Chapter 4

'Come on… Slow and steady…'

Link's senses were on high alert, for the slightest mistake could have dire consequences. Keeping his eyes on the target, he waited for the right moment, and timed his movement.

The crane dangled over the plush toy, and slowly lowered. The claw seized it at once, and automatically dropped it on the conveyor belt that led to the open hatch.

Just like that, Link had beaten the crane game, and got a Yoshi doll for his trouble. He held it in his hands for a moment, before making his way over to the house of the quadruplets. It was north, near the outskirts of the village.

Once inside, he met the four boys' mother, Mamasha. She was cradling her fifth child, a baby boy of just a year.

"Oh, Link!" She perked up once she saw him. "Welcome back. How do you like Mabe Village so far?"

"It's quite nice from what I've seen. I checked out the Trendy Game shop you mentioned, and got you this."

Mamasha's tired eyes lit up as Link showed her the prize.

"Wow, thank you so much! How generous!" she said, before handing the doll to her baby, who proceeded to put its leg into his mouth.

"It was the least I could do after the kind welcome you gave me," Link noted modestly. In the meantime, one of the four boys barged in. Link had no experience with kids, but from what he could tell, that boy was roughly six years old.

"Mama! Is papa here?"

"He's already gone, sweety. You know how he is…"

"Aw… Hey, aren't you the new guy?" the child asked, having just noticed this stranger standing in the middle of the living room. Link simply nodded.

"Huh. And where do you come from?"

Link wasn't surprised by the fact that this question kept being thrown his way. This was a pretty small community after all, so if anything, he was like an attraction to the locals. What did surprise him were the reactions he kept receiving.

"I'm from Hyrule. From outside the island."

The boy looked at him in bewilderment.

"Outside… the island? I guess… I never really thought about it."

It was strange, but basically none of the people he had talked to really understood the concept of the outside world. Most of them didn't even show any curiosity to learn about it. Mamasha assured her child that the island life is all he's ever known, and that the world beyond the island wasn't anything to worry about.

Link was still troubled, though. When he was the boy's age, he was naturally curious and explorative. It had been his dream to one day explore the whole wide world, and see what lied beyond the mountain ranges of Hyrule. So, this culture, this lifestyle… It felt truly foreign to him.

"Thank you for the hospitality, Mamasha. I should get going."

"Take care, Link! Come visit again if you'd like!"

…

Link was currently sifting through the library's catalogue, on the lookout for anything worthwhile. Marin had already mentioned this place in passing, and one of the locals recommended he pay a visit. That local was known as Old Man Ulrira. He was a shy fellow, who rather than talk to Link face to face, he preferred to use a foreign device called a 'Telephone'.

In any case, this was proving to be a notable detour. He managed to find a drawn map of Koholint. He was surprised to see that this island was host to a swamp and a desert, among other interesting locales.

After not finding anything else of interest, he was just about ready to leave. That's when a peculiar tome caught his eye. It looked about as bland as a book's spine could get. Perhaps that was the very reason it piqued his curiosity. He pulled it from the shelf, and a thick cloud of dust wafted in the air.

'Dark Secrets & Mysteries Of Koholint' That was the title. Link frowned. This must have been a history book, he thought. He knew from his uncle that Hyrule's history books had their own dark pages. He couldn't imagine a small island such as this having anything half as heinous.

He gulped, and flipped the book open.

…

He couldn't read a single word. The letters were blurry, and incomprehensible. He couldn't tell when one word ended and the other started. He kept sweeping through the pages, hoping that he'd find something. Some pages were blank, while others were written in the tiniest handwriting he'd ever seen. In the end, nothing came of it.

Ah, of course. He should have figured it out sooner. This was obviously a joke book meant to trick the curious person, such as himself. Still, it was weird that he hadn't found any books that referenced the island's historical events, traditions, or something of the sort.

Maybe there was no use in dwelling on it, though. Perhaps, he'd find out more about Koholint through other means, such as oral tradition. For now, he decided to simply return to Marin and Tarin's house.

