Shrine Out Of Time 2.2 - The Last Shrine

Evening of Tuesday, November 17, 2020 (comprised of some raw note editings from April 29 through April 30, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long) ~ 2

Shrine Out Of Time 2.2 - The Last Shrine

I was in my Hateno House.

I was out of practice. The buttons. The buttons....

I knew those could give me trouble. And so I decided to journey on foot.

I needed the practice.

The fabled Roscoe would be down on a southern beach, far to the west. I could probably get into ample trouble by following the coastline. That would give me practice on the buttons.... And Hateno was close enough to the beach.... I’d go there first!—oh, after I got dressed.

I said it before—this blasted game preying on my girly need to try on clothes! I remembered! As I perused my closets, I remembered. I’d bought an extra pair of Well-Worn Trousers from Granté, down in—up in Tarrey Town, and brought them here, to the Dye Shop.

To Sayge.

I never bothered to remember his name....

I donned some ensemble more suitable for the road.... or lack thereof.... left my house, ran down to the main thoroughfare, and jogged and sprinted my way back up the mountain, toward the Ancient Tech Lab. I was close enough to the beach....

But upon cresting the highest hills and looking down on that beach.... and being so struck by the familiarity of it.... I decided I didn’t need to explore any regions I’d been before along the eastern coast. Several times. I would go south instead.

I could see the Muwo Jeem Shrine from here, way out on its prominent overlook. I warped there, ran inland, then jumped off the crag, and ran and climbed and paraglided until I came down over Lurelin Village.

But I didn’t stop there. I ran straight up over the following mountain and paraglided all the way to Aris Beach. And there.... I started walking.

There were Guardian husks scattered across the sand. I used Stasis to check whether any of them were alive and—oh, that’s a Talus. I’d been so focused on the Guardians I hadn’t even noticed it.

I killed it. With a big wind-up of my weapon, like Ben said he’d done. And Urbosa nailed the thing in one. Felt good.

Walked.... walked....

Lizalfos appeared, and I donned my Lizalfos mask.

Skeletons cropped up, and I put on my Radiant Suit.

Electric Keese came out, and I put on the Thunder Helm.

The cost of a peaceful passage was only so much juggling and juggling....

But I knew there was a live Guardian down here somewhere; that one would be trickier to bypass....

The Lizalfos didn’t mind me sneaking up and sneaksriking them. I took their treasure from under their noses and they left me alone. These masks were so handy....

Kept walking.

I knew there was a live one somewhere.... I was sure I’d seen one.... some place.... some time....

And there it was.

A Guardian Stalker.

Sitting still as a spider.

I hated it when they did that.

There was a Lizalfos kind of near it, hunkered down in camouflage, facing my direction. I didn’t want to deal with them both....

On went my mask again, if it wasn’t already, and I crouched down and continued my westward march at literally the slowest possible pace. I didn’t know the reach of the Guardian’s ken.... but I wanted to get behind that lizard and kill it!

I circled wide enough to evade the Lizalfos’ interest, if not his swiveling little eyes, and.... came around his back side without the Guardian taking notice.

One sneakstrike put him down, leaving the field clear for just me and my larger opponent.

I crept closer to it still....

But the Guardian, it seemed, was nowhere near as lively as I’d feared. I came quite close and it still didn’t move.

It wasn’t even decayed. What was wrong with it?

Maybe some of ‘em just get low on batteries.

I tried whistling. It had worked for that turret on the castle grounds. But here on the beach.... nothing.

So.... I shot it in the head with an arrow.

That got its attention.

It came on....

And I put it down in three Perfect Parries.

....

And kept walking.

The beach was long.

There were more Lizalfos occasionally.... always more Lizalfos....

And the weird, overhanging rocks from the cliffs to the right....

It was a strange place.

And there, another tide pool, with a big hump of black rock rising out of it near the edge.

And I climbed up on that rock.

And there—

Orange—

There it was.

The last Shrine Pedestal.

It was set into a cluster of rocks just a few paces down-beach from.... a very large, very strange.... mushroom-shaped rock? It was tall, it was immense, with a high-rolling, grassy top, like a hill, but.... weathering down so narrow toward its base.... like a tree trunk.... A house-sized tree-trunk.

Maybe it had come to be this way from weathering near the sea.... maybe this area used to be sea caves.... Maybe.

Near the base of the MushRock I could see the light of a fire—a wok—a couple of large wooden crates, some barrels.... the silhouette of a dead Guardian there off the right side.... and the glow of—

The Orb.

Heh, the legendary Roscoe, I assumed.

And sitting on the ground beside it, leaning up against it with her palm upon its surface, her cheek against its face, her knelt legs folded off to one sultry side.... was a woman named Loone.

