Apothecary

Chapter 25

With Link gone, I tried to calm down and managed to formally introduce myself to the yeti couple. Contrary to what I was lead to believe, Yeto and Yeta were not, in fact, "a pair of brutes." The two of them were actually very gracious hosts, and after the general unpleasantness that was Link's new attitude had left the room, we got along rather nicely.

They explained that Link hadn't visited lately, and he seemed to be the only Hylian who ever did. Yeta was pleased to discover that he had another "small, cute human friend" traveling with him now. Yeto offered me their famed soup, claiming that Link (when he was himself, anyway) always made sure to grab a jar whenever he visited. I obliged them, grateful for the hot drink, and was pleasantly surprised when the small itch of frostbite on my fingers began to vanish with a slight glow. It appeared this soup of theirs possessed minor healing properties--outside of the normal blend of broth and spices, which were always good for colds.

I immediately began to ask them about potentially getting the recipe, just to have on hand--I made it clear I wouldn't even think about selling it without their permission. When they wondered what kind of human would sell cold yeti soup, I told them I worked as an apothecary, though the best I could explain it to them was that I was a kind of healer in training. We made our introductions, and after Yeto had gotten up to stoke the fire, the three of us sat down.

So I sat there in a yeti's drawing room, politely sipping my bottle of hot soup while Link was no doubt nearly getting himself killed again somewhere in the depths of the mansion. Even if this was the effect of the Fused Shadows, I had no idea how they even worked—if their corruption was strong enough to linger after two years, or if Link was being exposed this badly simply by searching through the dungeons.

As I ate and thought, it occurred to me that I had two prime sources of information right there in the room, keeping me company and making polite--if fragmented--conversation while my partner went on a crazed, darkness-fueled tear through their house. I knew Link wasn't acting himself—that much was blatantly obvious—but I had no baseline for how these dungeons could have possibly affected him beforehand. Yeto and Yeta were here when he first visited this place—they could tell me how different he was now.

"Yeto, Yeta --if you would be so kind--I have something to ask."  I addressed my hosts, who both looked towards me. "How was Link when he last came here? Was he always this..." I trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it. "...cranky?" 

There was again a silence, and I began--if such a thing were possible--to read the concern written on a yeti's face.

"HE...SEEM BAD, UH." Yeto finally spoke. "LIKE WIFE WHEN I GAVE MIRROR."

"Yes." Yeta nodded in agreement. "He seem just like that, uh. Pretty mirror it was, but...bad."

I sat down next to the overturned couch and leaned against its cushions. "What did this...mirror do to you?"

"Got very sick, first." Yeta began to explain. "Was cloudy, uh. Not able to think, so sick. Not able to remember where key was, uh."

"And that was when you first met Link?"

Yeta nodded. "Link helped us get rid of mirror, uh. Took it away somewhere." She shivered. "But mirror was bad. Very bad, uh. Was..." She looked to be searching for the right word. "Was...corrupting."

Like how the Fused Shadows corrupt?  I was beginning to see that this mirror might have been one of them.

"GLAD MIRROR IS GONE, UH." Yeto nodded. "BUT LINK WAS KIND. HELPED WIFE GET BETTER."

"Did not complain when foggy mind forgot where key was, uh." Yeta interjected.

"WAS NOT ANGRY LAST TIME, UH." Yeto looked thoughtful. "WAS...EAGER, TO HELP. HIM AND SHADOW WITH HIM."

"Shadow?" I was instantly intrigued. "He had a Fused Shadow with him?"

"Fused shadow, uh?" Yeta was confused.

"An object. What he and I might be looking for here. It sounds like this mirror you found may have been one of them. But," I was getting off track. "You say Link had a shadow with him last time?"

Yeto shook his head. "NOT OBJECT, UH. MORE LIKE...SPIRIT. SHADOW OR SPIRIT, UH."

Spirit...did that mean a person?

"Yes! Like spirit, uh." Yeta agreed with her husband. "Only saw briefly, uh. But spirit made portal. Got Link out, uh. Out of house--fast."

It...made a portal? Like the shadow beasts had made portals, by robbing the light spirits? Was Link with one of those...things?

My mind was swimming in too many questions. I had to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to try and calm down--sipping the soup and taking my thoughts one at a time helped. Yeto and Yeta continued their story of how Link had helped them two years ago, and I did my best not to be too preoccupied, listening for key details as they told it. One thing was for sure--whatever this mirror had been, it was well and truly gone. Its dark influence seemed to have left the house in peace when Link took it away, and the only monsters left for Yeto to deal with were the usual Ice Wolfos and Chilfos common to the manor.

I drank down the last of my soup bottle, leaning back against the sofa in thought. So if it wasn't residual effects from this mirror, then what was it? What was going on that was affecting Link this badly? Was it this "spirit" or "shadow" that Yeta had mentioned?  I could think of no other way that Link had been involved with the darkness—

And then I remembered something Link had let slip way back when all of this started, about his transformations. About his wolf form.

Hadn't he originally told me it was a curse?

I could have kicked myself for not realizing. Yeah, cursing yourself with darkness just to try and hunt out even darker artifacts had to be doing wonders  for his mental state. I must have huffed or made a sound, and apparently Yeta noticed, because she took my frustration at myself for something else entirely. "Not good relationship now, uh." she advised, and nodded at me. "Maybe should find new husband." 

What.

"He's--he's not usually this bad," I began, overlooking the comment, "but I'm not sure what to do about it. I think..." I thought of how best to explain the situation at hand. "I think there might be another bad mirror, influencing Link this time. Making his mind sick."

"WELL, FIND MIRROR THEN, UH." Yeto nodded resolutely. "GET RID OF NEW MIRROR, MAYBE LINK GO BACK TO NORMAL."

"But..." I trailed off. "I'm not sure where exactly this new mirror is--or how we can get rid of it."

"When Link--and spirit--took mirror..." Yeta trailed off thoughtfully. "Was bright, uh. Like light came back into room--into whole house, uh," she said, and Yeto nodded in agreement.

Light, huh?

And then it dawned on me. It was so simple I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner. Hadn't Zelda warned me that what we were looking for might affect the both of us? And hadn't Link told me where he always went to change back into his true form? If this new mood of his was truly caused by darkness...

Maybe it was time to let in some light.