ancient history by the time the young man was born, as was the great sleeping curse, and as for Koholint Island… well, who could believe that a dream was real, especially when it was the dream of a giant flying fish? They had all been great stories, and he loved to imagine that they were real, but then Link met people like Agahnim and Ganondorf… suddenly not so great to think about.
Even though he had been living in the world of their stories since the night he followed his uncle into the castle, the young man still had a difficult time wrapping his mind around the fact that these were literally the same villains he had always been told about. Link only remembered his grandfather as an old man who napped even more than he liked to talk, so it was hard to imagine him as a young hero doing battle for the Triforce… which apparently had been real as well. Same thing with his uncle, who he had only known as a sad older man who never got over the loss of his love… on the other hand, his uncle must've been an incredible warrior if he had been able to defeat a younger Agahnim.
With that thought, the young man's mind was brought back to the present, realizing that even if the fortune teller could tell him how to find Turtle Rock and he was able to rescue the trapped Princess Zelda, how in the world was Link supposed to get the other crystals back from the wizard? He had surprised Agahnim with the Master Sword once, and the fairy queen had been influencing the wizard's mind to let him go in Misery Mire, so what was he supposed to do in a fair fight? Last time the young man tried to face Agahnim in a stand up battle he got beaten senseless and that Sage got killed, but there had to be a way… in the stories his uncle stabbed the wizard while he was trying to re-curse the Windfish, but a distraction like that was unlikely.
The rains got stronger and weaker, the sun moving slowly across the sky while Link moved across the plains, passing the cisterns while pondering this thought, along with the realization that Ganondorf was still waiting even if Agahnim was defeated. Yes, Venus had given him that broken silver arrow, but the monster had simply toyed with him during their brief scuffle on the bridge, and in the stories it took all four of the legendary Heroes of Hyrule to wound him enough so that he retreated. How did his grandfather and uncle face these things with no prior knowledge? How did they deal with monsters and magic while having to just… figure it all out?
By this time the shores of Lake Hylia were in sight, the water gray like the clouds and thankfully not stagnant or murky, leaving the scent a lot more pleasant than that of its Dark World counterpart as well. There weren't many buildings along this part of the lake, only docks and smoke houses for fishing boats all the way up to the one thing that looked out of place. The small house was farther north, almost to where the trail split off to go back to Link's house or the castle, looking like any other cottage that might have been found in the nearby village, with the exception of the wooden sign that had been placed out in front near the door. It was simple, made just like the wanted signs, just with different words:
FORTUNE TELLER
One Free Palm Reading With Visit
Because the rain had gotten heavier again, the only thing the young man could see through the windows was the dim orange glow of candles, and the door was unlocked so he walked into the house. Enough sunlight was still coming in through the windows for him to see that the inside looked a lot like his own home; fireplace, bed off to the side, cupboards, but surprisingly little personal decoration. The only exception to this was the small round table in the center of the main room, where a cloaked figure sat in front of a small crystal ball, three chairs sitting opposite of them for customers. The crystal ball also appeared to be glowing, but that might have been just a trick of the light coming in through the window.
"Ah, come in… come in, I have been expecting you." An older woman's voice said from under the cloak. "Wipe your feet, boy!"
Startled by her sudden yell, Link gasped and stepped backwards, making sure to wipe his boots off on the small rug in front of the door before walking in any farther. His mind recalled the hideous form of Venus, his mind rested assured when the hand she was beckoning him with looked normal enough, and then she instructed the young man to give her his hand once he sat down on the center chair. Now the cloaked figure was examining his palm, running her wrinkled finger over the lines while having an almost theatric reaction to whatever it was telling her, beginning with the fact that he was reckless and had a tendency to rush into situations without fully thinking them through… also that he had recently met the love of his life.
"That's amazing." The young man replied. "You can tell all that from lines on my hand?"
"Of course not, palm reading's nothing but a parlor trick." The fortune teller said, letting go of him. "My old schoolmate owns the magic shop, and her granddaughter won't stop talking about how in love she is with the Lord Sheriff's nephew. The real magic is in the crystal, but for some reason most customers have more faith in palms… never understood that… oh, this line means this, and that line means that… no one cares about the crystal that actually shows me things."
With a wave of her hand over top of it, the crystal ball really began to glow, not that brightly, just more than it had been while reflecting the cloud light, and now the light was swirling around like water going down the drain. Link couldn't see anything except the swirling from where he was sitting, but the fortune teller was reacting to things as if she was able to, making comments about how he had won the Master Sword, and rescuing Maple from the dungeons underneath the Village of Outcasts. What he really needed to know was how to get to Turtle Rock, where Princess Zelda was being held, but the old woman replied that they were at the mercy of whatever the crystal chose to show them.
"Your life is coming to a crossroads." She said the shape and swirl of the light changing with movements of her hands. "You could have a noble title, a beautiful wife, the love and gratitude of the whole kingdom… or your bones could be left rotting where they fall in a very dark place."
"You're talking about my battle with Agahnim, aren't you? Or Ganondorf." Link replied, hating the uncertainty of it all. "If I win, I get to be a great hero, become the new Lord Sheriff and marry Maple… but if I lose then it's all over… everything… but I don't know how to win. I don't even know how to find Princess Zelda."
The shape and swirl of the light changed again, this time showing the fortune teller the Temple of Hera where he passed one of his challenges for the Master Sword. Was that it? Was Turtle Rock in the same place of the Dark World where the Temple of Hera had been in Hyrule? Instead of confirming this, the crystal showed her a different place up in the mountains, east of the temple in the land of the Lynels, horrible creatures who were fiercely territorial, but the young man needed to travel to the highest hill in the center of their domain. Instead of telling him more, the crystal changed again, with the old woman claiming now to see the face of his enemies.
"Ganondorf is evil and focused." She explained. "He cannot be swayed or bargained with, and one of you must die when you meet him next. Agahnim is twisted and broken, he sacrifices the world for a chance at reclaiming what was lost, and this obsession gives him strength… or could destroy him… or you. Go now… head into the mountains, east of the Temple of Hera… to the top of the Lynel's hill. Go now, before it's too late!"
Suddenly she slumped down in the wooden chair, and the young man was afraid that the fortune teller had died until she began to snore loudly. All right, there was something that was worth finding on the highest hill in Lynel territory, and… and hopefully the storm would keep those things in their caves or wherever they lived until he could find it. Link wasn't afraid of Lynels, not really, but they were certainly dangerous, and he remembered all the warnings his uncle gave him about them as he walked out of the fortune teller's house and shut the door. They were strong, much stronger than a man, some carrying swords and others preferring to hunt their prey with a bow. None of them ever got near the Temple of Hera, though, but most from Hyrule wouldn't willingly enter their part of the mountains, either.
Now it was back out into the storm, the rain had let up a little so he didn't get soaked nearly as quickly, but it was a long walk from where he was to the entrance to the mountains. In the stories his grandfather told there was a magical recorder that when blown, depending on the note played, could almost instantly transport the holder to anywhere in Hyrule, but unfortunately the young man had no such thing, and it had been broken during his grandfather's adventures… sure would have been nice to have though, instead of doing all this walking through a never ending rainstorm. But even when he got up into the mountains, and even if he managed to sneak past the Lynels… what was he supposed to do up on that hill?