Heh. Fitting.

“So smooth and ancient...” I heard her murmur as I approached.

And as I came up to her directly.... “Your skin is so smooth and gorgeous, my little Roscoe.... Hm? Someone’s watching us? Oh, my sweet Roscoe! You’re so shy, aren’t you? YES, YOU ARE! Why not proudly show off your beaming beauty, my darling? You really MUST come out of your shell.”

This was amazing.

“Hm? The person watching looks like he wants something? Maybe he’s after... *GASP* Is he after you?! Don’t you worry, my sweet Roscoe! I would never ever EVER let you go!”

Well heck, that wouldn’t do.... I needed that thing!

“I’m head over heels for my special friend who’s been around since ancient times! You’re so ancient and special, Roscoe! YES, YOU ARE!!”

The way she just kept stroking it....

But then her voice dropped— “Sorry, my sweet Roscoe, but I fibbed a little... The truth is...” —and then rose again! “I wanna see Guardians! Flying ones! Small ones! Ones that walk around! I wanna see all the Guardians in the world!! Not the ones around here that have rusted away, either. I wanna see fresh and lively Guardians! If I ever do get to see them... I may just have to leave you, my friend.”

For a moment I panicked. Did I need to actually herd a Guardian over this direction and show it to her?

But no.... I remembered.... That’s what Ben had said—she only wanted to see pictures of different types of Guardians.

Well, there was my out.

“Oh, but don’t you worry! Getting near a Guardian is too dangerous for me. Flying ones, small ones, ones that walk... I’m afraid seeing Guardians like that is nothing more than a dream within a dream for me...”

Well, no worries, Loone. It wasn’t too dangerous for me. And it was already a waking nightmare within a waking nightmare to boot.

There was just one problem.

My album was full.

I hemmed and hawed a good long while. I didn’t like deleting records.... Well.... Lasli-in-the-Fireflies had replaced the picture of Impa’s orb....

I.... erased her pictograph. Ach.

Then it was a simple warp to the Castle; easy enough to find Guardians there. I found a flyer first. And the pictograph came out marked with a little red exclamation mark. Good.

I took it back to Loone, but.... she gave no different responses.

Uh.

....?

Let me see....

The quest was called Guardian Slideshow.

Oh no.... she.... she wanted to see all three of them at once?

Then I would need to delete.... two more pictographs?

How could I?

ajhglajgkeklr;ajkf

I pushed it aside, went back to the castle; I would decide when it was upon me.

I made my way to the Observation Room. And I erased.... one picture of Windblight Ganon. For I’d had two of them. The one I erased was less dynamic, but it did better showcase the blight’s four “braids”.... like Revali’s....

I’d just.... found it.... interesting I’m sorry, my friends....

Somewhere near the Observation Room, I snapped a pictograph of a Turret. But no exclamation mark appeared on this one.... Huh.... So by “little one” she must have meant a shrine-crawler, then....

I paraglided down toward Castle Town, got a pictograph of a Crawler, and then.... warped to the Shrine of Oman Au. There were crawlies in there.

Hemmmmmed and haawwwwwed and hemmmmmed and hawwwwed....

That picture.... that picture that I took of the Great Calamity, Calamity Ganon.... right up friggin’ main street.

I actually went and made sure it was on my computer first.... and then.... I deleted it.

It definitely needed better retaking.

And there were other facets of Ganon I had failed to capture as well.

I would find him again.

Soon enough.

I got the crawly, beat the shrine, warped back to Ka’o Makagh.... climbed over the mountain, came back to Loone.

“My sweet Roscoe... Don’t you worry, my special friend! I would never ever, EVER let you go. ...Unless, of course, I find a way to see a flying Guardian and a small one and one that walks around.”

Ah-hah, my choices, “I’ll show them to you.” or “You’re...funny.”

She did seem maybe just a wee bit touched, but....

“I’ll show them to you,” I offered.

“Hm? Someone’s speaking?” she said. Oh gosh.

“You’ll...show me? A Guardian?”

Oh, she addressed me this time! But she was still glued to her precious ball.

“Hey, you! Could you please not bother my Roscoe and me?”

But I held up my Sheikah Slate, and showed her—

“It’s not like you can show me a Guardian or anything...”

—the Guardian Skywatcher.

Suddenly Loon was on her feet. “That image... That’s a flying Guardian! Wow, I feel alive with terror just from gazing at its beautiful form!”

Beautiful?

....Well, I know most of that feel, sister.

I then showed her Oman Au’s little crawly.

“A small Guardian! Awww, it looks so vicious for its tiny size! Adorable!!”

