No Tarryin' for Tarrey!

Waking of Friday, February 8, 2019

No Tarryin’ for Tarrey!

While logging, I’d been referencing YouTube for unremembered details about the Thundra Plateau, and was shocked to remember how unconcerned the Piano was as it sat there picking its nails in the rain. When all of a sudden Oh.... so that’s where the Rubber Armor is....

I’d always meant to avoid spoilers, but....

Whoops!

I started at my house in Hateno.

Spoke to Bolson. He wondered about Hudson.

I was gonna go find Hudson.

But first, took a detour and warped to the Thundra Plateau to pick up the Rubber Shirt! That was a sneaky place to hide a treasure chest.... Now all I lacked of the set was the headpiece....

Warped back to the Wolf Shrine in Akkala—or, warped there for the “first” time.... Sailed down, lighted on the land bridge, same thing. Hi, Hudson!

He’s out here building a town.

Gave him ten bundles of wood. And now.... he needs a Goron.

Well.... If the lovely red rocks here were fated to be leveled anyway....

I warped to Goron City. I thought perhaps one of the diggers from Gorko Tunnel might be the one Hudson was looking for; they seemed like hard workers.... But neither of their names ended in –son. I asked around town, but could find no one who fit Hudson’s qualifications anywhere. Nothing.

So I ran down to the South Mine, and it was there that I met up with.... Greyson!

He was looking for somewhere where he could use his strength to help people!

“Tarrey Town!” I tell him, “It’s in Akkala!”

Oh cool, he liked that. - u - So he called to his little brother Pelison to come along and the two of them started off! Right into their own little cutscene blackout.

Well! c:

I warped after them, and Tarrey Town had another building!

AND A TROMBONE! 8D

The music had been simpler when it was just Hudson, but now.... it had another layer!

That was cool! ^__^

What was more, Greyson was much happier working for Hudson. ^_^ And little Pelison, still in his big yellow hardhat, had opened an ore shop! He said with all the rock they were moving around, they were finding some pretty good stuff to sell!

Well this place was developing quickly! :D

I spoke to Hudson again, and this time gave him twenty bundles of wood to help out. But he had another issue he was dealing with as well.... his clothes kept wearing out. He said he needed someone skilled in tailoring. Probably a Gerudo.

Well I knew just where to find one of those!

Gerudo Town! :D

But of course, Hudson had also said he could only take on someone whose name ended in –son, per Bolson Construction Company policy.

Criminy biscuits....

I asked around anyway. The clothing shop? It seemed like a good place to start looking for a tailor.... But their names didn’t end in –son.

WAIT.

OH MY GOSH I knew where this was going.

That one. That girl, the Gerudo, at Kara Kara Bazaar.

That one. What was her name? It ended in –son, I was sure of it.

The one who was looking for her true love.

Oh my gosh I so knew where this was going....

I sand sealed out to Kara Kara Bazaar! And I found her. Rhondson! That was her name. And she told me she was still continuing her search for a husband.

“Go to Tarrey Town!” I tell her! ^_^

“Tarrey Town?”

“It’s in Akkala!”

“Akkala... That’s a long way from here...”

But she considered, and conceded to herself that it wasn’t like she was getting anywhere here. And so she decided that.... She’d do it! She was gonna go home and pack a huge bag; it was gonna be a loooong journey.

And so she went.... with that same musical outro into a blackout.

They had all walked away with that same music. Tarrey Town music....

This was getting exciting! :D

I warped back to Tarrey Town! Still more rocks had been cleared away and there was yet another building! And little harp-like accent thingies to the music!

Hudson had been the Piano and the English horn. Greyson the trombone. Now Rhondson a harp or something like it. What a lovely ensemble this was turning out to be! ^_^

Rhondson now also had a clothing shop. And she sold the Desert Voe stuff! 8D

When I spoke to her she said she’d had to repair Hudson’s clothes just about every day. And she went on to say that actually.... it had been a little rough. The holes were enough to deal with, but.... Hudson’s clothes also stank of sweat. And whenever she brought it up, Hudson got all defensive! “Is this the only kind of voe I’ll meet around here?” she wondered unhappily at me.

She wondered....

Heh, but I didn’t.

Her future writ itself all over the sky right then and there before my eyes.

Oh this was going to be good. X-)

I continued exploring the houses again, and I saw some.... Hylians?

“Who are you?” I blundered. I didn’t recall going and finding anybody else to come here....?

I spoke to the woman and child first. Ruli was the mother, and her daughter Hunnie had been in poor health lately. They thought it would do them good to move out here where the air was fresh and there were not a lot of people.

