Perplexing Petrification (Quill)

The Residential District of Hyrule Castle Town was unlike anything Terrel had ever seen before, but she still wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing. The place was busier than anywhere else she'd ever been before, and it was certainly dirtier too. More than once already in the three days she had been there she'd had to deflect men with cold stares; the woman was, at least, thankful it had only come to just that and nothing physical. No, the place was dirty but it was also fascinating as well. Wanted posters hung up on every other block for a different person, street urchins looked up at you from a camouflage of grime, and every other person was a peddler who wanted you to try something. She'd never really thought of herself as a city girl, having never been to one, but she had actually been liking it.

The day was comfortably warm right now with the potential to heat up throughout the day, a position she felt most comfortable with. If Castle Town hadn't been such a melting pot it likely would have been clear that Terrel was, in fact, a complete outsider to the city. Her hair, skin, and eyes were all darker than your typical fair-skinned Hylian girl, though not like some of the truly black fellows she had observed. Most people passed her pigment off as someone who worked long hours in the sun and held a darker than average tan. What did make her stand out was the weapon she carried on her back; not many women carried crossbows around these parts. The pictobox she hung around her neck didn't help against that tourist vibe either.

But today, like any day, she had a goal in mind. Exploring the city fully and thoroughly was a task that could take her the rest of her life, so she knew she had to get going rather quickly. In a nutshell, Terrel was looking for crime. Not to deal justice like some rogue vigilante nor to join them like some sniveling thief; no, she just needed to learn about them. From her own time spent with the lousy lot of thieves, the woman knew that crime was the secret plague that permeated all civilization. The bigger the better. Much of it was connected as well, and if you could find one lead, it could very well take you to another place. For that reason, Terrel Strong had taken a regular interest in the wanted posters that wallpapered most of the city, looking for something odd and unusual. Strange crimes usually meant less petty criminals. That meant someone, somewhere, was serious, and that could make all the difference.

In particular, one poster had stuck out. Some mage, now apprehended apparently, had been turning people to stone in droves. While they had caught him, no answers had been rooted out from the stubborn culprit, and there was a reward offered to anyone who could gain a knowledge advantage on the matter. Terrel was no mage or detective really, but she did have some experience getting to the bottom of things. Well, she hoped she did, otherwise her life goal was more or less a dead-end. No time like the present to practice, right? Packing her things for the day and slinging her crossbow across her back, the woman departed the small, dingy inn that she was lodging at, intent to try and learn something new.

Marcus sighed, resting his head against the side of the oak table he was sitting at. He was exhausted, yet his fatigue was mixed with the elation and sense of victory that came from having wealths of previously lost knowledge open to him. The Western Caves had been completely cut off from Northern Hyrule for decades, and Ganon's presence in Death Mountain had prevented them from establishing any contact. It had only been through a fluke, a twist of fate, that had brought Marcus across the border. He and a fellow mage had been pinned down by a nest of Skulltulas, and, gravely injured, the mage had made the split-second decision necessary to save both of their lives. He had activated a pre-set teleportation spell known as "Farore's Wind," with the ultimate destination being Hyrule Castle Town. The invasion of Ganon had taken its toll on the stores of knowledge in Southern Hyrule, and while the people had rebuilt and rediscovered as many things as they could, much had been lost. Yet, here he was, in the greatest Library Northern Hyrule had to offer. Multiple centuries' worth of tomes and scrolls lined its shelves, and it was all open to him. The Northerners didn't understand what they had here, but then, people never realize what they have until it was gone. It may have been an old and over-used saying, but that didn't make it any less true.

Marcus had come here after his business in Impa specifically to visit Hyrule Castle Town's libraries. He had spent the entire day here, researching the lost methods of healing and exclaiming in wonder at the studies and refined techniques that had been invented since Ganon's invasion. Exclaiming mentally, of course. He respected Libraries and his fellow bookworms far too much to distract them from their own incredible finds. It was always obnoxious when people did that. Then again, Loft had done that the very first time they had met. Actually, that was how they had met. The insane boy had rudely interrupted his quiet reading, and somehow, Marcus still wondered how, they had ended up travelling together. Thank the Goddesses that they had parted ways, and curse the Goddesses that they continued to throw them together for odd missions in various corners of Hyrule.

