"We're fine," Helena said. She pulled back a group of loose bangs from her nose. "Sorry about earlier. Those Heartless were everywhere, and turning into a full dragon was the only way I could beat them."

Link nodded. "Things will calm down here in time," he said. "The quicker we leave, the quicker that can happen. I'm going to ask Telma if we can borrow her wagon to get to Lake Hylia, but first, I wanted to speak to you about your mission."

Helena smiled grimly. "Sure, we'll tell you everything. It's not like we can hide our secrets very well."

Link nodded. "There's still one more person we can see about the Essence," he said. "If no one else, she can help you."

Matt shrugged. "All right, let's go see her. Anything to get this mission back on the road."

"I need to speak to Agitha as well," Link said. "Its on the way. Ileyna, would you like to come?"

"Sure!" the girl replied enthusiastically, nodding once.

"Alright. The rest of you, please wait at Telma's bar," Link instructed. "And tell her and Shad what happened out here. I'll talk to Telma about the wagon when we get back."

"All right," Matt said. Hopefully Telma wouldn't be wise as to what was going on.

Link lead the group back out into market street, among hushed voices that spoke anxiously of the attack. Many of the people they passed glanced their way, up until Link, Matt, and Ileyna split off from R.D., Alasea, Helena, and Hugo, who headed for Telma's bar.

Link instead took Matt and Ileyna down another side street, this one with various tall buildings on one side. Link stopped in front of one of them, where large curtains were hung in front of the building and tied off, and a sign proclaimed:

The Fortune-Telling Mansion
FANADI’S PALACE

Link pulled out a single yellow crystal and handed it to Matt. “Go inside and tell her you want guidance on your career,” he said. “It’ll cost ten rupees, so you’ll need to pay her with this.”

Matt held the crystal before his eyes with a finger and thumb, squinting at it in careful study. "Dimension hopping isn't my job," he remarked, "but all right." He pushed aside the curtains and stepped into the building proper, with a few careful glances at any new scenery that might surprise him.

It was quite obvious to tell that the building belonged to a gypsy, judging by the various things in the room. The walls were covered with numerous curtains in elegant shades of blue, green, and purple. The floor was covered by a large red and gold rug, and small, crude-looking shelves were scattered around a table in the center of the room. The shelves held numerous objects, including musty-looking tomes, jars filled with various fluids and ingredients, and samples taken from plants were scattered here and there on them. The table had been covered by a small cloth, and resting in a stand on it was a large crystal ball. The room had an unusual, but not unpleasant smell to it, thanks to the incense burning in a back room.

Behind the small table sat a heavy-set woman, dressed in black and with her hair done up in an elaborate headdress. Heavy jewelry hung from her pointed ears and around her neck, an ocular design had been painted in gold on her forehead, and three gemstones were in place beneath her her heavy-lidded, but surprisingly sharp-looking red eyes. She watched Matt intently as he entered.

"Welcome to the fooortune-telling house, Fanadi's Palace," she greeted, chuckling. "The fates swiiiiiirl about you, and only I can tell what they have in stooore..."

She held out a hand, as if knowing that Matt wouldn't leave. "The dooor to the future will ooopen... for ten rupees!"

Matt pressed the crystal into the fortune teller's hand. Why was he doing this again? He didn't buy any of that fortune telling shit. Then again, after gaining the powers of the elements and meeting a girl who could turn into a dragon, anything was definitely possible.

Fanadi accepted the rupee and stored it within a small bag before turning back to Matt, both of their faces illuminated by the soft glow of the crystal ball on the table. "Gooood... so... which doooor will you open?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Uh, lemme get 'guidance on my career'," Matt said.

"I seeeeee..." Fanadi murmured. "Let's hear what missions are set for your fuuuuuture... Speak, fates!"

She waved her hands over the crystal ball, her fingers wiggling as she closed her eyes and muttered to herself.

"Touba gniklat i ma tahw...
Tuoba gniklat i ma tahw..."

And suddenly, her hands splayed wide as she swept her arms out, eyes going wide.

"AHAAAA!"

And the world went dark around Matt.

When he next could see, what he saw was the face of a gigantic monster, long frozen in death in the unforgiving sands. From the black pit that was its eye was blazing blue light.

The voice of Fanadi quickly reached him, like whispering on the wind.

"The thing you seeeeek is buried in the sand. If you waaant it, fly to find it!"

And then the world faded to black again, allowing him to wake once more, in Fanadi's palace.

The woman was giving him that heavy-lidded, secretive smile.

"What did you thiiiiink..."

She nodded once to him. "If you looose sight of your goal, don't hesitate to stop by again..."

"Uh...okay." That was special. "Can you tell me what sand I should be looking at?"

"There is only ooooooone desert in Hyyyyyrule," the gypsy said. "Knowing moooooore will cost you extra."

Of course not. Still...

"Good enough for me," Matt said. "Thanks." Without waiting for Fanadi's goodbye - which no doubt would have been awkward - he left the building, sliding between the curtains.

Once Matt had left the building, he'd see further down the street that Link and Ileyna were coming out of a nearby building--Ileyna was waving goodbye to someone before the door closed. She and Link quickly made their way over to Matt. "Was she able to locate it for you?" Link asked.

"She said it was buried in the sand," Matt said. "I couldn't get more info because that was all the money you gave me. But she did mention that Hyrule had one desert, so that kinda narrows it down."

Link nodded at that, it seemed their quest would coincide quite nicely. "Alright then, let's go meet up with your friends at the bar," he said.

"So you know where this magical desert is?" Matt asked.

"Its not magical as far as I know," Link said as they walked, "But yet, I do know where the Gerudo Desert is. You saw the map of Hyrule as well as I did."

He took his map out from one of the bags attached to his belt, and handed it to Matt, pointing to the region just northwest of Lake Hylia. "What we're both looking for should be somewhere in here."

Matt clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Let's get the crew together and boogie."

They quickly returned to the bar. Telma was still there, as were the others, but Shad had left, having heard their report and decided his energies were best expended helping Castle Town recover.

"So do we know where we're going now?" R.D. asked upon spotting Matt.

Matt landed on a stool and slid his elbow on the counter. "We're going to Gerudo Desert. Apparently that's where the Essence is."

"How far is it?" Helena asked, her hands neatly folded.

"We're not gonna dilly dally, but I've got no idea." Matt rolled his eyes, up and to the side like he usually did when he was in thought. "Although the fortune teller did mention something about flying."

"... that doesn't sound good," Link muttered, turning to negotiate with Telma about using her wagon.

"Yeah, hate to break it to you Matt, but there's only two people who can truly fly in this group," R.D. pointed out. "Ileyna and Helena. You and I both know both of us will burn out before we could reach there on pure flight."

"Guess we'll have to find out when we get to Lake Hylia, right?" Alasea asked, sitting at a stool. "The fortune teller must know that there'd be something for us to use if she mentioned that."

"Assuming we're not getting cheated here," R.D. muttered.

"It's not like we have anything else to go on," Helena said.

"Why'd you waste your money on a fortune teller, anyway?" Hugo asked. He stood near Helena's stool, examining his pickaxe for any damage.

"You took him to see Fanadi, honey?" Telma asked. Link nodded.

"I figured if anyone could help them, she could."

"Very smart of you, honey," Telma commented, nodding. "Don't worry. Mistress Fanadi's very renowned around these parts, her predictions don't lie. You saw a vision of what you were looking for, right?"

"Yeah," Matt said. "It was in the face of some giant monster thing that was buried in the sands. Which sounds like a positive encounter, naturally."

"Did you see the Essence?" Ileyna said, looking up at him intently. She sounded very curious about the vision.