Well it was pretty country, and very refreshing out here. Given you could keep the Guardians out of your pajamas.

“Now if my daughter’s appetite would just pick up,” Ruli went on. For she was sure Hunnie would do better if she would just eat more. “At night I need to talk to Papa again...” she finished mysteriously.

Who is Papa?

I hadn’t seen anyone else in the house.

Hm.

I looked around and THERE WAS ANOTHER HYLIAN SITTING ON THE GROUND LOOKING AT THE LAKE.

THIS WAS ALL GOING WAY TOO FAST! 8D

“Are you Papa?” I asked him, running up.

But he gave no indication of even knowing the other two.

My gosh how many people were moving out here??

Hagie was his name. He all but shoved 100 rupees into my hand to make me go kill the two Guardians in the lake. Sidequest, huh?

So I did. Easily.

Felt good, man.

On a quest so small I thought about being more present, but.... I just warped to the Wolf Shrine and sailed back in from the other direction, instead of climbing back up the big red rock.

The hundred rupees had been Hagie’s downpayment, and so now that the deed was done (he saw everything, he said), he gave me the rest: 20 rupees. Pfft.

Hagie remarked on my evidently apparent disappointment before the Sidequest Complete banner flashed across the screen. “Hobbies of the Rich” had been the name of that one.

That guy was loopy!

Aaaand I needed to harvest more wood, because this time.... Hudson needed thirty bundles of it. And after a time and going through some trees up the hill—which might have entailed the instance that certain Big Yigaman ghosted out to fight me and I narrowly evaded the razor shock from his WindCleaver only by dint of being shorter and standing downhill, and was thenceforth happy to assume that WindCleavers could not pitch their strokes—I delivered. I went back to town, and gave Hudson the thirty bundles of wood.

Hudson told me that with the growth of the town, they needed distribution. They needed a general store. They needed somebody who knew how to distribute goods and keep a store running.

“So a traveling merchant?” I asked. Oh great, I’m gonna have to find somebody on the road....

“Yeah, a Rito would be able to get around and move goods!” says Hudson.

Oh.

Well, the only Rito I knew of outside of their hometown were Kass, Frita and Guy. And none of their names.... well....

....

Hmmmm.

....

So I went to Rito Town and started up around the Neck, looking for SONS.... Not Laissa. Not Harth—“Not you I like you too much,” I said.

WAIT A MINUTE!

I stopped.

“That guy!”

I jumped over the rail and sailed back down to the first level and found.... Fyson! The sulky teal one who wanted to leave his mom’s store and open up a store of his own and sell anything he wanted!

“Heard of Tarrey Town?” I grinned.

I told him all about it, and he remarked that Akkala was pretty far away.... But he also said that he’s got to leave the nest somehow.... and the thought of his own store.... It sounded wonderful....

He’d do it! ^_^

And he went.... and walked off into the blackout. Every time one of these people had walked off, he’d had that same little music that saw him off....

I warped back to Tarrey Town and there was a fresh clarinet! ^_^

Ah! But it felt so special that a denizen of my favorite town in the game should be accompanied by my own instrument. ♡

And Fyson was selling arrows! 8D Handy! ^_^

And now Hudson needed 50 bundles of wood! 8O

I didn’t have fifty bundles of wood!

Aaaand ssoooo.... I decided I’d better just fall back on an old reliable source of mine, and went and blew up the woods outside of Hateno, in the old Concussion Forest.

Remember?

After I’d completely deforested the slopes west of Hateno Village, I came back to Tarrey Town—and in fact I did catch Ruli and Hagie together.... so Hagie must have been the “Papa” of that family—and remembered I needed to talk to Rhondson some more....

And I talked to her....

AND THEY WERE ENGAGED!

RHONDSON AND HUDSON WERE ENGAGED!

“What!?” I say.

But haha, she only laughed at my surprise, and said I could talk to Hudson to know more.

Heh, I’d forgotten to talk to her last time. Guessed I’d never know the interrim.... unless I checked YouTube or something.

So I talked to Hudson and gave him the fifty bundles of wood.

And he wanted to talk about something a little.... personal....

I asked him what it was....

“I got engaged!” he says.

“No way!” I say, XD “To who?”

Was that in the game? Eh I’ll chalk it up to a Clemensism.

“To who?”

“To Rhondson.”