Adorable?

“Hold on... If you’ve been able to show me two types, then that must mean...”

And I held up my slate once more with the pictograph of the Stalker.

“A walking Guardian! I can’t believe it! Nothing could be more dangerous! What an exhilaratingly scary sight!”

Exhilarating? Wait, let me look it up.... “Ex-” plus.... “hilarus” as in “hilarity”?

....

Well maybe if your sense of humor is very, very dark.

“Phew... What a joy,” Loone sighed. “Hey, you! Give me that box, OK?! I wanna look at those images every single day!”

Uh oh.

“I can’t do that,” I said.

“You can’t? I see... How unfortunate.” Her face wilted into her palm. “I guess I’ll just have to burn those images into my imagination.”

“Can I have that orb?” My only option.

Loone raised her head again. “Hm? Oh, you mean Roscoe? Sure, that weird sphere thing is all yours. Really, I’m over it.”

Oh wow, Loone. XD

“Yeah, I’m all about Guardians now! If I close my eyes, I can see them in my imagination! It’s glorious!”

Heh, and I hope that’s the only place you’ll ever see them.

I’d been taking my time.

Mom and David were in the room with me, and David had been impatient, but.... he said if he’d known it were the last shrine....

He was understanding about that....

I picked up the Roscoe Orb, walked it over the few paces to the pedestal, and set it down in the hole.

Up came the Shrine of Shoqa Tatone.

The Final Shrine....

I stepped inside.

 

Shrine Out Of Time 2 - Grace Under Pressure

Evening of Tuesday, November 17, 2020 (comprised of some raw note editings from April 29 through April 30, 2023 that I really hope sound consistent because I left it alone for too long)

Shrine Out Of Time 2 - Grace Under Pressure

I was at my Hateno House.

How long had it been? How long had it been since I had played? Or at least since I had been at Ben’s house, watching him play, or Dottie, or Mary, or whoever it was?

They have a WiiU, now, and Breath of the Wild, and game files of their own.

They’re loving it.

And we have so much fun talking about it.

Talking.

I never really put or imagined any bars against Word-Of-Mouth. Not something so old and basic and pure.

There was no harm there.

And we had been talking about all the shrines we had been to, and Ben had brought up that crazy lady on the beach, fawning over the ancient Shrine-Orb and calling it Roscoe....

What?

They’d known, I think, that I had every single shrine in the game except for one.

Fair enough odds for talk.

But when Ben saw the incomprehension on my face, the not recognizing, the hungry, affronted, but still piqued eyes.... he made his own surprised face.

And I pursued after the general location from him....

Something about a beach....

Something about south of the.... that stable.... the one near the Horse God....

Roscoe....

And I tucked it away for later.

And later came, and went.

It’s just been so hard.

This year, I guess.

!

I didn’t even remember to put the date.

It’s fixed now.

What happened to my writing?

I used to write on my lunches.

Oh how I used to write! All through lunch and bleeding over into work time again, simply because I could, if we were caught up.

But I didn’t like that job.

They treated me well. Very well. And they paid me well. I had great benefits. There was often food. Lots of treats. Birthdays often meant whole lunch outings. There were holidays, and barbecues. My manager was great. My coworkers were warm and friendly.

But I didn’t like any of the horizons I could see at that job.

I didn’t want to live on that mountain.

There was nothing there. Nothing fulfilling.

And so in February, I took a leap of faith.... and got a different job.

I started it the first Monday in March, right before the madness hit.

And I’ve been there ever since.

Only now.... at home. Where I am not isolated in a cubicle with nothing but my computer, but where all the blasted house is open to me any time I want.

I miss.... the constraints. The pressure.

Pressure.... allows for friction.

And friction allows for movement.

We’re not supposed to live like this.

That’s what happened to my writing.

It’s so close at hand, that I can do it any time.

And that’s the problem.

But tonight.... Something made me get on tonight.

I guess there is a kind of pressure, somewhat.

I’m running out of time.

You see, there is a game that I preordered earlier.

Huh—has it only been within this year?

For when I left my previous job, I cashed in my “EPIC” points—some goofy system of kudos and praise where you can accumulate points and get a fancy pen or something after like five years—and I got what was honestly the most appealing thing I could find in the entire catalogue: a $25 gift card to GameStop.

And then what seems like much later—a month ago? Two months?—something was announced. Some game was announced. Something beyond which I knew there would be no more hope for me. Something that indeed I wanted to suck me in and carry me away....

It’s hard.... journaling a game.

I think.... I miss being carried away all in a rush.... It’s hard to remember.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.

Goodness. Gracious. Me.

