Definitely Not Girl Stuff

Waking of Thursday, November 22, 2018

Definitely Not Girl Stuff

I considered, at the shindig at Ben’s house. I was too far behind with logging, but.... what the hey. I brought Mary home for a visit, and we played Zelda anyway. By which I mean I played Zelda, and Mary watched. She enjoys it—she asked for it. I assume because it’s the next best thing when I don’t let anybody touch my consoles!

Besides, I had been holding off on something fairly large in the game, and I figured this would be a good opportunity to do it. I dared say it would be entertaining enough, even for someone just watching.

It was when I watched David do it.

After picking up just a few more Koroks in the Hebra region, I warped to the Muwo Jeem Shrine on the tall cliff overlooking the sea, and paraglided to a lonely little island I’d seen more than a few times. Just a speck of rock, really, made visible only by the brilliantly glowing orange shrine that took up most of its surface....

I’d seen it there many times. Don’t know why I’d never gone for it. Maybe because I hadn’t gotten the Faron map yet, and I wanted to wait. Maybe because it was too far out of the way. Maybe because it was just a waypoint to that bigger island out there, paying a visit to which would become almost obligatory, if you were already out that far.... But I’d already seen that place, through David.

Maybe it was because I’d seen that bigger island.... and I knew what a hassle it would be....

On the tiny island, Tenoko Island, we found the Chaas Qeta Shrine, which turned out to hold a Major Test of Strength. I beat this all right, and was rewarded with.... THE CLIMBING SHIRT!!!! SWEET! 8D

HA! And here I thought I’d surely find it on some mountain!

It looked cool! Ropes and straps everywhere with dangling carabiners swinging when I turned.... X-)

I had the set now! ^_^

Upon exiting the shrine, I chucked my Dragonbone Boko Club out to sea, blew up the resident palm tree, and collected from its remains a Korok Leaf. Because of course it would drop a Korok Leaf.... as there was a raft to use right there! Convenient.

Dealing with only a few Octoroks along the way, we sailed out to the big island. I knew the name of it before it loomed across the screen:

EVENTIDE ISLAND

And the moment my feet touched the shore.... those low, heralding bells sounded.... along with the echoing drone of the monk’s summons.

As well as.... some inane, irreverent commentary from Mary, which jarred the moment and I didn’t like it, but.... I didn’t shush her. I’d brought her over so she could enjoy this and well.... THEM’S THE FRIGGIN’ HAZARDS. :p

To you who has traveled to this island...

I present you with a challenge. In your

travels, you’ve relied on the equipment

you’ve found along the way.

Here, you must cast this equipment

aside and face this trial with only your

wits and whatever you can scavenge.

And after a brief blackout of the screen, I stood naked and barefoot on the beach, with no weapon or shield. Just an empty bandolier and the Sheikah Slate still resting against my sleek blue undershorts.

Offer up the orbs to the three altars on

this island. Only then will I acknowledge

your skill and return your items.

And the Shrine Quest title flashed across my screen: Stranded on Eventide, and I was free to move again.

I checked my inventory. As it had been with David, everything I had was gone. Weapons, shields, bows, clothes, items, monster bits, food....

Everything.

Well, I did at least still have the paraglider, though.

Hoo, and I’d thought things were skinny after freeing the Great Fairy Tera....

It had been more shocking to David and I when we’d both watched him play this part. But I’d been expecting it now. Time to get down to business, I thought....

I combed everything I could from the beach, besting a meager camp of three Red Bokoblins with something like a tree branch.

Thank goodness they were only red ones. The weakest kind. A fair marriage to what humble weapons there were to be found. I still felt somewhat spoiled by how many hearts I had by this time, though. David had done this island on a much shorter life-meter.... and shallower pockets....

I found the first orb at the top of a small treehouse guarded by mostly Red Bokoblins. I was able to snipe the lookouts using a very basic bow I had taken from another Bokoblin, and for the rest of them, well.... for each one I put down, that was another dropped weapon for me to pick up as the ones in my hand shattered. Bats and clubs and spears, all glorified sticks, really, and not very hard-hitting. But they sufficed. There was the occasional sword as well.

