[] Go alone, low profile and unfortunately without weapons. Will have to rely fully on Midna's senses for the curse source due to guarded townsfolk.
"So, anyplace specific we should check out?" You ask your shadow as you slowly make your way towards the village on foot. You didn't attract much more than a glance, without armour and weapons your hero's tunic and simple pouches did give the impression that you were of a higher class then a farmer but certainly not so high that it was odd you were going into town without a horse.
"I'm not even sure of the nature of this curse, let alone name a proper source," Was the annoyed reply, immediately followed by a sigh, "Which certainly isn't a helpful response for either of us to discover the vector used."
"Well... maybe we can be a little broad with it? Just find stuff that's magical and then see if it's evil or something?" You ask, stepping to the side to let a cart pass you by, the driver not even sparing you a glance as you wave your hand to disperse the dust it kicked up.
"Is magic not common enough that it will be pointless? I've seen those constructs and the evil within them," Midna replied, and you swear you could hear her scratching her chin, "Curses are not just
spells cast without care, they're complex and layered in ways even far more powerful magics are not. Many are cast as an ironic punishment for the caster to gain power from the victims suffering, transform them into some hideous form or inflicted with malice to make something unable to act. All curses though have a mechanism to dispell them, usually by destroying or taking control of the source of it or whatever has been empowered."
"But our curse didn't seem to weaken when we destroyed that Deku Baba, could whatever this curse is be attracting monsters?"
"Well, unlike this blasted world of light monsters are not so much a thing in the twilight realm so I'm afraid it's far more theoretical for me, but it is possible," Midna said, and you almost imagined her leaning back behind you in the air, "But it would be quite a powerful curse to manage that."
"Well, we have a curse on the land called the blood moon that brings forth monsters by the legions," You state, grimly looking forward as you start walking past the outlying buildings of the town.
"That is... well, I don't believe such a thing that supposedly requires all of us to break would be what was used for one girl," There was a pause, followed by a muttered, "No, this is localized. A hunch maybe, but something doesn't feel right."
"I mean it's similar to what was used to hurt Sheik, and I doubt anything used against a child would feel
right," You state, a bit of frustration leaking into your tone.
"But what kind of curse would be used to just damage a child's mind," Midna snaps back, "I could think of so much worse curses that wouldn't be connected to any monster. A child's mind that may just heal on its own is just... pointless."
"Sorry," You say, ducking off the main road between the houses, "I should be trusting your judgement Midna, not snapping at you just for explaining."
"Apology accepted, now could we please move somewhere that's actually-" She pauses, and you take a moment to lean against a wall in the shade, letting a woman pass by without taking notice of you.
"Found something?" You ask, unable to mask the hope in your voice.
A sigh answered you, your heart sinking as Midna spoke "Nothing, just a faint aura of magic nearby. Hardly worth notice..."
"Midna, magic is extremely rare here," You say, "I think you may have just found a clue."
There was a pause, followed by a very self-satisfied voice responding as you feel something push you forward, "Well, you better head over there to investigate!"
With a shake of your head you continue on, listening to the whispered voice from your shadow directing you forward, moving between buildings so as to not make a direct route until finally with a harsh "Stop!" You reach your target and find... nothing, just the flower bed in front of a home.
"Midna?" You whisper, looking around to make sure no one was watching you standing in front of someone's garden, "How far is this magical source?"
"Exactly one metre if my estimates are correct!" Came the same self-satisfied voice, "So tell me, what form has our curse taken?"
"Basil. It's... Basil," You say, looking down at the plant sitting innocuously in front of you. When Midna doesn't respond you elaborate by stating, "It's a plant used in cooking. A common plant."
"That... can't be right. I sense evil magic. A trace yes but..." Midna trails off for a moment, "I sense multiple sources. If you could just angle your shadow... Yes, every plant here has it."
"That can't be right. Romani was knocked out for weeks and some of these are fresh plantings," You state with a shake of your head, "See if you can get a bead on who's selling these tainted plants. Maybe that's our true culprit."
"Now that I have a source it should be easy to modify my spell, just give me-" She pauses again before hissing to you, "
HIDE! Coming left side!"
Without a word you dart behind the home, ducking behind a cucco coop. You peer around a corner, watching the direction Midna warned you of encroaching danger. You didn't have much to defend yourself, if they had a weapon you'll have to take it from whatever was encroaching or grab whatever tool was lying around. Like that hoe the man who had just rounded the corner was carrying on his shoulder as he whistled a tune.
