Quest 04 (Open + Closed)

[newmemorywhodis]

i. The joy of cooking lizards and frogs [Open]

If there was one thing Link had learned from the battle at Flotsam, it was that he really, really needed to build up his stash of elixirs again.

So not too long after the battle - when Link’s recovered enough to stay on his feet, and limp his way towards one of Flotsam’s communal kitchens - Link gets to work.

It’s a process that involves Link cheerfully humming while he babies a big boiling pot, and some…unusual ingredients. Most notable is the big giant pile of lizalfos talons; large wicked claws that look like they’d come from some kind of large reptilian creature. These talons are an ingredient in every elixir he makes, but the accompanying ingredient varies.

Sometimes, it’s the sort of thing you might expect someone to cook with; fish, vegetables, mushrooms. Sometimes it’s flowers or herbs. And then for some concoctions he tosses in…frogs and lizards?


ii. More ingredients. MORE! [closed to Nephenee, Donnie, Shu]

The trouble with making elixirs is that he can’t just run out and find more ingredients when he needs them; all the recipes he knows best use things from Hyrule.

Which is why Link decides to seek out those people he’d given some of his plants and mushrooms to, in the hope that they might be able to grow more. If he can, he’ll try to find each of them at whatever garden patch or farm they’ve been working in.

And then say, “...Hi.”


iii. A visit to the apothecary, because maybe Link should share sometimes [Closed to Maomao]

It had occurred to Link that the other thing that might help is knowing more about the local fauna and flora - maybe there were ingredients he could find here that he could use as well?

And if there was anyone who can help…well, an apothecary seemed a good place to start. And maybe Maomao might find some of his materials useful too.

So he makes a visit to Elysium, silently slipping in through the door of the apothecary and looking around. Is Maomao in?


iv. These lizards won’t breed themselves [Closed to Ilphyl]

Ilphyl could turn into animals. So…maybe it stood to reason, that they might know how to breed them as well?

So Link tracks Ilphyl down. Reaches into his korok-enchanted pack, and pulls out a fireproof lizard. Despite being carried around in what looks like an ordinary leather bag, it is alive, and wriggling in Link’s hands.

“...I need more lizards,” he says.


v. Bees, bugs and butterflies [Closed to Iren]

The lizards might be sorted - but Link could use someone to help with his butterflies as well. But who could help with them?

Fortunately, while exploring the outskirts of Elysium, he'd run into a few locals who mentioned that someone was keeping bees. Link didn't even know you could keep bees. He'd only ever seen wild bee nests, and no one kept them.

But if someone can keep bees...butterflies shouldn't be a problem. So he makes his way to the location given to him.

When Iren comes out to check up on her bees, she’ll find Link curiously inspecting her bee houses. From a short distance away, that is - Link’s well aware of how bees can sting when angered.

Comments

[upupatomway]

Atom grins and takes the offered lizarlfos talon. "Thanks!"

He turns it over in his hands, unconcerned with any risk of being cut. "How big is the monster this is from? It seems like it would be quite large if its claws are this big. Did you slay it yourself?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Link pauses. Looks up above him, before taking the sword from his back - and using it to indicate a point several feet above the top of Link's head.

Lizalfos, it seems, are reasonably big. Though it's nowhere near the biggest monster.

As for whether Link slayed it himself, that gets a decisive nod in reply. He certainly did! And all the other ones that made up the rather large pile of talons.

[upupatomway]

To the approximately four foot robot, that's more than tall enough for something called a monster. Surely it would scare most humans and other organic people. Link's use of a sword to demonstrate also leaves quite the impression. Atom gets a good look at the sword, and his visual scan notes the signs of age and wear, as well as tending.

"Oh wow..." Atom gapes for a moment. A monster slayer with a sword? "Are you some kind of knight or warrior back home?"

[newmemorywhodis]

It's not a sword Link's had for all that long, really. Having all his previous weapons taken away by the Empire, he'd had to acquire this one in the market. Secondhand.

(Not his Sword. Not the Sword that Seals the Darkness. But Link had plans to get that back. And soon.)

And as Link returns the sword to the sheath on his back, he nods. Yes, he is some kind of knight or warrior.

[upupatomway]

The way Link sheaths his sword so smoothly, while simple, solidifies his skill in Atom's head.

"That's so cool! You must help protect your home from these monsters, right?" That would also explain the elixirs with effects fitting for battle. Atom looks at the spread of monster parts again. "Did you gather all of these ingredients yourself on your adventures then? Which ingredient is the hardest to get?"

[newmemorywhodis]

The answer to whether Link helps protect his home is yes, but Link just shrugs in response. This kind of response from people isn't something new to Link, but...he's still not necessarily keen to go around boasting his exploits.

But he's happy to answer what's the hardest material to get. Although the answer might not be of the kind Atom's expecting.

"Bladed Rhino beetles."

[upupatomway]

Link's lack of a reaction besides shrugging at the idea that he's a brave protector only makes Atom see him as too humble to brag. Just as a great warrior should be according to the samurai stories of old. This guy is the real deal!

It really isn't the answer Atom expected, but he's excited nonetheless. Bugs and insects are among his absolute favorite living organisms. Humans were number one, followed by dogs and cats, then bugs. Though he better add the intelligent species he now knows in this world to the top of that list with humans.

"Wait; a type of Rhino Beetle? Is it a large beetle with some kind of horn in front like this?" He holds up the lizalfos talon in front of his nose, curving upward.