I had no protective clothing, but the island provided for if I should take hits—crabs along the beach, a smattering of banana trees in the dense patch of jungle, fish already roasted on spits and swiped from Bokoblin fires.... I was confident I’d be just fine.

With the treehouse cleared I picked up the orb, tiptoed past the snoring Blue Hinox slumbering in the sunny open dell in the middle of the island, and made for the pointy end of Eventide.

Half a stone’s cast from the beach, an outcrop of black rock jutted out of the sea. And on that rock was the first of the pedestals. I had to put the orb in there.

Now DAVID.... had done this in a REALLY AMAZING WAY—he had Magnesed the Woodcutter’s Axe from the stump in the middle of the little bog back in the jungle, taken careful aim, chopped down a palm tree so that its log extended between the beach and the outcrop, and then WALKED ACROSS THIS LOG while carrying the orb.

And THAT.... was friggin’ amazing.

I, on the other hand, I did what we’d later seen PB & Jeff do: threw the orb in the water and lifted it up by Cryonising an ice pillar beneath it. It was still tricky, mind! But nowhere near as hardcore as David’s method had been.

Once I’d placed the orb, it vanished away in a melt of blue light, and the pedestal likewise lit up blue. One down, two to go!

I considered confronting the Hinox next (it wore an orb around its neck), but.... No. I went in search of the other orb first. And I found it perched on a tower in the midst of a much stronger baddie camp, a fair distance up the highest hill on the island.

Night had fallen by the time I’d properly scoped out the place. I tried for a stealth approach, and was able to sneakstrike a few of the Bokoblins, but when that last Black Moblin spotted me, well.... we just had to go at it the old fashioned way.

Fortunately my deep pockets and growing collection of crude spears and clubs saw me through, until the run of the high camp was mine. I collected the orb, whacked the impeding slab off the pedestal with a bit of Stasis, and claimed the second pedestal.

Now all that was left was that Hinox....

And for this I had long planned to emulate what David had done....

The Hinox snored in the low spot between the two highest hills on the island. I’d already dealt with the highest hill, but for this I would need the second highest. And the second highest hill held another baddie camp, this one with Electric Chuchus. David’s encounter with them here on this island had been the first time we’d ever seen them. But even then I’d been able to pass on some words of wisdom from Madman Joseph—don’t attack them directly, because they’ll explode.

That was one spoiler I was glad of at least.

And so I spent a few more of the precious arrows I’d collected to blow up the sparking green Chuchus and subsequently flash-fry most of the remaining enemies. And the second highest hilltop was mine.

This hill was important not only for the third pedestal which rested at its top, but also for its craggly, rocky surface on the side leading toward the Hinox’s dell. For partway down that slope was the perfect shelf from which to play Bomb-Golf....

There were also a few large boulders at the crest, and I pushed these off as well as I could toward the slumbering Hinox. At least one of them made contact, and that put a damper on his day all right. He woke up and stood up and found me and started throwing rocks and roaring unintelligible curses I’m sure. And down I scrambled to that one broad stone, just out of reach of the Hinox’s projectiles and just big enough for me and a Deku Leaf....

I must say, Mary was most unimpressed with this pansy approach, and I don’t blame her. But once I’d set up camp I doggedly planted Bomb after Bomb at my feet, whiffing them off into the blue with the Deku Leaf’s gusts of air, and detonating them as they landed in the Hinox’s vicinity. It took a loooong time, but eventually the Hinox succumbed to its inevitable death by a thousand small explosions.

I paraglided down, collected all the leftover bits, and picked up the third and final orb. This I marched back up to the top of that second highest hill, and planted in the final pedestal. And at once across the way, on the tallest grassy top of the highest hill, the Korgu Chideh Shrine came rrrumbling up out of the earth.

The monk spoke again.

You’ve done well to complete the trial.

I will now return your things, as

I promised.

And a brief blackout, and I had all my clothes and gear on again.

Huhh, I’d become.... rather fond of the wild boy look. :c

Though I guessed I could adopt it any time I wanted to.... the climate allowing....

