Clean Up The City

Friday, May 10, 2019

Clean Up The City

I warped to the Shrine of Katah Chuki.

....

I’d really rather just go from there without breaking tone but I feel the need to provide what is probably necessary context for the ones who haven’t spent so many hours playing the game nor noting where the different shrines are—Katah Chuki is in the quarry very near to the castle.

Pay attention.

*AHEM*

I warped to the Shrine of Katah Chuki.

Shouldn’t it stand to reason?

I was gonna clean up this town.

The Piano was so.... malcontent.

I stood on top of a rock and considered the Guardian down inside the wall.... for a long while. It didn’t see me.

“You could just go right down there and.... laugh it right in the face,” Dad suggested.

I took a second’s pause.

“Okay,” I said, and paraglided in.

We had it out.

I killed it.

And I did clean up the town. One Guardian at a time. Though I still avoided the flyers if I could help it.

The Stalkers in here were sleepy. Stationary.

So....

I tried that scary thing I had seen in a gif:

I crept closer, and closer, and closer to one that was sitting so still, and then Stasised it. And during the brief spell when it was completely frozen I ran forward toward it as fast as I could, into the range where it would have otherwise noticed me!

The golden Stasis-charm broke, the Guardian woke up, swiveled its head in the brief moment and—sure enough??—it.... it rolled right over and sank into the ground. Gone.

....

The laser’s needle end blinked on me for a bit. !??

Then it was gone.

????

I spun in all directions. Where did it go?

“If there’s a wasp in the room I think I ought to know where it is!” I shouted when I turned back around and could find no trace of it.

....

I think I sank it into oblivion.

It was tempting to get closer, to go deeper, faster. But as I kept checking my surroundings with my Stasis, I could see which Guardians, legged or decayed, were alive, and I didn’t care for how thickly they were set about the old town ruins.

I didn’t want to divide them.

I circled wide several times, to flank them instead—Dad reminded me of the military operations term. I know, Dad. <3

I cleaned up as I went, my circumnavigation bringing me toward the south end of town. The city wall near the main gate had little guardhouses in it. There were shafts in the wall through which to shoot arrows, and little stairways and ladders leading up to the battlements.

Koroks hide in the weirdest places, man.

There were Malice eyeballs in the town too, and I had to circle a bit tighter to kill those; due to their orientation, they could only be shot from the inside, toward the Castle.

I followed the winding little street ruins, or climbed over blasted walls where I could or dared.

Killing Guardians.

And shooting the eyeballs that guarded the main road. Their Malice was clumped in broad, horned barriers all along that thoroughfare, straight through from the very front gate of the town, near the Sacred Grounds.

Speaking of which, I killed some Guardians outside the town as well, and when the daylight was right, I retook that pictograph.

My first pictograph shot in the Sacred Grounds had been hurried, and uncomposed, due to a stray Guardian’s laser having tagged onto my shoulder, and a terrifying lack of experience on my part to deal with them at that time. But now, I had cleared the ground, and I could take my time.

There were clouds, which was not perfect.... but perhaps it better reflected the age I was in now.

I got the pictograph, headed back inside, and continued to clear out the town. I cleared that place out GOOD.

And now.

I turned toward the Castle.

Yes.

I was going to walk in the front gate.

The Erhu Sublime

Waking of Thursday, May 11, 2017 ~ 2

 

The Erhu Sublime

Fortunately the Katah Chuki Shrine—which David kept calling the Cat-a-Chucky Shrine—only contained a Minor Test of Strength. And when I completed it, and collected the monk’s Spirit Orb, there was no more fooling around.

It was time to head south.

It was time to follow the river.

“Ignore the bird—follow the river!” my Mother had quipped to me on the occasions she’d seen me at it. I’d been following a lot of rivers lately. But I had a good feeling about this one....

I wanted to warp to the shrine by the Dueling Peaks Stable, but, at David’s insistence, I warped instead to the one by Proxim Bridge. Better to be direct, I suppose.