Aaaand my choices: “You’re a cute couple!” or “What a surprise!” XD

I say.... “What a surprise!” XD

“You say that, but for some reason, I think you mean the opposite,” says Hudson. XD XD XD XD XD

He goes on, “Anyway, we want to have a little ceremony to celebrate, but we need someone priest-like to officiate.”

Oh, I have known just the guy for MONTHS....

“Priest-like, huh...” I smirk.

Hudson continued, “If we’re looking for a people devout enough to have a priest-like person...I’d suggest the Zora.”

Way ahead of you buddy. X-)

And again, the stipulation of the name ending in –son....

I was in Zora’s Domain in a trice, hoofing it up out of the shrine chamber and making my way back toward the sleeping quarters....

Kapson.

“If during your travels you meet any engaged couples I would like you to introduce them to me.” He said this as if we’d just been continuing our conversation from so long ago. “Joining two souls is a true honor, one I shall stake my life on. Just one more wedding...and I shall be fulfilled.”

“Get a load of this...” I said. XD XD XD XD And I fell into the inevitable gesticulations.

Kapson looked pleased. “I have been waiting to hear those words,” he smiled. “Now, please tell me the specifics...”

“Tarrey Town in Akkala!” I let him know.

“As for the location... Hmmm...” Kapson thought to himself. “Tarrey Town in Akkala... Akkala isn’t too far from here. It would please me to hurry there right away.”

And here I was given a choice of response: “By yourself?” or “Yes, please!”

I showed concern; he was quite an old fish. “By yourself?”

But he laughed a grizzled old laugh. “No need to worry about me. I have always had confidence in my fins and feet!”

Well that was good to hear, then. He sounded like a hale old fish. :) And he was bigger than I was anyway....

“It has been a long while since I have had work. I am eager to put my skills to good use! You should come as well. I will start my preparations in Tarrey Town in the meantime.”

And he walked off with the same music.... ^_^

Hahhh....

So he really wasn’t for Tye and Sorelia after all.

I followed after him right away....

And, you know, despite all the buildings, and the beautiful red rocks being cleared away.... Tarrey Town still really was quite lovely. ^_^

Only....

It was RAINING when I warped back! I DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS ON A RAINY DAY.

I went to look for shrines instead!

Or something....

Studying my map I warped here and there, poking and checking.... Okay, a CHEST beside the shrine name meant all the treasure inside had been gotten.... I looked around, sweeping the cursor over my shrine-markers. Dang I’ve missed a lot of treasure.... Huh, the Blessing Ones were probably just weapons I didn’t have room for....

Okay back to Akkala. Impatience took me quickly and I warped back to Tarrey Town.

The rain had stopped.

And now there was a guitar. ^_^

Heh, a guitar for a Zora, how fitting....

The island was completely developed now. Five comely buildings stood in a neat circle around the edges of the now flat rock. Oh but I wish they hadn’t paved the little Goddess statue pond. It seemed so.... sterile, now. It looked like.... It looked like....

It looked like IKEA.

....

I found another new Hylian in town as well, lounging out on a balcony. A Sheikah! I spoke to him....

And oh my gosh it was Granté! Wasn’t he.... Robbie’s and.... her....’s.... son? Jerrin! Jerrin. Robbie’s and Jerrin’s son? He was.

And HE SOLD ULTRA RARE ARMOR?

UUUHHHHHHHHHHH?????? THIS KID SOLD THE ENTIRE RUBBER SET????

WHAT IN THE WORLD WHERE DID HE’S GOT ALL THESE CLOTHES??? [[Grammar from my original notes.]]

OH MY GOSH HE’S GOT THE OLD SHIRT, WELL-WORN TROUSERS, Rubber ensemble, Climber’s ensemble, Barbarian ensemble, Sand Boots and Snow Boots!

And the ensemble pieces were 4,000 rupees a pop!

Huh.... I wondered....

Not that I had that kind of cash on me right then.

I looked around some more.... And found that Ha! Kapson ran the inn. XD That was a nice, grandfatherly fit for the hale old fish. ^_^

I visited with him and he said an important guest had yet to arrive before the wedding could take place.... and that I could talk to Hudson for the details....

So I went back outside and talked to Hudson. He was grateful that I’d found Kapson.

“He and I talked earlier,” Hudson started, “and he said that he literally was a priest before he retired. You can’t get more priest-like than that.”

XD

“And his name is Kapson, so I have no objections there.”

Naturally!

We talked a bit more, and I gathered that Oh, he wanted me to find guests! Bolson and Karson! But of course. XD

Hudson said he was busy preparing for the ceremony, and asked me if I could invite them.

