Great Owl
As you enter the Southern Swamp, your eye is drawn to a giant owl that’s perched on a nearby rock. Approach the owl, which begins to speak. The owl says that the swamp has lost its guardian deity and goes on to tell Link about a special song.
Notes are carved into the ancient tablet that the owl is perched upon. Play the notes (
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
) to learn the Song of Soaring. By playing this song, Link can warp directly to any owl statue that he has activated, like the one in Clock Town.
After the friendly owl leaves, inspect the nearby owl statue to activate it. Now you can warp directly to the Southern Swamp at any time. Save your progress at the owl statue, and then begin exploring the swamp.
Swamp Tourist Center
The Swamp Tourist Center is your first stop. It’s the big cabin on stilts; you can’t miss it. Climb the ladder and enter the building.
The Swamp Tourist Center offers boat cruises around the swamp, but the ticket office is currently closed. A sign says to inquire at the Magic Hags’ Potion Shop, which lies near the swamp’s edge. There isn’t much you can do here, so head back outside.
Heart on High
As you exit the Swamp Tourist Center, approach the nearby Deku Flower. A Business Scrub pops out. Speak to the Scrub as normal Link, and he’ll tell you that he’s hoping to set up business in a livelier place.
Give the Business Scrub the Town Title Deed, and he’ll give you the Swamp Title Deed in trade, granting you ownership of his Deku Flower. Fair enough!
Swamp Title Deed
You traded your Town Title Deed for a Swamp Title Deed!
The happy Business Scrub sets off to find his fortune in Clock Town, leaving you to use his Deku Flower. Dive into the flower as Deku Link, and then launch out and glide onto the Swamp Tourist Center’s roof. Hey, there’s a Piece of Heart up there! One more to go for a new Heart Container.
Piece of Heart #11
You got a Piece of Heart! Collect four Pieces of Heart to assemble a new Heart Container. Each new container you put together increases the amount of life energy you can have.
Beware of Big Octo!
A huge monster known as a Big Octo guards the swamp’s southern tunnel. There’s no besting this bulging brute at the moment, so keep away from it.
Big Octo
Damage: 1/4 Heart
These monstrous aquatic foes reside in deep water. They emerge whenever Link draws near and attempt to suck him into their powerful snouts. If Link gets too close, he’ll be sucked in and then blown backward for damage. You can only best Big Octos by ranged attacks… or perhaps by ramming into them with even bigger objects.
Finding the Potion Shop
Swim east through the swamp until you spy a big bubbling cauldron. You must be getting close to the Potion Shop. A nearby sign confirms that the shop isn’t far. Go east to reach the shop, slaying or avoiding a Deku Baba and Mini Baba along the way.
Follow That Hag!
As you near the Potion Shop, a witch flies up from the building and soars off to the north on her broomstick. It must be one of the Magic Hags! She seems to be in quite a hurry.
You need to speak with the Magic Hags, so there’s no point in visiting their shop if they’ve just left. Follow after the hag, heading north into the Woods of Mystery. A sign near the entrance warns you to beware of “ferocious turtles.” Is there another kind?