Come, enter the shrine.

It was a Blessing.

*

That romping shrine quest was just enough, and shortly after we’d finished I took Mary back home.

When I got back, I booted up the game again and, feeling aimless like I do, I found myself simply enjoying the day up on top of the highest hill of Eventide. The spot, close to sea level as it was, had that high cold music. That prayerflag song. Huh....

!

I stiffened as I realized that someone was sitting just a bit down the hill from where I was.

A Rito.

The feathers looked dark, though that may simply have been an effect of the sun setting in the sky beyond.

I approached him.

His name was Mimo. Oh hey his sidelocks looked.... like Link’s did when he wore the Wingaling Hat.... all bound up with that anchor-shaped weight on the end.... Was the Wingaling Hat a Rito item then?

Mimo spoke to me about flying, and, wouldn’t you know it, he ran a certain little minigame....

And I spent the next half hour or so throwing rupees at this Mimo in exchange for the pleasure of jumping off the hilltop to navigate through a series of floating hoops Mimo had placed all over the airspace. Aided by a few updrafts that hadn’t been there before, I was able to rack up a higher and higher hoop-count until Mimo acknowledged my mastery of the air and rewarded me back with a hefty sum of rupees of my own. It was much fun! XD

When I’d had enough of the flying course, I went back to Hebra, Koroked a little more and then.... put it to bed.

Dead End at Digdogg

Waking of Saturday, April 22, 2017 ~ 3

Dead End at Digdogg

“Where are you going, anyway?” David had asked before, “Where the heck are you?”

“I’m looking for someone,” I kept saying in Luke Skywalker’s voice.

“Who?”

“Her—”

“Princess Zelda?”

“Noooo—”

The right fork of the river twined away between massive, towering cliffs. I saw a rickety old bridge spanning between them on a higher ledge.... seemed like a great nest for baddies to hide out....

But per David’s suggestion, following the left fork, which followed the map line, did seem like a sound plan....

Surely the river that led to this Lake Hylia would be important enough to have map-boundaries drawn along it....

And so the left fork it was.

I still didn’t let on much about my plan to David, though.

The water was flowing roughly southward now, and I was still on the outside—the west side now. The dangerous lands of the castle were on the east.

My path took me along a high ledge on a great beige cliff face. It had been raining—maybe that thunderhead from before had finally caught up and swept across my path. But as I skirted over the living stone, the rain began to thin to just a few spitty drops, and the sun began to shine through....

And it became so bright....

The mist left over from the rain was blinding!

“It’s SO—BRIGHT,” I exclaimed to David, who could see this quite clearly.

“WHY IS IT SO BRIGHT?”

“I don’t know,” he said.

I turned this way and that. The cliff face reflected the sun’s light like a solar oven panel, bouncing it into the lingering moisture—

“WHY IS IT SO BRIGHT?” I yammered again.

“I don’t know!” David shouted, laughing.

I was getting low on sleep.

Utterly bewildered, I ran ahead through the impossible brightness....

I did stop briefly to search out another ruin—this one on the castleward side of the river, though it appeared safe enough to have a look....

The ruin was flooded, up to the depth of about my knees. Watergrass and floating leaves parted at my passing.

There were a few things to loot, guarded only by a couple of near-sighted lizalfos. The first one went down like a charm, but the second one gave me a fright when he pulled back on a nocked Shock Arrow.

But my blade cut him down before he could let fly.

And after looting the whole place—I COMMANDEERED A CONVENIENT RAFT AND FINALLY USED MY KOROK LEAF TO GO BOATING DOWN THE RIVER!

I might have accidentally killed some ducks with my boat.

I will eat them later with much gratitude.

I rafted and rafted until I came to a little bokoblin camp, grounded my boat and promptly slaughtered the lot of them.

But the river split again!

This time I took the right fork; it seemed deeper, a heavier flow.... But owing to some obstacles in the way, I had to leave my raft behind.

I passed a Gleeok Bridge.

I hoped there wouldn’t be any nearby. o__o

And then I passed a Manhala Bridge.