It was raining when I got there.

I thought of Brigo, the first human I had seen at the start of my travels long ago. And I did catch sight of him, but he was running east toward the woods, trying to get out of the rain.

Oh well.

Presently the rain left off. I started up the hill behind the shrine, and headed south along the west bank of the river, playing with what Koroks were convenient to my path.

The land climbed quite steeply about the river, especially on the west side. I hoofed it higher and higher until I came to a small ruin at the top of a hill.

It was small, and quiet. Far removed from much of anything else I could see.

I’m not even sure if it had a name. [It did – it was called Scout’s Hill.]

But from the top of its crumbling wall, I had an excellent view of the river’s course: There before me, spanned by a mighty bridge of dark weathered stone, filling up a vast green bowl it seemed, was an immense body of water.

Surely this was the waterway I’d been seeking!

And something else I hadn’t noticed from the lower elevations: a road seemed to come from the direction of the Plateau, and for a time run somewhat parallel to the river, until it came to one end of the dark bridge. Before it got there, however, it passed by an absolutely riotous-looking treehouse full of belligerent red-skinned creatures.

It looked.... like a delightful challenge, and sweet good looting, no doubt....

But I didn’t want to give time to it just now. Surely I was closing in on Mei.

I moved closer, and it was as I was studying the steep incline down to the water’s edge, catching sight of a dock—and a raft—down there.... that I heard it.

Something shifted in the wind. A new sound came, seemed to coalesce on the air....

One of the Piano’s tricks, I was sure, but what did it mean? It didn’t sound like anything bad was coming after me....

Actually it felt more like.... it wanted to preface the leap I was supposed to take from the high ground.... before I went gliding.... out over the water....

I shook my head and looked toward the treehouse—were they doing anything? No? It didn’t look like it. Why was this new music happening?

I turned back to the water.

“UH—DYIS—WHUH—TH—IDT—” I said, or something like it.

Head, neck and shoulders out of the water, the dragon Farosh was twining up out of the lake before a few scattered islets.

I was much closer to him than I’d been back in the river north of Satori Mountain. Now I could see his skin, his eye, his mouth, his limbs, his claws, the great jutting horn upon his head, all so clearly. Truly an enormous creature....

And then I understood—his was the music. This new sound on the air.... it belonged to Farosh.

And there was something else, another element aside from the Piano and its usual contingent of other shimmering sounds.... It moved as serenely as Farosh did, slowly clawing his way into the heights, bending over the water to loom low across the bridge.... An erhu.... What a beautiful sound. Sublime.

He dipped down into the water on the other side of the bridge.

David had asked me where I had first seen Farosh, and I’d told him about that river round the back of Satori Mountain, and looking up into the Gerudo Highlands. And I remembered he had looked skeptical, his eyes narrowed....

Because this lake was where David had first seen Farosh. Right over his head as he was crossing the bridge. He’d been looking at something else entirely through his scope when the mighty dragon had risen in the background—the most majestic of photobombings....

Farosh’s head surfaced again a great distance from where his midsection and hindquarters were still disappearing into the water. I could only imagine the great arc his serpentine body must have been carving deep beneath the lake’s surface.

And as he rose again into the air, little ball-lightnings began to manifest in his wake.

Heh, “little”.... They were still so far away; up close they must have been quite sizeable. But compared to Farosh they were tiny.

Maybe that was part of the danger my Compendium had spoken of, regarding approaching close to this dragon.

He continued his graceful arcing through the air, and in and out of the lake, beautiful creature.

Maybe this lake.... was Farosh’s home.

It was . . . . joyous to behold.

More Bad Things

Waking of Thursday, May 11, 2017

More Bad Things

Visible from the Wetland Stable, just across the river and toward the castle, there was a small, jutting plateau, something left over from erosion, looked like, in the otherwise wide, rolling plain.

From the stable grounds, I could see a distant fire, and smoke, rising from a spot on top of that plateau. And I wanted to find out why it was there....