"That's the moving source!" Midna hisses from the shadows of the cucco coop, "There's many more, all moving about randomly! Hundreds, maybe even-"
"The entire population of the town?" You say tonelessly.
Midna doesn't respond, but you hear the sharp intake of breath through sharp teeth as realization dawned on her as well, "The plants! Vegetables and fruit... that is the source of the curse! The entire town is cursed from their food!"
You shake your head, brow furrowed, "No, Midna we bought produce and you didn't sense a thing. Maybe it's connected but... somethings off."
"Still, I believe we atleast found the source of what inflicted the curse onto the child. Undoubtedly with how the village has been treating her family in hunger she ate some tainted fruit or vegetable. Your people are quite cruel to let a child get to that point," Midna said, her tone cold as you could see two yellow-red eyes shift in the shadows to glare out at the rest of the village.
"But then why is the rest of the village not suffering?" You ask, "Surely a curse wouldn't be discriminatory if it was on the plantlife."
"That... is a fair point. If the land itself is blighted why is everything else fine? How come the produce we ate is free of taint when the curse extends all the way to the ranch?" In the shadows you could almost see a feminine form tapping a finger against their chin, lost in thought.
"I'm going to try asking around, long shot but maybe if I walk around the markets I can find something. Even if no one will talk to me maybe at least you'll find a source to all this," You tell Midna as you step out from behind the cucco coop, doing your best not to tread on any of the vicious birds. How reluctant can this town be to talk to outsiders anyways?
++++
It turns out
very reluctant. Everyone you met barely gave you a word before walking past.
You do learn a few things about the town. For one, there were no inns or anyplace for anyone to stay. If there was any nobility they'd probably be staying with the Gorman's wherever their manor is, but the fact there wasn't a single open inn was most peculiar. It did, however, seem this wasn't always the case, as a quick look around identified that they did have inns at one point. But every inn in town had been replaced with one of the merchants you'd dealt with the other day, their signs clumsily painted or boarded over. What got you as you gave a closer inspection was they all seemed to belong to the same guild whose crest just happened to be the same as on every shield and armour belonging to the local guard.
You also noticed that what shops didn't belong to this guild were boarded up or turned into a barracks that had a single guard or a group of those constructs stored within. Any caravans heading into or out of town all wore the same uniform as the guild, which was odd compared to the multitude of different merchants you'd seen. Even if the empire was only allowing "legitimate" guilds to operate you'd seen a few competing ones, and few could do the job of a blacksmith or tailor. While trade across the towns and cities of Hyrule existed most people were still reliant on local products to meet their needs yet it looked like this guild controlled everything. You'd heard of the empire's tighter restrictions but this seemed insane.
There was a bar, a dirty ill-kempt place that for some reason had a picture of an ale keg clumsily nailed over a sign with a cow on it. Did it perhaps once belong to Lon Lon ranch? You didn't check inside, considering to leave it for later when you had Malon and maybe a weapon with you.
"Are you sure you want to take Malon to such a place? They're liable to have a cow just for her presence there," Midna helpfully informs you.
As you try to stifle a snort while muffled impish laughter comes from your shadow you make a pass around what would be normally considered a town hall. Larger than the one you saw in Ordon you could see it had been built into a church, with a centralized tower containing a bell and astronomical clock, a marvel of engineering that you must admit was rather pointless now that the blood moon existed. You're certain if Zelda was here she could have gone on for hours about the historical value of the building but you were more focused on the guards surrounding it which told more then simply going up to ask if you were permitted entry. You also noted several open windows, ones a certain Princess could easily slide her way into.
With a final nod at the building you turn around and begin making your way back to the ranch, giving the guards the slip whenever you could simply to avoid prying eyes. When you were finally far enough away from the town you spoke to your shadow, "Well, we have a target besides simply breaking into the Gorman's manor. How do you feel about snooping around tonight with Zelda?"
"Oh, noticed something? I must say my magic didn't pick up anything too interesting from that building you were staring at. Certainly nothing I would need Zelda for," Midna responded, her tone curious.
"That building is the town hall, while I'm sure everything of real value is being held hostage by the Gorman's-"
"All the town records and documentation would be held there, or with those merchants," Came the Twili's response with what you could only assume was an impish grin spreading across her face, "Ohohoho, I quite like the sound of that. Though a "knight" making the Princess's do all the hard work? My
my~"
"I'm not exactly stealthy now am I?"