Oh buddy.... You’ve got your hands full; just leave it to Link....

The stage seemed set.... This was all so exciting!

Almost all seemed to be just about in readiness....

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.

Campout with Kass

Evening of Sunday, August 12, 2018

Campout with Kass

The storm blew off shingles and knocked the tops off our bottle trees. I hoped Meesh was all right.... She hates stormy weather....

But I would see her safe and sound the next morning.

But tonight.... DANG IT I WAS GONNA GET THAT SHRINE ON WASHA’S BLUFF.

I PARAGLIDED from Satori Mountain down to Kass’s place. I was getting better at covering more distance! I no longer feared missing the treeshroom’s platform—I could land well beyond its lip.

Once there, I camped.

....

And camped.

. . . . . . .

And CAMPED.

I lit fires. I spent flint. And when it rained I lit a fire beneath Kass’s wooden roof. Thing was fireproof, thank goodness. And I dropped something like four separate woodpiles before I found I could just relight spent campfires with a new piece of flint. And when my flint started running low, I switched to Fire Arrows....

And still Kass played his accordion.

For days he played his accordion.

I skipped around the platform to the endless waltz.

I was going koo-koo for cocoa puffs.

DANG IT WHERE WAS THE BLOOD MOON?

I could speak with Kass to quiet him, and then stand beside him after our conversation was over. He would look at me. And I would look at him. Or at Satori Mountain. Or at the sky. Or at the strange lands beyond Tabantha Bridge. But I couldn’t move away and leave him alone or he’d start playing the song again. It got.... kind of.... maddening....

I wondered who would win between he and Guru-Guru the organ-grinder.

Hmmmm....

Kass: V --- | i --- | VII --- | III --- | N6(???) - V7 - | i --- | i64 - V - | i ---

Guru-Guru: i --- | i --- | VI - III - | VI - V - | i --- | i --- | VI - V - | i ---

....Hhhhuh.

Is that even a Neapolitan sixth? Dang I don’t remember my music theory....

Well I guess Kass gets points for more sophisticated modulations.... but I think Guru-Guru’s strong half-cadence definitely makes for a more pleasing and attractive structure.

These are the things you think about when you campout with Kass for days.

The moons came in cycles of eight phases: waxing crescent, half, waxing gibous, full, waning gibous, half, waning crescent, new. I would light my fires eight at a time in rapid succession and sit through the days on Kass’ treeshroom before stopping to stretch my legs and watch for the rising of the moon.... And if the full moon were normal and white, I would warp through eight more night-fires to try it again....

Link doesn’t fall asleep when he is crouching. But I think he shakes a bug or something from his hand....

I had a sneaking suspicion that Blood Moons only manifested on full moons, and so between the fulls of one cycle I took a brief break to try for the Prison Korok again. But the statues’ bowls were just empty. And they wouldn’t take apples then, either. Ugh....

But at least I was free of the accordion for a spell.

I wandered nearer to the castle.

It had a music.... a Piano. I didn’t really get to hear much of what it did; there were other things going on the house. But it just felt.... malcontent.

I don’t know why, but I dared not pass the boundary set by the five Great Stones. Glowing pulsing pink in their sealing Sheikah designs. It felt.... like it would be wrong. Or like it bore the same taint that kept me from ever interacting with that SATAN statue again....

I was very near to one of them.

....

I didn’t want to touch it.

I inspected long-abandoned guard towers along crumbling parapets. Some of them had treasure chests inside. One of them was haunted by a Korok.

Skipping past a Guardian Flyer I scuttled up onto a large rock and stood in the bright, placid day.

I calmly observed the Guardian Stalker in the inner town. It was too far away to react to my presence. Just barely, I think.

A big, bubbly pool of Malice oozed and gurgled below the ledge where I stood. It was piled thick in all directions. I regarded the Guardian again....

If I fell in I would be.... in horrible trouble.

Off to my right was a pool of clear water. There were ducks. And fish. Even here.

I was tempted. To go into the castle. For long, dreadful moments I was tempted. But....

No.

No.

I returned to Satori Mountain and paraglided back to Kass’s home.... and that bloody accordion.

I kept camping.

But I didn’t want to strain my bows or burn through my Fire Arrows to keep lighting campfires.

So I pulled out one of my Meteor Rods.

The fireballs bounced everywhere.

One of them might have accidentally hit my host on the back of the head—I saw his shoulders tighten from behind.

Sorry, buddy.

WHERE THE FRICK WAS THE BLOODY BLOOD MOON??