Perhaps I was becoming more the Hero, more the Fool.

It wasn’t far; and I’d been on the bridge that led to it before—I’d saved Leekah from a bokoblin on that bridge.

Of course, I’d saved Leekah from bokoblins in most places....

A short jog across the bridge, a dash through the rolling grass, a little skip around a gang of stalbokoblins, and I was climbing the stony wall of the plateau, which was only a little unnerving due to the fact that one of the stalbokoblins seemed to be packing a bow—but he was a lousy shot, thank goodness.

On top of the plateau was a small lean-to beside a jutting hillock of stone that was half again as tall as I was. A woman rested there, beside a campfire and an unlit wok. She seemed well at ease considering her location; an apple and a bunch of some kind of grainstalks lay ready beside a log bench.

Her name was Benny, and she remarked to me that she and I were two of a kind, brave adventurers, and that there probably weren’t many like us roaming about—few people ever ventured out to where she was.

She invited me to climb the little hillock and have a look about—I might see some interesting things. So I did. And I saw the fields and trees all around, the distant mountains, maybe the eerie glow from Satori Mountain, perhaps a few unvisited shrines.... But I suppose the most interesting thing that I saw was just the pack of three stalbokoblins still doggedly throwing rocks in my general direction, their mean little red eyes aglow.

I was stalling, I knew that. David knew that.

I had a scary tower to get to.

When I’d taken in my fill of the surrounding views, I warped to the shrine of Kaam Ya’Tak. From there I approached a little hill that was near the Sheikah Tower, and before I ascended it—I caught sight of a loose six-legged Guardian free about the roads around its right side.

And with many vocalizations that I really can’t remember, I dashed behind the cover of the stone and up to the crest of the hill in a right frenzy.

I—don’t—like—Guardians.

At the top of the hill was a little statue, to which I offered an apple, and thus brought a Korok out of hiding. Its cute little twee-hee giggle was small comfort before the task I was about to perform.

I peered down at the Sheikah Tower through my scope. It seemed to be surrounded by a smattering of old ruins and scattered detritus—and then I caught the faintest glow of blue....

“UHHHH—”

“What!” David asked.

“It’s alive! That Guardian down there is alive!”

For there was a rusted old one crumbled into the earth near the tower—but its eye was still lit up, still functional.

Still deadly.

I looked further and saw with a most unpleasant thrill of horror that another rusted-but-functional Guardian lay roughly a hundred and twenty degrees round the tower from the first!

And somehow....

Somehow I didn’t need to see it to know that a third one must lurk where I couldn’t see it behind the tower.

David grinned horrible knowing grins at me. He’d already done this tower.

“How long did you say this took you?”

“Not long at all,” he said, “I just—” He moved his pointed index finger through the air and gave a little swoosh sound through his teeth. “—did it all at once.”

I entered into a frenetic bout of pacing side to side and round in circles, groaning for what lay ahead—

“Do it for Mei,” David urged in half seriousness.

o____o

....Well that steeled me right up.

At length I started down the hillside—

“Where are you going?” David asked with some urgency.

I stopped.

“You should paraglide in!”

“Seriously?”

“They won’t be able to hit you.”

Somehow I doubted that, but....

I climbed back to the highest point overlooking the tower that I could.... and jumped for it.

And after an all too short sail through the air.... the piano began to pound in rapid triplets.

The first Guardian’s targeting laser settled onto a spot over my heart and stuck there like a tight, red needle. I wanted to turn back—

“Just keep going straight!” David said.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

And so I kept going straight for the tower.

I could hear the Guardian’s targeting systems beeping now. The laser began to flicker—

“It won’t hit you,” David assured me.

And in the split second the laser disappeared, the Guardian locked on to the position I occupied in space . . . . and fired.

The hot blue pulse whizzed behind my back by a good five feet—it seemed the Guardians—the mighty, terrifying, indiscriminately destructive Guardians—had not even the humble octorok’s foresight to lead their targets.