There were no inns in Mabe, which wasn't too surprising. Who'd even stay in one? Even so, he didn't want to be a dead weight to the family. There had to be a way for him to repay their generosity.

Those were his thoughts, as he stepped inside the empty house. It had been left untouched since he left earlier that morning. Where had everybody gone? His search led him to the Flying Rooster square, where he had last seen Marin, and to his surprise, she was still there.

She hadn't noticed him yet, for she was too absorbed in singing a rather serene melody. So engrossed was she, that Link felt hesitant to interrupt. Instead, he took some time to admire her mellow voice.

Marin eventually stopped, and once she opened her eyes, she spotted him standing a couple paces away.

"Oh, hello, again! Did you like the song?"

Link smiled and nodded. It seemed like a sufficient enough answer to Marin.

"Great! I call it 'The Ballad of the Wind Fish'. I…I haven't figured out any lyrics yet, but once I do, I'll sing it to you."

"I'll look forward to that. Hey, where's Tarin?"

"He went to the forest to pick mushrooms for dinner," she explained.

The forest… That's where the owl had told him to go. That conversation hadn't left Link's mind, even with all the happenings that occurred since then. It seemed like he'd end up going there, one way or another.

"Alright. I'll go help him, then."

"Ah, that's nice of you," she said, smiling. "In the meantime, I'll keep practicing."

The two exchanged a brief farewell, and Link headed north.

…

The Mysterious Woods… Well, it certainly fit the bill. The dense canopies of the deciduous trees reached a height great enough to block sunlight. Only a few stray beams of light managed to pierce through the leaves and meet the earth. A wispy, almost wondrous aura resonated through the natural walkways as a result, which was enhanced by the smell of damp dirt. It wasn't that Link didn't appreciate the salty air of the sea. It was just that this woody scent reminded him of Hyrule, and that's what made it special to him.

He blinked out of his stupor. Now wasn't the time for reminiscing. He was on foreign ground that could have very well been brimming with monsters. He held his sword close and his shield closer.

…

After a long trek, during which he only came face to face with the hog-like, spear throwing moblins, and the occasional goey zol that popped out of the ground, Link found a cave. It didn't seem like the type of place Tarin would wander into, but he felt compelled to investigate it regardless.

It was dreadfully dark inside. The air was musty, and the floor brittle and sleek. Bat-like keese were hanging from the ceiling, eagerly waiting for their next prey to draw near. There was a visible glint at the far end of the tunnel, though, and that served as motivation for Link to delve deeper.

He had to tread carefully through the uneven ground in order to make his way down to the lowest point in the cave. A red chest with gold details was waiting for him, asking to be opened. Link lifted the lid, which creaked in protest, and took a look inside.

A toadstool…

"Pfft. There goes another sucker, he-he, ho-ho."

Link spun in the blink of an eye, sword at the ready.

"Eeh! A kitchen knife!"

Link blinked. A small raccoon was standing before him. A talking one, at that.

"What's wrong? Something stuck on my teeth?" it asked, looking at him with its beady eyes.

He lowered his sword.

"...Hey… Have you seen a man around here?"

The raccoon scratched its chin.

"Uuuuhhhhh… Describe him to me."

"...Black hair. Mustache. About this tall."

"Uuuuhhhhh… What's his name?"

"Tarin."

"Uuuuhhhhh… Dunno of any Tarins. He sure sounds charming, though."

Link said nothing.

"Welp. Good luck, shorty. I'm outta here," it said, before turning tail and scurrying away.

"Shorty!?"

The pesky animal exited the cave, while Link gave chase.

"I wouldn't follow me if I were you! You'll get lost! He-he, ho-ho."

Sure enough, the moment Link stepped outside, he was in a completely different part of the forest than he had been previously. The raccoon's laughter echoed all around him, but the rascal itself was nowhere to be found.

Cursing under his breath, Link took a step into the unknown once again.