My goodness, or any of those either! Spelling notwithstanding.

And after a little waterfall, I finally came to a Digdogg Suspension Bridge!

There was a Hinox sleeping on it.

Well.... on a small landmass in its midst, anyway.

There didn’t seem to be any Gleeoks or Manhandlas or Digdoggs about.... but I was certainly enjoying these lovely bridge names.

My Shrine-detector had been beeping at me—and I saw the culprit structure far below me at the water’s level beneath Digdogg Suspension Bridge.

It was a long way down, but, after considering and finding myself with nothing much left to do on the cliff-face, I leapt off the edge, floated laterally to just about where the shrine was, and—at David’s insistence—HALO jumped down to it.

I completed it, collected a Spirit Orb, came out, and was delighted to find another boat available to use. And I did use it, for a while, all around the expansive sort of little lake beneath where the Hinox slumbered.

But....

BUT....

This waterway....

This waterway had come to an end.

I boated around beneath the suspension bridge, but....

There was nowhere else to go.

This was not Lake Hylia.

The little right fork had been a dead end.

Full Circle

Waking of Thursday, April 6, 2017 ~ 6

Full Circle

Well I’d hiked to the dam and across to the north side once already. I could do it again. So I did.

But blast and confusticate that creeping PIANO always following me around! Jumping up from the bare stone whenever I least expect it.... Snaking out of the windswept grass to whisper dreadful nothings up my spine—WHY!

Uhuhuhh.... it gives me the jibblies, man.... .__.;

The world is wild.

The world is wild.

<3

I eventually hiked back toward a part of the winding road I had once traversed—the long road to Zora’s Domain. From there I deviated away from the track and made my way to a high precipice where I could see the last few bridges to the Domain proper laid out below me.

I paraglided in, landing partway along the last bridge—on top of one of its arches, actually. Not by design.... but I enjoyed the view and then hopped down to go the last stretch on foot.

Rivan and Dunma still guarded the outermost gate; I said hello.... and then set about looking for Fronk.

He wasn’t in the square, and he wasn’t back around the sleeping quarters; maybe he was on one of the stairways....

I came back to the deck above the square and descended one of the grand staircases. It was quite empty, but in passing I noticed a Hylian on the adjacent rampway—a separate little footpath that wound in a sinuous course around the staircase.

It was rare to see Hylians here even now, but I had already seen at least one. Maybe more and more would come to visit again.

But I did a double take.

That Hylian was talking to the short, orange Zora. He was talking to Finley.

Why, that must’ve been Sasan!

He made it! 8D

I ran right back up the staircase and vaulted over the railing. It was something like a hundred-foot drop between them, but the staircase and the rampway platform were really quite close enough together that I could make the jump easily.

They were both so happy to see me again. They’d really hit it off it seemed! Well good for them. ^_^ Heh, and Finley was advising Sasan to do lots of swimming and lifting and other exercises—to get those big muscles he’d promised her!

And they told me they’d thought it over, and really wanted to thank me for helping to bring them together—and they gave me a gold rupee.

Ooh-la-la, that was worth three hundred.

Maybe I’d still have some pocket change left over if and when I bought my house after all!

In visiting the other denizens of Zora’s Domain yet again I learned a few more things.

In Dento’s workshop, wondering if he could perhaps just repair the Lightscale Trident I had been given, I found out that in order for him to make a new trident, he would need me to bring him some materials—including diamonds. Two diamonds for the Ceremonial Trident.... probably more for the Lightscale Trident....

So that’s what the diamonds were for. Good to keep in mind....

I also sauntered up to Torfeau for the first time since I’d slain the Ralis Pond Hinox, fully expecting an attaboy and maybe some kind of reward.

But all she said was, “So, ready to give it a try?”

:c

I ran out to Ralis Pond and discovered, much to my dismay, that even great fat minibosses like the Hinoxes must come back to life at Blood Moon.

It was there again.

Ah, poop.

But.... armed with my new know-how, I was able to get rid of it once again using far fewer arrows. And when I went to see Torfeau again—(“That stench,” she said, and knew I had done the deed!)—she gave me a silver rupee. One hundred. Excellent.