And so.... back when it was announced, I went to my local GameStop.... and with the help of the gift card that I’d been holding onto for months, I preordered the upcoming game.

And it comes out this Friday.

So I knew.... that it was time to strike out and find.... this Roscoe....

Huh. I just vomited those two pages straight into the document in.... not a lot of time.

Maybe my writing’s not so gone as I thought. ☼

 

But I Like The Red Rocks

Afternoon of Sunday, January 27, 2019

But I Like The Red Rocks

I started up in my own house in Hateno Village.

I wanted to go see what Hudson was up to. Bolson had wondered about him, said something maybe about trouble.... or had hinted that Hudson couldn’t have gotten into too much of such.... which meant....

Mmmm I roved over my mental map of Akkala, wondering where he could have gone. The land was lush and green all over, but I could not banish the lake from my thoughts....

And if he was at Lake Akkala.... well, dude, freakin’—there were Guardians in there!

I warped to the Wolf Shrine—that shrine low north of Zorana, on the cliffs overlooking the waterfalls and the fairy fountain. Wolves had harrassed me when I first came upon it, and were still often seen nearby. And I ran off the cliff and paraglided toward that jut of land just downtrail from Mija’s little copse, out over Lake Akkala.

Standing all alone over the water....

But of course.... There was nothing else there. Nothing but a Goddess statue....

And I drew nearer to the islandy formation and lo! I saw.... some structures there.... And I saw Hudson! Picking away at a rock! He was okay!

I floated down on the landbridge for a proper approach, and the new name of the place gleamed across my screen: Tarrey Town.

Tarrey Town? Was this where he was expanding? Was he settling here?

I had a nice conversation with Hudson. Gave him ten bundles of wood for materials. I didn’t mind helping him! Aww it was good to see him well! ^_^

But the great hulking boulders on this.... island for lack of a better term.... He needed somebody strong, like a Goron (but with a last name ending in –son, per policy), to come and help him get rid of them.

:(

But I liked the shape of this island. And Akkala’s red rocks were so pretty....

Oh humm hmmm.... This seemed fit to develop into something massive and irrevocable.

....

I reloaded back at my house. Without saving.

Dipped around for a little bit.... Mounted a couple more weapons....

Currently, from left to right around the lower room’s walls, the setup consisted of: the Falcon Bow gifted by Teba, My Trusty Phrenic Bow, (empty); the Lightscale Trident, (empty), the Ceremonial Trident; (empty), the Forest Dweller’s Shield, and the Kite Shield.

I just liked the look of the Rito Shield.... And it was still fresh anyway. So was the Falcon Bow.

I liked Akkala’s beautiful red rocks—how could I move forward with this?

....

Eh, it would autosave occasionally. I just called it a day.

Aquas and LousySpy and the Monster Born Of Darkness

Waking of Saturday, January 26, 2019 ~ 2

Aquas and LousySpy and the Monster Born Of Darkness

This had been a long time coming.

I warped to the Dueling Peaks, took out Knight from the Stable, and rode him to Hateno. Saving a few people along the way, of course.... I swear, that stretch of road....

I made it to Hateno, and found Bolson and his crew. Still sitting out by that wok beside the old empty house.

....

Hateno was one of the first places I had visited; Bolson was an early snake in my life. But now I had traveled the world, or at least the country, and seen just about every habitation there was to see.... just on the vague off chance there might be.... someone else making a similar offer.... somewhere.... Though in my heart as time went on.... I think I had known.... there wouldn’t be.

The Deku Tree’s Navel was homely enough, and Pepp was kind to keep a bed there just for me. But.... I was no Korok....

And these Champions’ weapons....

And Hateno still left a dreary, unloving taste in my mouth.

But....

....

It was time.

I had seen the world, and it was time.

I approached Bolson, and I finished what I had started so long ago, and I bought the house. I shelled out the three thousand rupees. I had seen that amount come and go and come again in my purse, but now.... I was finally putting it where I’d meant to put it eventually.

I bought the house.

And Bolson was.... taken aback! By me, spending so much at such an age! He just found it so.... studly.

Lol Bolson is so gay.

And so the house was mine. As was a weapon mount Bolson and crew had left in there that didn’t get sold. “Consider it a housewarming gift,” Bolson said.

A weapon mount.... Hmmm.... I thought I’d seen those in David’s Hateno House....

After the transaction, it was decided that Hudson, one of Bolson’s men, was going to Akkala. Bolson Construction was expanding.

Well that was sudden. :c

I said goodbye to him and bade him good luck.... and he told me to take care of myself.... Nice guy, Hudson. I always liked him.... when I spoke to him. He was always the most cordial.

He even had his own little.... music.... some gentle musical theme.... as he walked off and away into the fade-out.