"I suppose not," Came the response followed by a yawn, "Wake me when it's time, I'm sure you'd want me to have all my magic for this mission."
You agree and quickly make your way back to the ranch, where you spot Zelda wearing simple clothes likely borrowed from Malon considered how loosely they hung from her and needed to be rolled up in several places, with her long gold mane tied back in a ponytail carrying a bucket you presume was previously filled of Cucco feed back to a shed.
You head over to her, Zelda spotting you out of the corner of her eye and waving to you as you closed the distance, "Heeey! Back already? Did you find anything?"
"Yeah, the curse seems tied to plants and people somehow, Midna detected it having spread everywhere," You quickly explain.
Zelda with a horrified expression quickly prompts you to explain in detail your day, with you ending explaining the details you'd noticed about the town hall.
Zelda looked deeply troubled, brow furrowed and hand on her chin as she mumbled to herself, "But if it's in the land and people... If only I could have continued my lessons!" She hissed, kicking the ground in frustration.
"Zelda, if it was brought in we could maybe find a date, find documents that give us clues or information. But you'll need to be careful, get in and out as fast as possible," You tell her, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"You're right, I'll start preparing my gear and resting up for tonight. I don't know the first thing about locks though so I hope Midna has a spell or something," Zelda says with a nod and begins walking with you inside, "Oh, I better tell Irene she might need to cover for me but I'm not sure..."
"Not sure?"
Zelda looks over to you concerned, "Well, she seemed really tired when you left so I sent her in to drink some water. I don't think Irene's poisoned but I'm worried getting injured by the Deku Baba took more out of her then she admits."
"I gave her a fairy tonic and Mipha has been giving her healing, could it just be that there's something she's horribly allergic too?" You ask as you open the door and the two of you step into the manor.
"I hope not, if it's some plant there's almost no way for us to identify what it is," Zelda says, heading towards the dining room before stopping suddenly.
You peer around Zelda, and to your surprise you see Irene standing by the table, swaying back and forth looking at the two of you with glazed eyes. The small winged blue sphere that was Proxi fluttered around her head before zipping over to you and you could just make out the tiny fretting form within, "Link! Zelda! She's just been standing here the whole time, I've tried to get her attention but she seems so confused...!"
"Link?" Irene suddenly speaks, slurring her words slightly as she looks at you with unfocused eyes. Looking closely at her she was really pale, and her black dress looked to be completely drenched, "Did you find the source?"
Surprised at being addressed you could only answer, "Maybe? Irene, I think you-"
"Oh... that's good..." Irene interrupts you before her eyes roll up and she pitches forward, head smacking against the table with a crunch as Irene collapses faster then either you or Zelda can react.
"IRENE!" You both shout, Zelda practically leaping on top of Irene as she presses her hand against the now bleeding cut in Irene's forehead.
Zelda suddenly winces, not moving her hand as she looks up to you in a panic and shouts, "Irene's burning up!!"
Fever? Damnit. But surely the tonic... "Proxi! We need to find Mipha, Irene's really sick and-"
"HEY!? Are you guys in there?!" You whirl around to see Malon rushing into the house, looking completely panic-stricken, "Every tree and plant outside just wilted! Are we under atta- BY HYLIA'S WHITE WINGS WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"
"Irene's sick, we need to find Mipha-" You begin, not mentally processing what Malon just said only for the Zora and a closely following Paya to burst through the door and nearly collide with Malon. Mipha begins to open her mouth but the moment when she sees Irene lying on the floor, blood leaking from between Zelda's fingers she rushes past you, taking the witch from Zelda and holding a glowing hand over Irene's forehead.
"H-how could this happen?" Paya asks, almost weeping from worry, "D-did we miss she was poisoned?"
What should you do during this? Should you jump on Epona and quickly run to buy some Medicine? You doubt it will be easy, and depending on what was giving her the fever if it wasn't an infection utterly pointless. Maybe there's some cure for Deku Baba poisoning. You could stick to traditional methods, it'd be a form of general treatment and could keep her stable. It's also the default the others will fall back on.
If only you could identify what was the cause. The clues were there, you were sure of it. You just needed to put things together.
Vote options:
[] Stick to traditional methods. If you can't identify the cause best to at least keep her stable.
[] Jump on Epona and try to find some medicine. There had to be some in town.
-[] Alternatively, search for Deku Baba antitoxin.
[] Write-in guess to the cause of Irene's illness. Correctly identifying cause will result in proper treatment.