Marcus flipped a page, and sighed. He had been here for hours, and he was getting very hungry. As much as he wanted to simply sit here and lose himself in the wonderful medical facts and traditions contained in these pages, his body and soul required sustenance to continue functioning properly. The long hours of learning had also left him tired, and he recognized the need to take a break. That way, he would be able to more easily absorb more facts. He mentally catalogued his place, stretched, and set about returning the books to their proper places on the shelves. He couldn't imagine how aggravating it must be for the librarians in this enormous place to have to work on shelving. He left the Library, very happy in the security of knowing that the enormous pool of knowledge would be there when he returned from his lunch. It felt good to rely on something so stable. After life-threatening adventures and chaotic quests, it was nice to enjoy order and sanity for a while.

Marcus ate at a small sandwich bar several blocks away from the Library. When he was finished, he threw away his disposables, neatly stacked the trays, and thanked the waitress for her congeniality. On his way back to the Library, he passed a poster hammered into a wooden post. He stopped to read it. People had been turned to stone, and none of the local mages knew of a countercurse. How interesting. Marcus felt the familiar rush of excitement that drew him to adventure, and he decided that this was definitely worth looking into. He continued on his way back to the Library, happy to have a purpose.

The logical place to start would be the "Spells" section of the Library. He had to be prepared for a crowd; there would be plenty of other people with the same idea as him. He wondered if any of them would be interested in pairing up; he was a firm believer in the idea that two heads, and more importantly two sets of eyes, were better than one. Especially when searching a Library.

Terrel took the last reasonable bite of an apple she had picked up a few minutes earlier, looking at the thing disappointedly for a long moment before tossing it to the side of the road. She had begun her little search several hours ago, now, but she continued to underestimate the size of Hyrule Castle Town on a regular basis. The place was simply huge, and she doubted half the residents really knew the place well enough to help her. Not that she needed help; she knew where she was going. Sort of. Wandering was certainly bound to get her where she wanted to go eventually, right? That's what fate was for, or so she hoped.

She really wanted to just go interview the sop who had turned all those folks into stone, but she had tried that yesterday and the guards had just told her to buzz off. How was a person supposed to solve this case if the guards wouldn't even let her talk to the fool who had caused the problem? She sighed grumpily, not sure what to do next. The guards had referred her over to the library where they said she might be able to find some good answers, but even as she left she heard them say the exact same thing to the guy right behind her. If that were the case, she expected them to be there in droves.

However, the real problem with going to library was the fact that she couldn't exactly read very well. She could piece together the words on a page or a sign with some time, but the idea of flipping through dozens of books just sounded like a headache waiting to happen. It probably wouldn't even be worth the trouble, anyway; asking people was always a much more direct and efficient approach. A few minutes ago, about when she had bought that apple actually, Terrel had decided to actually go to this library thing. While she'd never been to one before, the woman expected there would be an aid or something to give her a hand.

Upon reaching the building, though, she wondered if she would even be allowed inside the place dressed the way she was. It was huge, bigger than any building she had been in before, with large stained glass windows in colors she didn't even recognize. Large, stone steps led up to the massive building, and people flowed in and out of the place like a river after the rains. Well, nothing to do but go for it, she supposed. If she'd been wearing a skirt, the woman would have hiked it up in anticipation, but instead Terrel just stomped up the steps, melding with the crowd and entering the huge building.

It seemed even bigger on the inside, an unnerving thought to say the least. Glancing around, the woman found a large set of desks where a group of officials seemed to be dealing with patrons to the library; that would be her best bet. Most of them were women, unfortunately, but she picked out one of the males and made for him, figuring her chances would be best with the opposite sex. Most of the women looked strung up and tighter than a noose, and she couldn't get them with a smile like she could a man. Fastest way to the prize, they were.

Skipping the line altogether, she found one leaving his desk with a handful of books and heading off in another direction, quick-stepping to catch up and lightly grabbing him by the fabric on his arm, a technique she had learned was effective in the city already. "E-excuse me, sir," she said with feigned anxiety, "could you pause a moment to help me?"

As the man turned his face, though, Terrel realized the ploy was unlikely to work. While he probably wasn't much older than she was, his visage was marked with clear uncertainty, as if being touched had almost made him drop his books. He seemed like one of those types that was uncomfortable in their own skins, not confident enough to deal with people on a regular basis so he just sat around in this large, quiet building and sorted some books. Well, she had already made an encounter, so she might as well follow-through with it. He hadn't said anything yet, instead wearing a dumb look of expectation, so she proceeded onward, still trying to flirt slightly with an increasingly awkward rock, "I was wondering if you knew anything about stones to de-petrify people? There was this mage--"

"Yeah," he cut in sharply, causing Terrel to stop simply in surprise. His nasally voice seemed irritated if anything, now, "Everybody is looking for that answer right now. You can go look in the de-cursing section with the rest of them, but you don't seem the kind that would get easily on with those sorts of books when even some of the best mages can't find the answer."