And BY THE WAY, guess what the Hinox had dropped....

A Korok Leaf! Ah-HAA!! Oh I finally had a Korok Leaf in my inventory!

I was going to GO places with THIS....! C8

At length among my wanderings, I did find Fronk, away in some unobtrusive corner and hard about his work.

He told me that he wanted to help me in any way he possibly could, and I let him know I would certainly welcome that.

“Where could she be?” I asked, for I really had looked everywhere.

“If Ledo’s group didn’t find her....” Fronk began, and I wondered if that was what Ledo had been doing when I’d first met him, searching for Mei.... (and a strong Hylian for the Prince, of course).

Fronk hypothesized a possibility or two about where she could have ended up along the Zora River before admitting, “Worst-case scenario, she might have washed all the way to Lake Hylia.”

Lake Hylia?

Where in Hyrule was that?

And the Zora River.... That seemed to be what it was called above the wetlands.... Was that what it was called downstream by the Woodland Stable as well? I couldn’t tell because my map didn’t extend that far, blast it....

Maybe she really had washed further down that river....

....

And maybe I should’ve spoken with Fronk in the first place—

It was in the past.

And my wanderings had not been fruitless.

But....

But.... in following the river.... in following that road along the river, I had come closer, and closer, and closer to Hyrule Castle.

I had seen the signpost right beside the stable: “Hyrule Castle ➔”. Straight up the road. Not even the mystery-hungry Zorona ever went that way.... he always stopped his horse within breathing distance of the stable, if he was heading that way.

Leastways every time I saw him.

What if the river wound too close to the castle? What if it ran right through it?

What if it passed right through the den of the beast?

Bad Blood

Waking of Thursday, April 6, 2017 ~ 4

Bad Blood

I came upon three of them camping on a south beach near a little dock with a boat. Favoring stealth, I threw bombs at them from an overhang until I became impatient, whereupon I dashed in and just brought it all to fisticuffs. When they’d been dealt with I searched all over their campsite but there was still no Korok Leaf to go with the boat!

Where in Hyrule was I going to find one??

Just a couple of hills more brought me to a small, weathered ruin with a few more lizalfos, alert and patrolling this time. I was grateful for the din of the rain; it made it easier to stalk the nearest one and cut him down in one stroke as he lay camouflaged in the blustered grass. The one by the little inlet was trickier as the land was so folded—and his Eightfold Longblade slipped into the water with him before I could grab it, drats!

There was just one more across the ruin and against a hill that I had it out with before I could properly inspect the shrine. It seemed to be surrounded by a hedge of briars—much as that other shrine on the Floret Sandbar had been surrounded by flowers.

But something told me a careful footing would be much more crucial here—those briars looked sharp.

At one point there was a lull in the rain, and so I attempted to burn the hedge out of the way—I’d wondered if the weather would prevent that, but luck was on my side it seemed.

But I broke two flints trying for a spark, and so instead went back and set off the powder-keg I’d seen in the ruin, and then used a torch to carry the flame over to the hedge.

For a time this worked quite well, but then the rain came back and quenched the flames I had started.

This was going to be tricky.

I didn’t know the half of it—

That sound.

That tone with the soft crescendo and a dead stop. The eerie echoes of whole-tone flutes. Ash and embers rose from the ground.

Oh no....

She’d always told me to please be careful....

But I’d never been in the middle of a hostile camp when the hour of Blood Moon struck.

I ran for it as the deep piano strings began to roar and rumble, up the hill slick with wet grass, just hoping for a clear patch of ground to claim, hoping there were no more lizalfos up here.... Oh I could kill them. But I preferred to do it from a controlled approach, and one at a time if I could manage it. I didn’t want to be thrust into the middle of a fresh gang of them....

The Blood Moon glowed ripping hot and the world turned crimson—

And all my work was for naught.

The dell crawled with lizalfos again. Alive. Armed. Healthy.

Just.... back.

How frustrating.

But there was nothing for it.