Aww. :( I’d miss that guy.

Hahhhh.

....

But for NOW....

....

I WENT TO CHECK OUT MY HAUS.

....

I ran inside and it was so bare. But it was mine.

“This is my house,” I said to David.

The wooden floors gaped dustily up at me as I pounded around in the silence.

“This is my house,” I said again.

“....”

“THIS.... IS MY HOUSE. THIS IS MY HOUSE!” I started singing. XD

And David actually recognized it and rolled his eyes hard.

“WON’T YOU GET OUT OF MY HOUSE? THIS IS.... THIS IS MY.... HOUSE THISISMY HOUSE.... WON’T YOU GET OUT OF MY HOUSE—I’LL GIVE YOU.... A GOOD SPELL, FOR YOU TO USE. SO YOU CAN JUMP ON MY ROOFS AND EVERYTHING LIKE THAT. THIS IS MY HOUSE. PLEASE, GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, IT’S—NOT YOUR HOUSE. I’VE GOT A BIG BEARD! Out of my house.... out.... Ah, don’t stab me....”

....

I don’t think I actually sang the whole thing for/at David but I sure as heck ain’t gonna leave it out of the log.

I ran happily around my new house a few more times, up to the loft and down again, around and around before the initial excitement wore down pretty hard.

Um, the house was all bare. It didn’t even have a door.

I’d finally mounted Mipha’s spear up on the wall, and that was something, but.... where was everything else? David’s house was much fuller than this....

I ran out the doorway to look for Bolson again, getting halfway across the little bridge before stopping and.... hmmmm turning back and grabbing Mipha’s spear again; I didn’t like leaving it alone in a house with no door.

I ran to go find Bolson, but the evening was falling fast and I didn’t find him.

But I did find Kilton.

!

And I remembered.

Now that I’d beaten another Divine Beast....

He should have something new!

Now I could finally see whatever it was that David had seen.... I had guessed and guessed that time, hoping for answers just as much as not. Was it a Hinox Mask? A Guardian Mask? Some kind of Malice-Immunity Potion? But David never said....

I approached the little man in his balloon now....

Kilton was very excited. He’d outdone himself this time. He had created the ultimate monster gear. “I’m actually a bit terrified of myself right now,” he said.

Oh my gosh WHAT IS IT?

He called it.... the dark series.

What?

And he said when I put on this ultimate monster camouflage, I might just become a monster myself. “Have fun being hunted for your organs,” he tells me.

WHAT?

He also said that I might find myself able to move faster at night. “Not sure how that worked out,” he says, “but....” He trailed off.

Oh my gosh....

WHAT IS IT, KILTON?

I clicked through his dialogue until he finally finished his spiel, and I got into his items. Scrolled down.... down.... down....

And....

OH MY GOSH IT WAS A DARK LINK OUTFIT.

Dark Link!

And I studied it a bit more.... “OH MY GOSH THOSE ARE OOT’S BRACERS!” I said to David.

“Who’s Oot?”

“This is OoT’s outfit!”

“Who’s Oot?”

“Ocarina of Time.”

“Oh.”

I knew them by the broad banding over the forearms, and the boot-flaps, and the tunic-lapels, and the shaping of the bandolier and the broadness of the belt.

OoT!

Kilton said he’d designed these with a monster born of shadow in mind.

Uh muh gush....

What an enormous upwelling of nostalgia.

So I started trading him monster bits for his Mon currency. Fortunately I had over 400 Lizalfos Talons and Chuchu Jellies, over 300 Bokoblin Fangs and plenty of Ancient Screws and things.... I made exactly as much as I needed: 3,997 Mon.

And I bought the Dark Tunic for 999 mon.

And I bought the Dark Trousers for 999 mon.

And finally.... I bought the Dark Hood for 1,999 mon.

And I put them all on and....

Oh....

My gosh....

Well that was right creepy.

I was Dark Link!

....

I swear he bore his teeth more.... when he wore this Dark Series....

So I ran to find some townsfolk to scare. But they only jumped and cowered and then spoke to me normally.

And I finally found Bolson! Inside one of the houses in the morning just before he woke up. I just had to wait a minute because he couldn’t be bothered until he got back to the Hylian home.

And shortly, but not shortly enough.... he did. And I spoke to him. And he could see that I was looking at him like I was displeased, or wanted him to keep working on the house—because I did.

So he said he’d finish making it a real home for 5,000 rupees.

You sneakthief!

“But for you, we’ll just start at 100.”

Uh huh, of course you will....

So I spent that morning having him build me things. First, a door, for one hundred rupees.