First he interrupted her and then he insulted her--any sense of luring in her voice vanished in an instant, raising her voice far above anyone else in the area, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just because I'm not good at reading doesn't mean--" A chorus of "shh's" filled the air all of a sudden, and she stopped, looking around with irritation. The kid had a smirk on his face, as if he had just won a debate, and Terrel just wanted to give him a sharp knee to the groin. Everyone seemed to be giving her an eye of retribution now, though she didn't know why. Was this place supposed to be quiet? She didn't like libraries already. Without another word she turned to leave the place in a storm.

Marcus was heading up a long line of stone staircases, thinking about how exactly he was going to search for the counter-curse. He flowed with the crowd as best he could for a boy raised underground, and soon enough he had made it to the Library's great double doors. He walked through the stone entryway and stood still, realizing that he didn't know where the different sections were. He knew that the Healing area was between Demonology and Horticulture, but other than that he was clueless. He decided to ask a professional. He wormed his way through the crowds, intent on asking a librarian where he might find the Counter-curses and the Spells areas, but before he could a nasally voice cut through the din of the crowd.

Nearby, a sallow, insecure looking young man was standing by an anxious woman. Apparently, she was asking for information on the petrification curse. Marcus' interest was piqued, but he felt disappointed when he learned that everyone had had the exact same idea as him. Apparently, the greatest mages had already perused those shelves without any success, and now they had been followed by everyone else. He would find no luck in that area. Marcus felt like dismissing the whole thing, but he still felt that nagging, burning sensation that told him to keep searching. The answer was close, he thought, watching idly as the seemingly-anxious woman started yelling angrily at the librarian, he just needed to find it.

He watched her storm off. He considered going up to her and introducing himself, but he decided against it. She had admitted herself that she could not read, and Marcus' first task was to search the Library shelves. She would not be of much use, as interesting as she may be. Marcus turned his attention back to the unpleasant librarian, thinking. Counter-curses had already been thoroughly examined, but what about... what about the Healing section? Marcus' first reaction was to dismiss the idea. General anti-petrification spells would be what the wizards had first tried, and obviously they hadn't worked. It was possible that the mage had worked subtle magic into his curse so that the general healing magics would be ineffective against it. No, a specific counter-curse was needed. But then, Marcus thought, stomping the ground in frustration, he was back to the beginning. The Library could not help him.

He sighed and followed the woman out of the Library. There was nothing that he could do. There was only one way to cure the victims, and that was through a specific counter-curse. The wizards would probably have to spend months interrogating the culprit and examining the victims before they could engineer such a spell. The victims were frozen in a state of suspended animation within the stone, and therefore they would most likely emerge safe and sound. It was only a matter of time.

The city was crowded at this time of day. People wove in and out of shops and alleyways like streams of ants, and the sun's heat seemed amplified tenfold by the close conditions. Marcus was sweating, and he decided to take a break in a nearby shop. He stepped through the entryway into the cool shade of the shop, and it was as if the din got left out with the sunlight. It was cool and quiet in here, and Marcus took a second to simply close his eyes and enjoy the atmosphere. Then he opened them and realized that the light was colored dark purple. It smelled like someone had taken a dozen apothecaries' worth of materials and liquified them all into the containers dotted across the side of the floor. They were open-ended, and multi-colored vapor curled out of them like snakes from vases.

"Welcome, dearie," a woman said behind the shop's bar. Her hair was wispy and grey, and she beckoned him forward with a finger. "There is fire in your eyes, young man," she said shrewdly, pointing a gnarled finger at him, "I can tell. Your life can be exciting and dangerous, sometimes despite your wishes." Marcus did not respond. "That is why," she said, reaching down behind the bar and pulling out a vial of bright red liquid, "you should take this. It will give you the strength you need to overcome adversity."

Marcus looked coolly at her. "I know my clothes are ripped and stained, thank you," he said, "and I don't appreciate your attempts to awe me. Sorry, madam, but I'm a Healer. If I was wounded, I can simply use magic and-"

"Pah!" The woman waved away his words like an irksome fly. "Spells and magic! So often people think of the flashy lights and loud bangs of spellcrafting. They ignore the delicate power of the earth, the myriad of effects that just a few chemicals," she shook the vial delicately, "can have on the human body. It is a complicated mechanism, and if you understand its workings, you can manipulate it in any way you so desire."

Marcus nodded. "I understand, and I agree."