I moved in again, I killed them again, and I finally made it through a path in the briars to the shrine.

Five Flames.

That was the challenge offered by the monk.

A tricky one. Most invigorating.

But when I came back out, when I climbed a small pillar to paraglide out of the briars, when I dispatched the last mean lizalfos and scanned the final end of the water beneath the towering Reservoir wall....

There was no Mei.

She wasn’t here.

With a Fine-Toothed Comb

Waking of Thursday, April 6, 2017

With a Fine-Toothed Comb

I spent a little time at the Woodland Stable. This one wasn’t crawling with sets of twins like the other one, and the man behind the counter seemed.... a bit more easy-going as well. There was a friendly dog shepherding over some goats in a pen—we became good buddies <3—er, the dog and I, not the goats and I—and I found a really lovely new labrys to swing around.

I saw a man come riding a grey horse along the road in the direction I’d been going; his name was Zorona and his heart was set on the mysteries of the world! Whether solving them or just reveling in their existence I wasn’t quite sure.

There was another man, with white-blonde hair dangling in his eyes, who hung around the stable. He introduced himself as Molo and it was his ambition to go and loot Hyrule Castle. I did not encourage him in this endeavor as we conversed.

He admitted that every person he’d ever known who had ventured there had never come back.... but he guessed it was because they were all too busy being rich! I don’t doubt there must have been great treasures left behind there.... but so many people I’d met had warned of how dangerous it was.... and I’d seen a few Guardians. Uhuhuh.

Molo, don’t say YOLO, just stay where you are.

One other older gentleman whose name I can’t remember informed me about the surrounding areas near the stable—this was the Eldin region. This was the home of the volcano. To the north was the great forest, but he warned me against straying too deeply into it, something about the Lost Woods at its heart.... And Hyrule Field was.... in another direction near here, south or east I think he said. And there was a third feature he directed me to, I’m sure of it.... maybe it was the volcano itself.

Well, it’s hard to memorize the whole map, as I discovered when I warped back to the Lanayru Tower. That other river I’d thought ran back toward the east off the wetlands was actually the other runoff from the East Reservoir Lake. I suppose it flowed into the wetlands. Or it would have, if not for the big dam wall in the way.

But it was, in essence, what I’d thought it to be: another extensive dead-ended waterway for me to search.

Starting from the tower I began a broad, clockwise trek around the entire delta proper, scouring the islets as I went, but saw no sign of Mei.

I did, however, near the southeastern reaches of my circuit, spy a GUARDIAN “STALKER” AS MY COMPENDIUM CALLED IT, LOOSE AND MOVING THROUGH THE MARSH OH GOSH NO PLEASE NO WHY JUST—

It had six legs, and it was very much alive—oh my gosh was this the one I’d seen loose on the Sahasra Slope, made its way down to the marshes now?

Oh gads....

Off came the Zora Helm, on went the Climber’s Bandana, and I climbed up into the mountains to give it a very wide berth as I continued my circuit of the wetlands. I did stop on a little grassy shelf with a single large tree to see if I could shoot it with arrows and chuck bombs at it, but.... well, I did give it a very wide berth. I couldn’t come close to hitting it with anything. I’m not sure whether this disappointed me or not.

If only I’d had a Korok Leaf.... I could do that bomb-golfing thing I’d seen David do....

I kept to the hills until I came to another little deep-water spot tendriling off the marshes in the southwest. It was near a sad little abandoned homestead ruin, with trees, and a well, and a single Korok spriting around in the grass. There were some rusted weapons here and there.... maybe it had belonged to a soldier. Maybe he’d had a family.

It started to rain.

There was a little raft-boat with a sail down near where the little waterway broke off.

But I didn’t have a Korok Leaf!

I’d never really made room for one in my inventory, but seeing David play.... hhhh I kept seeing more and more reasons to pick one up now. I’ve never yet bothered with the boats I’ve seen but I want to now....!

I felled a tree near the old homestead but got nothing but wood. Go figure.

Well, I couldn’t see anything down the short little waterway, and so moved on. The mountains crumbled away, the land leveled out, and became a smooth sweep off the wetlands.