There had to be a better way to do this—there was a better way to do this—I tried a cycle at Pepp’s, in the Deku Tree’s Navel. I just sat by the fire there, too—it was already made; no flint and tinder off my nose—passing night after night until the full moon night came round again, whereupon I sailed back to Kass’ place and waited for the wheeling of the sky....

But there was no Blood Moon.

ಠ_ಠ

It’s like the game knows.

ಥ∼ಥ

Dastardly....

I went back to the Deku Tree’s Navel and slept until the morning.

Ice and Fire

Waking of Wednesday, June 20, 2018 ~ 4

Ice and Fire

I wanted to see how the Thunder Helm looked on me, but I couldn’t equip it. Mmmm not unexpected, but.... Rats!

I had wondered, after I beat whatever I would surely face in the Death Hole Arena, whether I would be rewarded with something to protect me from the cold, as the only way to proceed from there was to climb above the frost line.

But that wasn’t the case.

Fortunately I had already accumulated just such gear elsewhere on my travels.

And so instead of simply warping back to Gerudo Town I decided to take the scenic route, and hiked further into the mountains. Remembering Vah Ruta and Vah Rudania, and how it was always unsafe to approach too near to them.... I just wanted to see if I could traverse the ridge lands before Vah Naboris took a permanent perch somewhere.

I chased my Shrine locator for a while, until I encountered the largest single block of ice I had ever seen. Two dancing Ice Wizzrobes guarded it—from a high ledge, I took the first down in one shot with a Fire Arrow. The second was a little farther away and I missed a couple of times.... but at length he went down, too.

The iceblock was huge. But I was positive that was where the shrine was. I shot a Fire Arrow into its face.

Nothing happened.

Well, the arrow burned against it for a little bit, but.... afterward there was no difference that I could discern.

David insisted it had done a little to melt the ice, but....

I didn’t have that many Fire Arrows.

I paraglided down and cleaned out the immediate area. How was I going to do this....?

I laid down some wood and flint, and struck the flint with my blade—a bright blaze flared up.

The frozen monolith stood solid.

What in the world was I—wait.

I held very still and looked carefully....

There were some subtle variations in the ice’s surface—drippings. And a tiny bit of steam clouding up into the air. But the ice—

There it was. Barely discernable, so slow it almost couldn’t be seen, the face of the iceblock slowly began to shrink away from the flames. And there on the ground! There was definitely a space growing between my woodpile and the foot of the ice.

But it was going so slow....

This needed more fire; I laid down more wood and flint partway around the side. But it was still too slow.... So I started another campfire around the back.

The speed of the ice’s melting was picking up, but....

It seemed a bit of patience was required to solve this puzzle as well.

The ice had receded so far away from my first campfire, I wondered if it was still having any effect. I didn’t want to build another fire.... though I could certainly spare the materials. I was just being stingy. I only like to splurge when I’m hunting big game and Guardians.

My fires burned all night long, and when the sun woke up soft and turned the snow all to roses, the iceblock’s mass shrank past its last vital threshold, and it steamed and melted away in a final watery sigh.

The Shrine of Kuh Takkar stood before me.

Kuh Takkar himself spoke to me twice.

Huh, no monk had ever addressed me twice before. He said something like “Offer me a block of ice and the way will open.”

Or some such words.

Well then! I had a look around. There was an—ice cube dispenser.... heh.... in the middle of the room, and all around seemed to be one long, upward ramp that passed through all manner of fire hazards before reaching the monk’s platform.

“My gosh, I feel like The Mosquito Coast!” I hollered as I made another attempt. A couple of times, there was nothing for it but to pass through the flames. My FlameBreaker Armor protected me, but my iceblock kept getting smaller and smaller....

It was just enough for Kuh Takkar when I reached him, though, and he gave me his Spirit Orb. That made seven of them I had. I needed to pray....

Oh Snap

Waking of Thursday, March 9, 2017

Oh Snap

Well, I’d given the wood bundles to Bolson.

Now I just needed to come up with a hot three thousand rupees.

It wasn’t like they grew on trees....

I decided I had spent enough time cooling off. It was time to familiarize myself with Hateno.

I found the man, Seldon, whom the man at the gate had told me would be happy to give me a tour—and boy was he ever! He ran around showing me things until he had puffed himself right out.

I also did a good deed for one Koyin, a young lady whose sheep were being hustled by the monsters that kept coming up from Hateno Beach.

So I went down there and gave ‘em what for and came back and told Koyin about it, and she gave me some milk in return. That’ll be good in some stew later, I am sure.