"Really?" The woman said, straightening slightly. "This is good! This is a mere twenty rupees, which is a greater deal than-"

"I agree with what you said," Marcus interrupted, "but I still don't need any potions. Thank you for your time." He turned and began to walk out.

"Don't be so caught up in your high-and-mighty magic," the woman cried after him, "the power of earth can work wonders that your petty puffs of smoke could never imagine! True power lies in nature's complexity, not in dusty tomes and decaying scrolls!"

Marcus stepped back into the crowd, shaking his head and continuing on through the market. It was a good respite from the heat, but it hadn't been worth the argument. Battling her sales pitch had been as annoying as the crowds, and he was glad to be out of the potion-shop. Still, though, something was niggling at the back of his mind as he continued to walk aimlessly through the market.

True power lies in nature. Many people overlook its complexities, but the human body is a delicate machine. With the right knowledge, and the right chemicals, it is possible to alter it in any way you so desire.

Perhaps the answer lay, not in traditional spells, but rather in nature. That would explain why the great mages had been unable to find any answers. Marcus' first reaction was to check the Library, but then he remembered something else the woman had said.

True power lies in nature's complexity, not in dusty tomes and decaying scrolls. The woman was an example of an acolyte of the earth, and she had clearly shown that her field's true knowledge could not be gleaned through books. He would need someone else, then. Someone who knew chemicals and magical plants and natural plants and things like that. He needed... an Alchemist.

He had no idea where to find an Alchemist, so he swallowed his pride and headed back to the shop. After apologizing profusely for his behavior, the woman had pointed him to a hut a while out from Hyrule Castle Town. There, she said, lived her old mentor. She knew more about plants and medicines than anyone else the potion-brewer knew. If anyone held the answers to this perplexing petrification, Marcus thought, she did.

He headed back into the crowds and, with a new goal in mind, set off for the town's south exit.

The moment she was out of that grand building, Terrel felt a tinge of embarrassment creep into her cheeks. She was still irritated at the man--no, the boy--she had just tried to put up with, but already she could feel the price of her quick temper lashing out. While it didn't excuse the kid's rudeness, the weight of her actions were still on her shoulders, and she still hadn't made any progress. The day was still young enough, but already several hours had expired, and she had even less of an idea as to her pursuit than when the day had begun. With a resigned sigh, the woman walked to the far edge of the library steps, well out of the way of anyone entering the building. Plopping down onto the stone, Terrel tried to think about what she could do next. Had she picked the wrong case to try and get to the bottom of? Something caught the woman's eye.

A boy had exited the library, and it ticked something strange in her memory. Hadn't he been there when she had merged onto the steps to enter the place? But still he left not much after she did. It was possible resignation had gripped him like anyone else, but there was something odd about him. His clothes were ragged and stained, and even though he was just an adolescent he walked with a level of purpose that most resigned people didn't have. For a moment, Terrel considered running down the steps after him to put him to the question as well. That last encounter was not so encouraging, though. Too late--the boy was already joining the throngs and she had just decided it would be worth it to see what he knew.

Getting up quickly, the woman narrowed her vision onto the kid. Even if she couldn't reach out and stop him, she still had her eyes; all she had to do was catch up. Taking the steps two at a time, Terrel hurried after him, still not completely sure why but instead sticking to her original theory of wandering. Down into the crowds, now, the woman moved as gracefully as she could, which was to say not very, and she elbowed her way past as many possible. The street curved and she lost sight of him around a corner. Cursing under her breath, the woman pushed and shoved as best she could to follow him.

But when she finally made it, the kid was gone from sight. Maybe she just wasn't looking hard enough, but the sea of faces presented no easy way to find someone quickly, if they were even there at all. For a few minutes she tried to guess what street he might have gone down, now thoroughly consumed with this artificial hunt she had created for herself, but every second that passed made the hope even more desperate, and it quickly degraded into wandering. She completed a circuit around the nearby blocks with no avail, on the verge of turning away, when an old alchemy shop caught her attention. No, not the shop: the kid in the doorway.

Terrel gave a shout, frustration mingling with her tone, but there was no way he would catch that. She had him in her sights now, though, and he seemed to have picked "south" as his passage of choice; she could follow that. After about another minute of elbowing people out of the way and slipping through gaps, she realized the crowd had thinned a bit and she could probably call to him, "Hey! Hey kid! Yeah, alchemy boy. Slow down a second, would you?"

Marcus stopped. Was someone calling to him? He turned, seeing that a dark-haired, dark-skinned woman was chasing after him. His immediate reaction was to bend his knees and prepare to spring out of the way, but she didn't seem to be attacking. True, she had a crossbow strapped to her back, but she mostly just looked like she wanted to talk.