I forked over the cash, and he called Karson, and in the ensuing blackout I was happily amused to hear that it sounded like the two of them SERIOUSLY got to work! With much manly grunting and huffing and puffing and yelling and guttural shouts all to the rhythm of the sounds of manual construction! XD And when the scenery faded back in, my house had a brand new door. Very nice.

And for a hundred rupees more, a bed up in the loft. And another hundred rupees for some lighting over the main floor. And with each job, the same riotous blackout occurred, Bolson and Karson both yelling and sawing and hammering and yelling some more until the job was done.

That was it for the installation projects. Next I had him add to the mounts on my wall, and he charged me for each one. Two more weapon mounts on the far wall, three shield mounts on the right wall below the loft, and three bow mounts on the left wall. Not in that order, but that’s where they appeared.

With the mounts—and the door—in place, I mounted Mipha’s Spear, and the Ceremonial Trident, along with the stylish Forest Dweller’s Shield, and my trusty, trusty Phrenic Bow. They would be safe and secure in this house. And kept from cumbering me out on the field.

When I was out of mounting options and other interior projects, I had Bolson do exterior work. Even in the rain. Oh I first moved Knight into the roofed stall off the west side of the house and out of the wet. (He and I looked amazing together while I wore the Dark Series.) But I still made Bolson work, despite the cutscenes being robbed of their vibrancy in the silver haze. Plant flowers! Plant trees! (I could hardly spot the wide-angle differences in the downpour.) And finally, A sign with my name on it!

And Bolson and Karson hollered their way through it all, as the last drops finally began to peter out.

The sign stood neatly on its own little pedestal just to the left of the path from the bridge to my door; and it read, I could see after I’d studied it for a moment:

MASTER LINK

                  PRESENTED BY SAKURDA BUILDERS

And when all that had been done, Bolson said “YOU... HOUSING MONSTER!” Or something like it. “You got everything?”

And since I had worked him for all he was worth, he threw in some free furniture for me. (“Karson! Look alive!”) And that.... was that.

And Bolson and Karson left off.

And my house was a home.

And the sidequest Hylian Homeowner flashed across my screen.... Complete.

My gosh, how long had it been?

I didn’t know.

Home complete.... I rode Knight back to Dueling Peaks. Still in my Dark Getup. And the Bokoblins we passed.... leapt out in blatant attacks.

Um.... they didn’t seem very fooled.

I asked David if bad guys did this when he wore the Dark Suit, but he hadn’t bought this set. It was expensive.

Some field research was in order it seemed. I got to Dueling Peaks, boarded Knight, and ran down the road west between the peaks toward the Bokoblin camp. They were all asleep.

So I woke them up with a whistle. Or... did I? They seemed to come to before I could blow. Hmm.

And they all attacked me.

What the heck, Kilton?

One of them hit me with an arrow, and it HURT! D:<

Good gravy that took off a lotta hearts!

Under further attack, I warped away mid-stun to Cotera. Maybe she could upgrade the stuff.

But it was unupgradable.

-_- What in the heck, Kilton?

The ensemble.... didn’t seem to have any good perks.... that I could immediately discern....

But getting another idea I kept it on anyway, and started having the Great Fairy cast her upgrades on my spare Flamebreaker Armor. I had the materials and I just wanted to see something....

I had her upgrade until the kiss. And the little cinematic gave me a clear view of Link’s red-eyed, black-skinned, dark, evil, behooded face.

Oh....

Yeah he definitely bore his teeth more in this outfit....

Sneering. Leering. Narrow-eyed menacing.

My gosh.

Well that was nightmarish.

I reloaded without saving to just before the Great Fairy because I wanted to keep my Smotherwing Butterflies.

Well.

Now what.

....

As long as I was in Kakariko, I went and tried it on the Guardian out back. The Dark Series.

But nope, the Guardian still saw me and got mad. Piano all riled up.

Hm.

I was running out of gas.

....

I warped to the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab and visited Purah. Scared her and Symin with the Dark Suit all right! Symin says—(uh?)—that I can add pictures to my Compendium for a price.... huh, not sure if I knew that before....

Paraglided to.... my house. Scared Bolson on the way.

I have a house now.

And it does look nice.

And it is inviting.

I changed out of my Dark Suit and into my Champion’s tunic, Hylian Hood and Hylian Trousers.

It was 1:10 in the afternoon.

I slept in my very own bed for the first time, until the morning.

Good night.

And at church the next morning, Shelene and I sang. A beautiful song about how by serving the needy, we truly serve Christ, and enrich our own lives as well. And throughout the rest of the cracks between church, women kept coming up to me, and I assume to Shelene as well, to tell me that our singing had moved them to tears.