There were other people I’d wanted to get to know better, or who wanted to get to know me better, but.... on a bright, slightly drippy morning, I decided to finally pay the Ancient Tech Lab a visit. This was where Impa had said I could meet her mentor.

It was.... a funny place.

A little girl named Purah told me the Director was in the back, so I went to talk to this big man named Symin.... but he addressed the little girl Purah as the Director!

“Check it!” Purah shouted at me, and struck.... a kind of pose with fancy fingers.

She apparently thought it was very amusing to play a tiny trick on me, but, well.... Whatever.

Purah was odd. She also said she recognized me—but how could that be? She didn’t look older than twelve or thirteen. She said there was a reason for that, some kind of accident I gather, and that the details were contained in her diary upstairs—which she admonished me not to go looking at!

Not that I could find a way “upstairs”; there was only one ladder in the room, up against the wall, and it didn’t go anywhere. It was all one big room from what I could tell.

Her mannerisms were obnoxious, but she seemed eager to help me repair my Sheikah Slate to full functionality. But in talking with me she kept taking furtive little notes on my behavior, like I was some kind of lab animal!

And after a little fetchquest to start up the furnace powering a Sheikah Pedestal she had, she kept trying to tease some kind of cheer or shout out of me. “Snap!” she wanted me to say.

I don’t think she was very impressed by my offerings.

It felt.... childish. Didn’t we have important work to do?

I wonder what had happened to this Purah character, what had made her like this.

And she told me she had brought me to the Resurrection Chamber, after Calamity Ganon had fatally wounded me.

Did she look or act like this then?

Some part of me hoped not.

Somehow it seemed.... well....

Less heroic.

Hey, a man has his pride.

Even a dying one.

I gave her three of the ancient screws I had salvaged off the old dead Guardians, and she used them in her repairs. Now the Sheikah Slate has a built-in Pictobox feature, and the sensor can now be modified to search for other objects or substances. Neat! And what’s more, images I capture with the pictobox can be identified and expounded upon in a built-in Compendium. Very handy!

If I bring her different parts, she’ll be able to upgrade my Stasis capacity.... and my Bombing capacity.

Ja Baij would be so pleased.

Concussive Logging

Waking of Monday, March 6, 2017

Concussive Logging

Well, Bolson wanted thirty bundles of wood? I’d get him thirty bundles of wood.

I left Brown by the house we wanted to buy—heh, I seem to have been including him in my first-person pronouns lately—and took off into the hills. That house (it takes a great deal of concentration to not say “my” house), being way up near the end of the village, opened right onto a grassy, hilly wilderness. And I knew there was a big stand of trees somewhere along the ridge....

There were also some moblins. Whom I bombed. Because I didn’t want to deal with them up close.

They are quite large, the moblins in this game.

Besides, I didn’t know just how long my Iron Sledgehammer would last.

But I know where two more of those are....

From dawn to dusk I was about this endeavor. But I didn’t know how long my axe would last either—and then it dawned on me: In bombing the moblin, I had accidentally knocked down a tree or two....

!

I could just blow up the whole forest! :D

And so some time that day I put away my axe, and only let the wild wilderness resound with the Gift of Ja Baij.

They’re very talented bombs. They could even turn fallen logs into wood bundles.

Cool.

And when the sky was darkening and I had felled every single thin tree in the vicinity (I left the thick ones alone), which came out to exactly the thirty bundles I needed, I climbed a hill to paraglide back toward Hateno Village again (it takes a great deal of concentration to not just say “home”).

As I sailed I saw someone with a lantern walking along the ridge through the tall grass.

“Who’s this?” I wondered, and slowed my flight, angling downward.

I landed next to her, and she was trying to think of a word.

Her name was Traveler.

Oh no....

“It starts with L and ends with K.... What was it again....?” she wondered.

I tried to, uh, help her out with suggestions such as Lurk, Lick and Leek, but none of those were it and.... soon there was only one option left.

“Link?”

As Luck would have it, that was the right answer. She looked happy as a Lark—a very evil Lark—as she dropped all pretense and gave me battle. She went down easier than the others had, but not for Lack of trying; I was just catching on to their fighting style. When they stand still, charging up an orange energy cloud, then is a good time to go Lunk ‘em on the head or slash ‘em with your sword or use whatever you’ve got. Dang Lank creepers.... Do they all keep finding me by chance, or is there some kind of information Leak among my friends? How do I keep my whereabouts under Lock and key....

Okay, Look, fine, I’ll stop. Gosh.