"My name's Marcus, and I'm not an alchemist." The crowd may have thinned in this smaller area of the market, but it was still loud. He had to speak much more forcibly than he was honestly comfortable with. He hoped that the woman would not take this as an act of aggression; he wasn't sure if he was fast enough to block her crossbow bolts at this close range. He reprimanded himself for his stupidity; he was in the middle of a crowd, and it was highly unlikely she was going to fire on him.

She had called him 'alchemy boy.' This meant that she had seen him walk out of the potion-shop, which meant that she had been following him ever since he had left. He asked the logical question. "Why are you following me?"

"Relax, kid," Terrel said breathily, "not everyone's out to get you, okay?" She looked around reluctantly as she realized there hadn't been much of a plan beyond just confronting him. People were washing up around them on all sides, and it was loud enough to make any sort of conversation strained right from the get-go. Today wasn't a very good day for her on the whole communication thing, it seemed, and for a fleeting moment she wondered why she had even bothered following the kid. There was no telling if he was actually interested in the petrification, and even if he was... would he be interested in even working with her? For the second time that day she realized it was too late now.

Rummaging into her bag, Terrel grasped at one of the flyers she had torn off a post yesterday carrying all the information about the case. It was a weird place to try and explain this, but she bludgeoned through anyway, holding it up so that the kid could see, "This. You know something about it, don't you?" Quite the bold move, even she was willing to admit, but it wasn't without merits for strategy. If she had guessed wrong then all she'd get was a strange look until she apologized, probably. But if she was right... Worth the risk. Terrel just hoped the kid wouldn't lie to her.

Marcus smiled, relaxing. "Of course." She was right; he wasn't in a lost temple in some faraway forest or in the depths of a volcano. Monsters weren't trying to kill him, and not everyone he met had an ulterior motive for talking to him. She pulled a flier out of her pack, and his smile faded. Never mind. She did have an ulterior motive.

He appraised her, wondering whether or not he should tell her. She couldn't read very well, he knew that from the Library, but he knew better than to assume that this meant low-intelligence. Why she couldn't read he had no idea; perhaps she had been raised in a low socioeconomic class, and her parents had never bothered to teach her. Perhaps she had been raised by wolves. Or, perhaps she had been lying entirely in the Library, her outraged statement as much a part of her act as the simpering, anxious woman had been.

Marcus knew that he wanted a partner in this. Why not her? She was certainly capable enough, judging by her crossbow. He decided to tell her. "I'm not sure," he admitted, "but I have an idea." He nodded his head towards the south. "There's a woman I need to see. You're obviously as interested in this as I am. Would you like to work together?"

Well that was fast. First the kid was happy, then sad, and now he wanted to team up like something from the stories? Maybe he was grieving or something. Terrel's lack of a plan left her dead in the water as far as any strategy went, and she didn't have the luxury of time to sit around and think of what would be best to do next. Did she want to work with him? Honestly she had no clue, but that wasn't the type of answers people liked to hear. Impulsively, the woman reached for some words to throw at the situation, "Your guess is better than mine, I think. Yeah I'll work with you, kid. You got a name?" There, that was... diplomatic enough. She couldn't see him freaking out over it, anyway, unless he was like that sop from the library. Men in this city were so unpredictable.

The streets were still quite full, though, a sign of the times that meant only one thing really: don't get in the way. A herd of men carrying boxes were approaching them, and she didn't feel like pissing any more people off today. Giving the kid a light shove in the arm, the woman jerked her head down the street, practically yelling to be heard over the din of the crowds, "C'mon, walk and talk with me." Ahead, she could tell, the streets largely split off from each other, something that would hopefully allow her to try and salvage some communication skills for the day. She had no idea where they were going, but she had a feeling neither did the kid, really. Well, at least she had gotten somewhere finally, even if it was by the dumbest luck she could find.

Marcus nodded, following her down the southern path. "Marcus." They walked down a less occupied street, and Marcus relaxed. It felt very good to be out of the crowds, and somewhat out of the heat. He wasn't accustomed to sweltering temperatures; one of the good things about life underground was that the temperature remained at a cool 60 degrees Fahrenheit. He kept walking in a general southern direction, but he slowed his pace down to a casual stride.

"I'm a Healer from Southern Hyrule. What about you?"

"I'm..." Terrel began to respond, but the question stumped her for a minute. What was she? Just some woman? Looking for a needle in a haystack? A person with no future? A mom? Gods, those would sound even worse aloud than they did already in her head. She tried to muster up something that wouldn't sound terribly stale, "I'm a hunter." She wouldn't be surprised if Marcus broke out laughing when he heard that. Next thing she knew and she'd be striking dramatic poses on the corpses of her enemies or some other crap. The woman chuckled in spite of herself, though, placing her thumbs in her waistband casually and tilting her head up a bit to face the sun properly.