A Walk with Yunobo

Waking of Saturday, October 28, 2017

A Walk with Yunobo

David’s been kind. He stayed away from the volcano’s Divine Beast until I’d had a go at it. But now he felt free to plunge right up Death Mountain, and I watched him for some of the time.

He cleverly defeated those first Moblins at Eldin Bridge by climbing up a nearby crag and bombing the living daylights out of them. And as the second one finally died, he jumped off the rock to float down and collect its spoils.

But the cinematic started before he could deploy his paraglider.

And as the camera centered on the bewildered Yunobo, looking around to see if the coast was clear, David and I watched a dark shape swip down right in front of him and off the screen out of sight.

“Was that Link?” we both wondered, laughing incredulously at each other.

The cinematic ended, and the camera pulled back a gentle distance, and there was Link, on the ground.

Which was just . . . . great. XD

With a little more effort than I had taken the time for, David was able to destroy the Sentries using Yunobo as a projectile.

I didn’t know you could do that!! D8 ??

But I did feel a little clever in that I had thought to Stasis them, when this did not occur to David.

He also ran right past the first cannon without firing at Rudania. He was wearing full Flamebreaker Armor, and I wanted to see what would happen if he climbed up near Rudania’s big flaming right hind foot.

David was kind to oblige. XD

And the result was that he burst into flame. ÓuÒ;;

Maybe Vah Rudania was just too hot, even for the Flamebreaker Armor. Or maybe David hadn’t upgraded his armor to be fireproof yet.

After a bit either I told him or he figured it out that he should use the cannon on the Divine Beast, and he progressed on his way.

I watched him all the way up the mountain (he never once was spotted by a Sentry) and into the volcano until.... the trapdoor clamped down behind him and locked him in the darkness.

And on that grinning bombshell, I left to go attend to some other things.

When I came back some time later, he was about to face off against Fireblight Ganon, but he first left to regain full hearts by sleeping at his house.

Which I told him was LAME. And like some crotchety old geezer I told him that back when I did the Divine Beast I did the whole thing at half hearts, and I never warped away or even ate any of my meals!

But he went to rest at his house anyway.

I don’t have a house yet.

It was fun watching him defeat Fireblight Ganon. He was quite stumped for a while, but he was brave and kept psyching himself up to venture out from behind the posterior structure to try a new tactic . . . .

I stepped out for his ending cinematics. It was his fourth beast, and we suspected there might be something extra, and I didn’t want to be spoiled.

And there was something extra, he said.

But I did watch the part with the ghostly Daruk.

And after a little more time, David insisted that I play.

He really does want me to catch up.

And I believe he wants to talk about more of the game with people. And I know that feeling.

Hah. Welcome to my life, David.

I played from the activation of Vah Rudania when I started. Because I wanted to see it again. And.... I was still logging, and I wanted a refresher for the scene.

Sometimes I go through the game faster than I intend, and.... I lose some of the finer details.

Dang this log.

The bright, gold-tinged light that had borne me off the beast brought me down into Goron City.

I can never bring myself to make the avatar run, after things like that. I just can’t.

It just feels so.... uncalled-for.

Being thrust back into normalcy after the brutally insane places I’ve been?

It’s like being on another planet.

It’s a kind of dazedness, a kind of triumph, a kind of relief, a kind of sorrow, which for me will forever require a walking pace.

Yunobo told me the Boss had summoned me, and that that kind of thing couldn’t be refused.

And he rolled away.

I walked after him, toward the Boss’s house.

Bludo said Yunobo had told him everything. And he was amazed and grateful that we had subdued the Divine Beast.

“But did you have to wait until my back finally felt better?” he griped, pressing that now I was making him look like big fibber!

In the end he rewarded me with a gift he said I could find in his house: a blade once wielded by the legendary Daruk himself.

“Take it. Keep it. It’s yours,” he said.

I couldn’t fit it in my inventory.

So I left it there.

Which was just as well, I figured; one block of my weapon inventory was already taken up by Mipha’s spear, which I dared not use any further lest it break.

Made me think of getting that house again. Maybe weapons could be stored in houses....

Why hadn’t I gotten that house yet? Well.... I had my reasoning. Although to be honest I’d since been “spoiled” on that point—I knew by then that it was—

Mm but maybe you don’t.

....

In which case I’ll just say....

....

I just wanted to wait until I had seen all the land first, before choosing a place for me to live.

I was wandering around Goron City, still at a walk.

I saw Yunobo. He was walking too.

I went to speak with him.

“I’m going for a walk today,” he smiled, “Want to come?”

And that was all he said.

And he continued in his slow and easy NPC pace.