I think this was where I ran into those mounted bokoblins.

I felt a little bad for their horses.... because you see, in my long searching trek through all the islets and the ruins therein, I’d run into a few more of those skipping lightning-ghost things. They could be tricky customers but I’d taken care of them, and stolen their Lightning Rod weapons. And it was one of these weapons I used to stop the charging bokoblin riders.

The peachy, skewbald steed I hit first seized up, neighing high and loud, and the bokoblin fell off and we had it out on the ground. I brought down the one on the brown horse in roughly the same manner. And then....

Well I got on the peachy one, and he bucked for a bit before calming down, but.... mm, the brown was closer to being a one-color horse, and so I got on that one instead.

He bucked too, but I soothed him and saw—this one had three speed-bursts at a gallop.

Brown only had two.

Well that could be useful....

I let this new horse carry me for a bit. His body was all brown, mane and tail black, with four black socks and a white muzzle. I don’t suppose he was anything fancy, but he was just dandy fine for moving across this flatter part of the land.

I left him at the shore at times, to go in and scout out more islets, or to kill lizalfos or bokoblins. And when I’d come back to him he’d wander a bit before I got on.... but he was a good, patient horse. Even when the lashing rain came back.

I rode the horse the rest of the way around the marshes and the surrounding areas. I even came across Tye and S.... Ssss—uh, Saaalisa? Salisa? I came across Tye and his sweetheart again. And killed their bokoblin assailants once more. I rode and searched and searched and rode until I came all the way back to the Moor Garrison Ruins, near where I’d first met Ledo.

I’d circled the entire marsh, and not seen one lick of the missing Mei.... I had even cleaned out every bokoblin nest I had come to and searched among all the buildings. I’d combed through the ruins, I’d left no stone unturned, no box unexploded.

I had not gone up the long waterway toward the Eastern Reservoir; I’d thought to save that for last as it was so extensive. But....

There was no sign of Mei.

Maybe she really was further down the river.

And this horse....

This chuffing, wandering horse was starting to grow on me just a little bit.

I decided to take him up to the Woodland Stable and have him registered.

I rode him into the marsh; it was quite shallow. But.... huh, to get him across to the north bank....

I consulted my map. The water was pretty deep on the north side of the big island. I might.... dear me, I might have to ride him through the boardwalks—

But then I remembered! Thims Bridge! Northward along the river! I could cross him over there.

And so I took the new horse along the other bank now with me, still keeping an eye out for the missing Mei. We had a nasty run-in with another bokoblin camp—the horse got stuck over a rock on the ground as they closed in around us—I did the best I could with a sword until they knocked me clean off. The horse made a break for it, but I could only turn my attention to the bokoblins and pray he didn’t run too far....

Turned out he didn’t. Also turned out the camp was full of high explosives, and I felt quite lucky none of them went off or was employed during the scuffle.

I bombed them just to clear the area, scooped up the spoils, and the horse and I moved on.

He moved at a nice clip, and the ever lurking Piano picked up on the change of movement and plinked happily along around us, sounding like raindrops in the sunshine. At such a pace it was only a short time before we came to Thims Bridge. But just before we did.... I heard a sound I hadn’t heard before. I slowed the horse, the Piano shied and flitted away, and I scanned the sunlit slope to my left, but could only see a couple of foxes.

And there it was again. High, soft.... kind of whistling.... it sounded like.... howling....

But no I was sure those were foxes. And as I came nearer, there I could see the red of their coats. And they scampered away at my approach.

Were there....

Are there wolves in Hyrule?

(I ain’t gonna lie; I seen a few fanarts with ‘em.)

Horsey and I crossed the bridge, and from there it was just a short trot back to the stable. I spoke to the man at the window, and registered my new steed.

I called him.... Thrice. Once for his three-fold endurance, and once for what I imagined must have been his third life—a life before bokoblins, a life with bokoblins.... and now hopefully third time’s the charmed life with Link.

I’ll take good care of him.

Besides, the name Mudfoot for his black socks seemed too sloggish and slow.