"South Hyrule, eh? That's a ways, kid. I hear they're sending ships off to try and invade those parts, or something," Terrel said offhandedly, raising a hand to her face and rubbing the side of her nose idly, "at least, that's what I read." She'd made it through most of the posters hanging around town, and one of them had been for enlistment. Maybe if she didn't have a more pressing goal she would've gone for it. South Hyrule was far, though, and if she had the maps right in her head, that made the kid a lot rarer than he looked. Who exactly had she stumbled upon?

"What brings'ya up to these parts then, Marcus? Can't imagine you were just so anxious to see stone people that you had to rush north, huh."

Marcus noted the pause. She didn't seem like she was lying, exactly, but she was obviously hiding more than she was telling. That was alright by him. He wasn't too interested in other peoples' secrets. He nodded, stepping over a discarded barrel and turning down another street corner. "My uncle was a hunter," he said. "He tracked down game and brought back food to be distributed through the the Caves."

Troops were being sent down to Southern Hyrule? Was the King finally sending his people aid? Marcus wasn't sure, but he made researching this high priority for when he was finished with the petrifications. Perhaps there was something he could do to help. He wanted to help bring his people out of the caves and into the light as much as anyone. Living under the constant threat of destruction was extremely taxing, and Marcus was glad that troops were being sent. He considered the possibility of enlisting into the army to aid the cause. Marcus didn't like the idea of being a soldier, but armies always needed medics. He wondered whether he should look into a temporary contract, but decided to meditate on it later. Something about the idea of being bound to the Northern Hylian army for an indefinite period didn't sit well with him, but the street wasn't exactly an ideal place for such thoughts.

When she asked him why he was up here, he smiled. "No. I doubt that word of this has spread to Southern Hyrule. I'm here by accident, swept up in a colleague's teleportation spell."

He stopped. They had reached the southern gate. The drawbridge had been lowered, and travellers were passing in and out of the city in a large, disorganized jumble of hot bodies and clacking wagons. The watchtowers on either side were manned by grim-faced guards, and Marcus pointed out towards the fields spreading out in the distance. "We're headed that way," he said, "we should arrive before nightfall."

He looked over at her. "Is that alright, Ms...."

"Terrel," she responded in line with a smile, not really interested in sharing her last name as an introductory measure. It was a little strange, she admitted, but it was what it was. "And yeah, that's just fine. Hopefully we make it before the sun's down, but... ah... I wouldn't worry too much about it." She glanced at the sky in spite of herself, wondering if it would actually be a problem. How far out were they going, anyway? Hopefully the kid knew where they were off to; she'd gotten lost plenty of times on her way here. The thought of singing the moon away brought a grin to her face, and she ventured a question about it.

"You ever sing, mister Marcus?" Every place had their own songs, and she didn't expect the southern parts of Hyrule to be much different. What might they have down there? A lot of the folks up here, especially those ones with the fancy clothes and proper hairstyles, seemed to think that the people from the south were basically just unorganized savages. Marcus seemed different than that stereotype, though. He said he'd teleported up here, but she didn't really know what that was. Maybe a type of boat? She heard the mountains were impassable since that dark cloud had covered Death Mountain. Well, it didn't really matter anyhow.

"Terrel," Marcus said, nodding in thanks. "No," he said, walking down the drawbridge and stepping onto the soft grass of Hyrule Field. "I was never a singer. My sister was, but I never gave it any time." The wind picked up and blew against his face, and he enjoyed the relief from the heat. It was much, much cooler out in the field than it was in the city, and Marcus was glad to be out of the oppressive conditions of the market. He didn't know how city people dealt with the teeming mass of people, the roads overflowing with shifting bodies, the air charged with thousands of peoples' thoughts and emotions. He supposed that they simply learned to adapt, but he didn't like it. This, the empty field, was what he preferred.

"Why," he asked, walking southwest now instead of pure south, "do you sing?" The potion seller had instructed him that her old master lived on the outskirts of the woods to the southwest of Hyrule Castle. It wasn't too far away, so Marcus was truly reasonably confident that they would arrive before nightfall. He doubted, however, that their business would be concluded before the day ended. He didn't mind camping outside, and being a hunter, he doubted she did either, but he still worried slightly over the unknown gap in the plan. He needed Terrel to accompany him; the downside to specializing in Healing magics was that he was near-useless in combat situations. He needed some kind of warrior or offensive mage to travel with him on anything that might turn even slightly dangerous. It was aggravating sometimes, but Marcus was used to it by now. He just hoped that she wouldn't storm off and leave him behind.