It still didn’t stop them from trying, though; and I couldn’t maintain my sufficiently fast flight-speed forever. The targeting laser came back, and I reached the tower, and crumpled onto a platform, ducking low—

And the Guardian lost me.

Oh Farore it lost me.

NOW WHAT? 8C

David directed me to ascend the tower, and to just jump in my climbing right before the Guardian fired. For the same effect I had just achieved while flying.

Oh gads I downed a speed elixir and just screwed up my courage and up I went....!

Mipha was getting overworked.

“That didn’t work, David,” I said.

“Oh....”

I crouched again on the platform.

“No wait, I think what I did was jump to get onto the next platform before the Guardians could shoot me.”

I looked at him.

My speed elixir was still coursing through my veins, becoming thinner by the second....

I reloaded a save from back on the hill with the Korok, and sailed to the tower again.

Now as I crouched on the first platform, the same speed elixir fresh down my throat, I stood up and leapt up the tower wall—the mad triplitive piano started up—and I scrambled, scrambled—jumped once straight up—scrambled a bit further—the lasers beginning to flicker—came level with the next platform—JUMPED SIDEWAYS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY MEMORY—came above the platform—GOT DOWN FAST AND DUCKED—

And oh my gosh I made it.

The lasers disappeared and the piano left off.

Well this was.... TERRIFYINGLY DOABLE.

Many platforms and a great deal of palm-sweat later, I reached the top of the Sheikah Tower. I ran to the center and activated the pedestal—I did NOT want to go through any of that again....

And the rune distilled down into my Sheikah Slate, AND . . . .

THAT SPLIT OF THE RIVER WHAT LOOKED LIKE JUST ANOTHER PART OF THE CASTLE MOAT—IT REALLY DID TRAIL AWAY SOUTH PAST THE WETLAND STABLE, DOWN TOWARD THE DUELING PEAKS AND RIGHT UNDER PROXIM BRIDGE.

THERE WAS MY MISSING WATERWAY.

“So warp to that shrine and follow it!” said David.

But no, I had expended a great deal climbing this tower; I wanted to have a proper look around first.

I gazed foolishly at shrines peeping out of the earth, away on dangerous ground, surrounded by who KNEW what....

There was one in the general direction of the castle.

“Did you get that one?” I asked him.

“No,” he said, “But I went for it. I paraglided down into a forest, and then a Guardian showed up—it got really close to me—”

“All up in your grill?”

“Yeah, so I just warped away.”

Hm, after my reload back on the Korok’s hill.... I hadn’t seen that loose, six-legged Guardian about.... Where had it got to?

The shrine glowed like a tantalizing torch. I thought.... What would be the harm in just seeing? I could do what David did, and if any Guardians caught on to my movements, I could just warp away too....

I leapt for it, north toward the castle. And as I lost altitude the rusted Guardians on the ground set their lasers into my back.... Uhuhuhuhh it was a terrifying float to the ground—with my angle increasingly parallel to their targeting lasers—did I dare try to weave?

But I touched down on the grass without incident, and the piano heralded no more stray Guardians out for my blood.

There were however three great Stalmoblins that popped up right in front of me—heck with those things, I was mad-dashing it!

I ran for the stand of trees just ahead, sprinting as I could until I was safe beneath their boughs.

Ha—and what exactly was the definition of safe in these parts anyway?

Near one of the last trees—the northernmost—I could hear the telltale clinking wooden sound of a Korok. And that last big tree had a large hole in its side, with something that looked like an enormous acorn in it.

Somehow I’d always figured these were Korok puzzles, but I’d never taken the time to figure this particular kind out—but I was never coming back here again; if I wanted it I’d have to do something now.... Acting on instinct, I drew my bow and shot the acorn.

Just as it exploded in a happy little shower of confetti with a bang and a tiny fanfare, I noticed the loose Guardian up the hill to my left.

“Yahaha!” chirped the Korok, “You found me!”

I backed up hastily behind another tree. “Shut up Korok you’re gonna give us away!” I hissed.

