Wherein our travelers learn a grand secret.
Previously: Welcome to Castle Town
Conversation is sparse as the group makes their way to the fortune teller’s. As they round the street corner to the right part of town, the sound of construction becomes obvious, but they can’t see where it’s coming from. Marah flags down a passing child.
“Excuse me, what are they building?”
“They’re not buildin’ nothin! Didn’t cha hear about the Bomb Shop?”
“No, what happened?”
“Bombs.” The child gives her an incredulous look, and she when she asks further, he doesn’t have much to say besides that he doesn’t go there because he doesn’t get much pocket money, and also he’s seven. She seems somewhat annoyed but thanks him anyway, and gives the child a rupee. He bites down on it, and then runs off, yelling happily.
Impa peeks her head inside the Bomb Shop to see if everything is alright — the sounds of construction appear to be coming from the back room, with no change in behavior from the shopkeep, who calls “How can I –” but Impa has closed the door before he finishes. Realizing her rudeness, she pops it back open and says “Sorry, I don’t need anything today, I was just checking!”
This apparently sates the group’s curiosity, and they turn their attention to the adjacent fortune teller’s shop.
Defying tradition, the fortune teller occupies a building, rather than a tent. The door to her shop is open, but thick purple curtains hang down in the entry-way. They are emblazoned with a symbol that resembles a simplified Hylian crest –it notably does not contain the Triforce, but is just the bird portion of the symbol. This is highly unusual and certainly very out of date.
When Impa pushes into the building, the first thing that she notices is how very dim it is kept, and the second thing is the thick white braids coming out from the fortune teller’s hood, and the symbol of the eye appears around the room. It seems very likely this woman is a fellow Sheikah. “Hello, grandmother,” begins Impa, testing to see how the other will react. There is a small chuckle, she responds:
“Welcome to Madame’s Fortune Telling, would you like to –” the fortune teller’s hands had been waving in the air theatrically, but then she drops them, as she appears to actually look at Impa, “Oh. Can I help you?”
Impa first asks a subtle question that will reveal whether this woman believes — as she does– that there is an oncoming darkness and the royal family is ill equipped to handle it. It turns out that she does, and that is why she is working as a fortune teller in Castle Town; she is both ostracized from the Sheikah clan and wants to keep a close eye on what is going on. Secure in the knowledge that this woman will not reject her, she introduces herself as Impa.
However, before they can continue to discuss, the rest of the party joins Impas. Immediately, Madame’s hands fly back up, and she greets the others, “Would you care to have your fortune told?”
Marah agrees enthusiastically, “Yes!”
“That will be 25 rupees.” After being paid, Madame, apparently ignoring Impa in favor of a customer, waves her hands around in a show of faux Mysticism–Marah reaches out and takes them, apparently unsure of what to do. There is a brief, awkward pause, before Madame pulls her hands back, and says she will consult her crystal ball.
As she begins to look into the orb in front of her, her shoulders slump. Her mouth, the only visible part of her face, presses into a concerned line.
“Oh my. You do need your fortune told. Here…” Madame pushes the rupees back toward Marah. What she has seen– when she expected to see nothing at all– has made her somber.
The group explain their shared dream and other disturbances.
“I… hold on. I’m going to take this off,” she lowers her hood. “It’s really very hot under there. In any case, my name is Etha. And I too have seen portents of an oncoming darkness. There is something I believe you all need to do.”
Etha turns to Impa. “How much do you know of the history of the Royal Family?” Etha knows Impa’s family left Kakariko village shortly after the chieftain named his own newborn daughter Impa, creating a rift between two factions of the tribe, and so knows that Impa may not have learned everything that she would have otherwise been taught.
“I know that many generations ago, we lived in prosperity. The royal family ruled justly and guided Hyrule well, but then a tragedy with the royal children caused a downturn in fortune. They, and Hyrule, never recovered.” Impa knows there are details missing from this story, that she only got the version of events taught to most Sheikah. She relays something else “This was before the Hylian Sea broke the country into East and West Hyrule.”
Etha thinks for a moment, and replies, “I was able to find references to more events. The tragedy that befell the royal family was a squabble over power. The prince of the time sought aid from an evil wizard, and was perhaps bewitched by him. This led to the princess being…” she pauses, “lost? Some texts say that she died, and some simply say lost. I found one that could be translated to mean she was put into a deep sleep. I have reason to believe that she can be recovered.”
The others are perplexed, “You think the princess from hundreds of years ago, is alive?” Impa is frowning, deep in thought.
Etha shakes her head slightly, “Not alive, but not dead, either. I believe we must restore her. She was,” and now Etha looks directly at Impa, “a Princess Zelda.” This means little to everyone else, but Impa nods to indicate she understands.
Together, the two Sheikah women explain to the others that the royal family has duties to Hyrule that are tied to the lineage of the princess in particular. Without her, if the Demon King or another darkness is truly returning to Hyrule, they believe all is lost.
Etha goes on, “There is an artifact… an instrument, that I believe could restore her. However, what I read suggests it was broken into pieces and scattered across Hyrule. I couldn’t determine why — the text was too deteriorated to tell… these old tomes can be difficult to work with. It may be dangerous, but I believe… it must be restored. If you can bring me the pieces, I believe I can do that.”
As Karin begins to look upset, thinking this sounds somewhat suspicious, Etha explains there should be one piece on Labyrinth Island, one piece in the Hebra Mountains, and one in Old Kakariko village.
Suddenly, Karin moves around the table and tries to check Etha’s pockets. However, she isn’t nearly stealthy enough to do this. Etha is upset, but seems to understand: “I see. I wouldn’t trust me either. But… you must know that if you suspect someone of being evil, it isn’t wise to stick your hands in their pockets looking for clues.” She turns out her pockets, revealing a purple rupee and a biscuit. This seems to ally Karin’s fears for the time being.
Karin says, “With the five of us, we should be able to do it.”
“Five?” Etha asks, and Karin begins to describe Salari again. As she does so, Etha tries, and fails, to see him. Karin then notices Salari is hovering in the corner of the room, arms folded tight across his body, posture hunched, mouth pressed firmly together.
“We can’t… I don’t… I need to –” she hears him saying, before he disappears.
Karin calls out to him, but he does not respond or reappear. At this point, Etha is fairly concerned about the young woman’s mental state, but Karin insists, “I wouldn’t be here without him. I didn’t know what the dream even was. Besides, she’s seen him too–” and gestures at Impa.
After taking a moment, seeming to consider not saying anything, Impa nods, “He’s a little green… child. A ghost?” Karin mentions that he tends to come and go.
“A green child?” Etha’s expression is contemplative, and Impa clarifies that he is dressed in green. Apparently, this does not mean anything to Etha, either, and the conversation returns to the three instrument pieces.
The group determines that they will take on this task, and will start with the one in Labyrinth Island, as reaching it has the easiest journey from Castle Town. There is also a Garrison and small settlement about halfway there, before they reach the forested Akkala wilderness.
They leave Etha for now, and rent a room at the Cackling Keese. Before bedding down for the night, they head to the general store to make sure they have enough rations, and buy a few other supplies in preparation for the journey ahead.