Well, he wasn’t like that tour guide back in Hateno, huffing and puffing and making me jog. He was just.... walking. Slow as Uli from Twilight Princess.

But he had invited me, so I followed him.

After a very brief climb, he came to a stop in the middle of a short bridge over the thoroughfare below, and turned toward the volcano.

I spoke to him again.

“Welcome to my secret hideout,” he grinned to me, “This is the best place to get a good view of Vah Rudania.”

We both looked at it, perched way up there at the mountain’s top, lasering toward the castle.

“To think we actually fought that thing...” Yunobo continued. “I’ve never been afraid of it... until just now.”

I guessed it was all hitting him at once.

“It’s strange, but ever since we defeated Vah Rudania, I’ve felt like my ancestor Daruk is somehow with me all the time.”

He turned to me.

“Link, I did good, didn’t I?”

“You did your best!” I said, and this seemed to give him a little more confidence.

“Yeah, I did, didn’t I.”

Or some such words.

“And with Daruk’s Protection I know my ancestor will never let me down.”

Or some such words.

Or some such words.

Sometimes I forget the exact things people say.

Sometimes I prefer not to go back and check.

Sometimes I just try to do my best, too.

Dang this log.

Free Enterprise

Waking of Thursday, April 6, 2017 ~ 2

Free Enterprise

I hung around the stable a bit longer, visited with the people again, loved on the dog some more—it started following me around a bit....

And then I went inside, and found Beedle snoozing away on the floor in the back. I remembered I wanted to check on the price of ten Luminous Stones versus the price of one Diamond, and so nudged him gently awake.

I did not expect his reaction then.

I don’t even remember how or why it happened; I didn’t feel like we really knew each other that well, but he just seemed so excited to see me....

He gave me an Ancient Arrow.

8O

I recognized it.

I recognized it from the teaser I’d seen ages and ages and ages ago! The one with Aonuma’s introduction—the one where Link was running from that terrible Guardian, riding away on a horse until he was cornered, whereupon he vaulted from his horse’s back, nocked the baffling arrow to his bowstring—it whirred and moved and glowed—and let fly.

Oh my gosh, Beedle just gave me one of those.

He told me he got it from a man named Robbie, at the Akkala Ancient Tech Lab.

!

Oh my—Robbie....? Purah had recommended I visit one called Robbie.... I’d forgotten all about him.... And I’d heard the name Akkala said here and there, but I wasn’t quite sure where it was.

But Beedle clued me in—he said Akkala was waaaay north of Zora’s Domain, and he told me that this Robbie was completely obsessed with ancient technology, always studying and experimenting and constructing things like this arrow....

North of Zora’s Domain? Those shrines I had seen from the clifftops of Upland Zorana.... And that Sheikah Tower patrolled by the hovering, red-lighted terror....

Were those Akkalan lands?

o__o

I certainly had a lot to think about.

But.... to the business at hand....

I looked at his wares and he looked at mine, and the going price for a Luminous Stone was seventy rupees, but a Diamond’s worth was five hundred.

So the Luminous Stones were more valuable by the tens.

Huh, perhaps I wouldn’t trade them all away to Ledo after all.... but I didn’t want to sell them to Beedle either.

I don’t know, I felt like I might want to keep them for something, their elemental values.... I felt like they must be used for something else, later....

Then again I know it is a bad habit of mine to hold in reserve, hold in reserve, hold in reserve for the WORST emergencies, until I simply find myself with unused hoards of stuff.

But I decided to lighten my pockets at least a little. I could spare a few Ambers, and I was not short at all on monster-bits. Bokoblin fangs and lizalfos horns might go for cheap, but when you’re carrying several score of each.... it adds up pretty quick.

And then suddenly I had over three thousand rupees.

I could buy that house in Hateno.

And instantly my mind began to make war on itself—Did I really want the house? Did I like the flavor of Hateno? Were there other places in Hyrule for me to live? Better places?

Because for some reason Hateno had always left a weird taste in my mouth. Maybe it was that I was so exhausted when I first got there. Maybe it was the sense of unease I’d had at the time. Maybe it was the proximity of the Yiga encounters, or the dread close hills haunted by that dratblasted Piano....

Maybe it was that encounter with SATAN.

But.... there were nice folks there, too, like that man who’d been so happy to show me around town. Or.... or.... um.... Karson and his fellows; they’d seemed pretty decent. And I guess that little kid who’d shown me the horned statue was pretty cute, albeit seemingly misguided in his sculptural preferences.

I guess I hadn’t really taken a lot of time to get to know the people there, either.

Except for Purah.

And she was weird.

But, with three thousand rupees in my pocket, the option was now open to me.

And that was more for me to think about.