Terrel smiled a bit at the question. She wouldn't call herself a singer, but she did enjoy it most certainly, "Sometimes you find interesting things when you sing. Maybe your sister knows." The woman shrugged off-handedly, digging her hands into her pockets and turning around casually to watch Hyrule Castle Town retreat away from them as they walked. It felt good to be out in the country again, no longer surrounded by hundreds of people all at the same time. The city was fun, it was exciting and alive, but the fields and the grasses... Those were calming. The air seemed a lot fresher when you weren't jammed between all those buildings all the time.

Maybe it was the fact that she had found a lead finally, or maybe it was because she was in her element for the first time in a few days, but Terrel just wanted to throw her head back and relax in the sun. Roll around on the grass for a while and enjoy the warmth. No, those days were over now, and she understood that, but she certainly felt like something had unwound in her a bit. She was in foreign company going to the goddesses knew where, but she couldn't really think of a better way to spend her time.

Even as they walked, though, they were still not completely alone. The city was still close enough, and the road they traveled on was a fairly busy one, plenty of people coming to the Castle Town from near and far. It was no bustling main street, but if you gave each fellow a polite nod you'd have a sore neck pretty quick. It did, however, strike her with an idea that made her grin, a bit, wondering if Marcus would play a long.

"Let's play a game," she said definitively. "I'll pick someone on the road, and you tell me as much as you can about them just by looking at them--we'll go back and forth, okay? Here, I'll show you how it's done. See that bloke down the road with the green vest?" Terrel nodded at a figure just far enough to not notice someone staring at him. Well, not that he would; the man had just dropped a stack of letters he had been trying to shuffle through while he walked, and now he was quickly trying to gather them up before anyone stepped on one.

"I... think... I think he's from one of the ranches in the fields down a ways, you know? Only had one kid, 'cuz his wife said she'd never do that again. That mustache he wears? She hates it, but he wears it because sometimes he feels like he can't control anything else. Win the small fights, y'know? Times've been tough with the last winter, and he's found his first gray hairs over that. Those letters are for all the insurance claims he's gotta file over it; wife's been bugging him to go do it already. She gets on his nerves sometimes, but he'd give the world for her." Terrel smiled at that, satisfied with the happy ending she'd given him.

"All right, mister Marcus, you're up! See that fellow over there with the overalls and the bag over his shoulder? What's his story?"

"Maybe," Marcus echoed quietly, his heart beating rapidly as Terrel turned away. Unconsciously, his hand drifted up to his sternum, touching the hard bump that was Farore's Emblem. Perhaps there was something, some kind of truth about the world that he had been unaware of, something that she had fully known and embraced. It was strange, thinking of his sister like that. Unreal, to realize that there was more to who she had been than he had known. It wasn't the singing specifically that did it; more that it brought home the fact that she had known and lived in ways that he could never fully understand.

"Let's play a game," Terrel said, breaking into his thoughts. It sounded rather like a game Marcus had once played with his fellow classmates at the Healer's Academy in the Western Caves. They would pick a place in the Caves, perhaps a restaurant or street-corner, and diagnose all the people that passed by. When someone is introduced to an extensive list of deadly diseases and their symptoms, that person has a tendency to become paranoid and see viruses everywhere. This game worked off of that. If Marcus and his classmates were to have been believed, nearly everyone who passed by would have been dead in weeks.

Marcus nodded. "Alright, I'll give it a try." This game worked on basically the same principle, only the parameters were much less defined. Instead of, 'name that illness,' it was, 'tell a tale.' Marcus concentrated on the man in the overalls, his professional eyes raking his figure slowly as he took in the details.

"His boots and lower legs are stained with mud," he said, "but otherwise, his outfit is clean. The bag looks stretched, and he handles it comfortably. See how he shifts it from side to side? He's used to carrying it. He looks fit, and he's walking with a purpose. He's barely glancing from side to side, and he doesn't look down at the road very often. He's travelled this road very often. I would say... that he's some kind of delivery-man. He's not with the actual post-office, because he doesn't have an emblem. He must be some kind of freelancer, but his clothes aren't rich enough to have a particularly high-end clientele. The bag looks filled with various items, so I would say that he's delivering something from the outlying areas into Hyrule Castle Town."