[newmemorywhodis]

A shame Link didn't have his Purah Pad - otherwise, he could have shown Atom a picture of it from his Compendium. Instead, they'll have to settle for descriptions.

Something Link was really not all that good at.

But he does not - Atom was right, they did have bladed noses like that! And then he holds his hands up, indicating a distance about the size of his palm apart. "This big."

[upupatomway]

"Wow, that species is huge! We have the kabutomushi species in my country. The males only get up to this long including the horn." Atom holds the fingers of one hand apart at an accurate 33 mm, nothing compared to what Link was indicating. "Your Bladed Rhino Beetle is about the size of the largest known species of Rhino Beetle in my home world."

Atom chuckles. "Between that and the giant lizard monsters, it's starting to sound like a lot of things come super sized in your homeland. I wonder what about the environment encourages that... You don't have giant cats by any chance, do you?" He must ask so he can tell his sister whenever he finally returns home.

[newmemorywhodis]

Giant cats? A faint furrow appears in between Link's eyebrows, before he shakes his head. No, they don't have giant cats.

Link raises his hands, holding them up to indicate something about the size of a normal, ordinary house-cat. But that does raise the question - how big are cats where Atom comes from?

"...Your cats are big?" He asks.

[upupatomway]

"Pet cats are the same size as yours. But most wild cats are larger. The biggest one in my world is the Siberian tiger. The males measure about..." Atom improvises by setting the talon on the floor to mark one end and shuffles back from. He holds a hand up to mark the other end and he raises his other hand up to show the height. "That long head to hind- not including the tail. Head up to here. They're a really impressive sight- they're orange and white with thick black stripes."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link's eyes go wide. A cat that big? That was practically horse-sized!

"...Can you ride them," he says, driven by the sudden and imperative need to know.

[upupatomway]

Atom goes to pick up the talon and as he stands up he thinks for a moment that he misheard Link's question.

"Can you ride a tiger?" he repeats, just to be sure. He laughs uneasily. "I wouldn't recommend it. Tigers have never been domesticated, they're powerful enough to injure or kill an adult human, and I don't know if their backs would be strong enough to carry an adult for very long either. Maybe a kid. That would probably make the tiger mad though."

He can imagine his sister pulling it off, however. He better not tell her about the idea or she'd want to go to the zoo to ask the tigers immediately, even if it was simply to pose for a photo.

"Why do you ask? Do you ride large beasts at home?" Atom has to ask where this curiosity is coming from.

[newmemorywhodis]

So someone child-sized could perhaps manage it? Well...Link was small, even if he was an adult. Maybe he'd manage it. Maybe.

As for what he rides at home...

"Mostly horses," Link replies. "Sometimes, skeleton horses. Deer. Bears. Sand seals. Lynels. The Lord of the Mountain."

[upupatomway]

Skeleton horse sounds wild enough on its own. Atom wants to ask what it is, but compared to the other things on the list, it quickly starts to sound less bizarre. Skeleton horses are most likely what they sound like. But the last two...

"I've never heard of someone riding any of those, other than regular horses. We don't have skeleton horses, or... Lynels? What's the Lord of the Mountain? It sounds important!"

He really does ride beasts! Maybe a tiger would work out for him.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link hums, as he thinks for a moment about just how, exactly, to describe the Lord of the Mountain.

"Spirit beast," he says. "Four eyes. Wreath ears. Glowy. Like a blupee."

[upupatomway]

Being a spirit would explain the glowing. "What's a blupee? Is it another kind of spirit related to the Lord of the Mountain?"

But wait, there's a far more important question to ask here! "What does it feel like to touch a spirit? Is it warm?"

[newmemorywhodis]

"They're small," Link says, referring to the 'blupees'. "Like rabbits."

Then he pauses, considering Atom's final question. What did the Lord of the Mountain feel like?

"...Tingly," he says.

[upupatomway]

"Maybe it's tingly because its presence on the mortal plane isn't as stable as a mortal's is. Or it could be its spiritual energy vibrating."

Atom's eyes wander upward as he daydreams for a moment about what it's like to touch a tingly spirit. "Whatever the answer is, it's really cool that you were able to touch it- and ride it! Did it let you do it, or did you get bucked off? I would expect something like a bear to get annoyed."

[newmemorywhodis]

Atom could be right. Or he could be wrong - either way, Link has no idea. So in response, he just shrugs.

As for whether the Lord of the Mountain let Link ride him....

"Had to calm him first," Link says.

[upupatomway]

"How exactly do you calm a mountain spirit?"

He half expects a ceremony, prayer, or even the enchanting influence of music. Basically the kind of things that happen in stories concerning spirits. On the other hand, Link seems to be full of surprising answers.

[newmemorywhodis]

"Same as horses," Link says.

Did that count as a surprising answer? Link didn't seem to regard it as such, going by his breezy and matter of fact replies.

[upupatomway]

"Wait. Really?" It's surprising to Atom! "Like... Woah! Easy there!" He pretends to pull on reins, although a wild spirit wouldn't have reins, would it?

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods his head rapidly. Exactly like that!

Although there were some significant differences between the Lord of the Mountain and actual horses.

"Can't register him at the stables, though." Because of course, Link had tried to convince the stable owner at Outskirt stable to board the spiritual entity. Unfortunately, they'd completely refused to do so.

[upupatomway]

"You were going to take the Lord of the Mountain home with you? He must have decided he really liked you if he was willing to leave the mountain! Do a lot of the animals you ride get so attached?" If Ilphyl was one with the animals, Link was the great friend of the animals. "My sister would be jealous, and she has the neighborhood birds visiting her every day!"