But the Korok only tossed me a seed and giggled, “Buh-bye!”

I peeked round my tree.

The Guardian was gone.

This had been a silly outing, just a game, an experiment, a test—I’d meant to beeline toward that shrine, but....

Well I’d made it to the trees, and no Guardians were after me. Maybe I could make it a bit farther. But I’d need to stay low....

I bent away toward the right, sinking with the land, trying to hide with the folding of the hills as I dashed on ahead.

There was a bare, dead kind of riverbed crossing the way ahead of me, and beyond it a blasted stone ridge of some kind—perhaps earth thrown up and baked into crater-rings in the tumult of a hundred years ago.

Rusted Guardians littered the riverbed.

“Oh my gosh what if they’re aliiiive?” I groaned to David.

“Use your camera.”

“What?”

“Zoom in; it’ll show you if they’re an enemy.”

“UHH—” Taking my precious attention off my surroundings to peer into the constricted pictobox, I zoomed in to look at the Guardians—

“They’re dead,” said David.

I took his word for it, and kept running.

“Oh my gosh, you’re insane,” said David.

“Did you get this far?”

“No!” he gave a high-strung laugh.

There was a low, level spot between two sections of the ridge—the way to get to the shrine. But there were Guardian Flyers patrolling that corridor. I veered instead toward the section on the right, and scrambled up the stone.

“Oh my gosh you’re crazy!” said David.

As if I didn’t already feel it.... .__.;

One lonely red fox sniffed around the bare top of the ridge. I sank into a crouch as I moved toward it, wanting to get away from the ridge’s slope. I was on such a prominent jut of the land, but perhaps if I stayed low, I could still hide from anything close by down on the field....

The fox let out a little bark of surprise at my approach, and then darted away with a squeal. I hoped it wouldn’t attract any attention....

The shrine, I could see, lay on the other side of the left section of the ridge. And it was further hedged about by mounded earth on all its other sides. Two Guardian Flyers circled it in a clockwise pattern; they came north-to-south through the little corridor gap. One of them was coming right now.

“Oh my gosh it’s right there....” I croaked to David, my stomach tight.

The droning of it as it passed so near to where I was.... I could see the mountings of its propellers.... If I’d wanted to.... I could have run out and jumped on top of it....

“Those kind have fifteen hundred health, just so you know,” said David.

“Oh GREAT.” Thanks, David.

The Guardian Flyer passed so close, so close.... and then, miraculously, beautifully, perfectly, turned away to hover down the bare riverbed, toward the west, after the other flyer, which was already down that way—

The window was opening. This was the biggest chance. They were both looking the other way and it was the start of a whole cycle before they would come this way again—

I ran for it. I stood up, I bolted, I leapt off the ridge, and paraglided across the gap and toward the other section.

“ANDREA!” David yelped.

A laser settled onto my back.

The triplitive piano woke up—it sounded different than before....

My heart felt as if it pulsed to twice its normal size at every beat, harder and faster.

Another laser settled onto my back.

The flyers hadn’t seen me, the flyers hadn’t seen me....

“Oh my heart.... oh my heart’s goin’ that fast....” I strained.

A section of brickwork wall, a parapet, branched northward off the west section of ridge—was there a gate beneath it? A way through?

I didn’t check, and took the higher way.

Did one laser lose me?

One laser was flashing.

Sprinting, sprinting, sprinting—up to the crest—past the brickwork parapet—I leapt—

Crunch onto moldy sodden grass at the bottom—

“UH! MY HEART!” I cried.

There was the shrine. I bolted again. Forward, forward, up, up—Katah Chuki was its name—dashed to the pedestal—activated it—the door-opening cinematic was the longest I’d ever seen it....

“You’re CRAZY!” said David.

“Oh my gosh....” I clutched my chest. My limbs were shaking.

I ran to the elevator and hit the down button repeatedly, and after I descended and when I stepped out into the chambers of Katah Chuki....

David laughed.

It was a Combat Shrine.