Marcus smiled at Terrel, and said, "I used to play a game like this in school. I forgot how much I enjoyed it." Feeling much, much more at ease with the woman, he decided that it was high time to tell her where they were going. He pointed down the road towards the forest clearly visible in the distance. "We're heading over to see a Potion-Master at the edge of the woods. I reasoned that, since traditional spell-casting wasn't proving very effective, that perhaps the magic of the earth would produce better results. Do you know anything about Alchemy, Ms. Terrel?"

Terrel grinned as Marcus searched for the answer, full on smiling as he delivered one. Was it what she would have said about the fellow? Probably not, but that was the great part. She loved the game, and she wanted to play it with her son someday. It was a slightly sobering thought, to say the least. As Marcus opened his mouth again, Terrel looked at him with anticipation, wondering who she'd get saddled with for the next part of the game. Would it be the lass in the red skirt? Maybe that boy who looked like he'd never taken a bath in his life? Or how about that foolish girl who looked like she was trying to attract every thief in the countryside with a neckline that low?

But Marcus had something else on his mind, and she found where they were actually headed to. She hadn't even thought to ask before, caught up as she was just with the proposition of even having a lead. An alchemist was where they were headed? A fleeting image of an old hag bent over a cauldron twice her size came to mind, but those were just for the stories. "Alchemy?" Terrel chewed her lip a bit over that question, "I used to know a pair of brothers who did alchemy. Not for something like this, though." She scratched her head awkwardly, added almost inaudibly, "Kind of the opposite, actually." Those two were a nasty couple, she remembered. Shaking her head, she actually answered the question finally, "But I don't know anything about it myself. Too bad, huh?"

Marcus grinned, scratching the back of his neck with his left hand. "Neither do I. I got lectured by a potion-seller back in the city on its importance, but I don't know too much about it. I thought about researching it, but the seller made it very clear that alchemy can never be truly recorded or learned through books." He exhaled, looking ahead at the woods. They were getting closer, and the sun was beginning to fall through the blue sky. It wasn't yet getting dark, but Marcus was starting to get apprehensive. It was not vitally important that they arrive before nightfall, but he still wanted to arrive before the sun set.

He walked on in silence for a while, then he grinned. They were beginning to leave the most-travelled section of the road, and Marcus decided that he should capitalize on the stream of travellers while he still could. He nodded at a passing couple. "I went last," he said, "so it's your turn. Except this time, you'll look for crimes they're guilty of. Tell me about the lady in the green kilt. You know, the one walking with the red-haired man."

Terrel put a hand to her chin thoughtfully, rummaging across the woman with her eyes. After a long pause, Terrel finally remarked, "She's a sly one, she is. The man doesn't know it, but he's in for quite the night, ending with his wallet being stolen. When she was young she started with the small things, breaking vases and blaming it on the cat. When she found out that her family wasn't doing so great, she learned how to filch a coin out of a rich man's purse, and before long it wasn't just about opportunity, she'd find them and go after them. Target acquired, and such. She doesn't exactly like what she does, but there's a certain thrill that comes from conning someone out of cash that you just can't forget so easily. At the end of the day, maybe she doesn't like who she is, but whatever pays the bills."

The woman smirked slightly, wondering if she'd drawn on herself at all for that one. Well, it was hard to talk about a woman's sins without including some of her own, but she was off in a different direction most certainly. It'd been a while since she'd filched, anyway. There was enough coin in her purse to keep her all right for a few weeks still, but a reward for this little hunt would appreciated indeed.

But enough of that! "That kid over there. The shirtless one with the sword on his waist. Tell me about his love life, yeah?"

Marcus raised his eyebrows slightly. That was a rather detailed story for a spur-of-the-moment tale. Perhaps she had drawn on some factual reservoir in making it? Marcus hoped not, because that would put her at an advantage. He didn't have any experience to call upon with this one. Nevertheless, for the sake of the game, he decided to give it a go.

"Well," he said, scratching his fingers, "he's very confident in his own body. Otherwise, he wouldn't be walking without a shirt, or if he weren't, he would be hunched in on himself and looking down at the ground. He's looking forward, which means he's most likely confident in who he is and how he appears. That, combined with the sword hanging from his strap and the scars criss-crossing his chest, could possibly indicate a certain level of desirability among women. It's possible that he's sought after by women and that he has a very active love life. But, then again, it's also possible that he's got one girl that he's firmly devoted to. He's not wearing a ring, and his tan doesn't seem to be interrupted on either ring finger, but that doesn't mean he lacks a significant other in his life. On the other hand, he could be completely naive and innocent, which would make him have either a very child-like love-life or none at all. I'm afraid I can't really tell which one."