vivala | Quest 07 (Open + Closed)

Entry tags:

Quest 07 (Open + Closed)

i. Making new, wolfy friends [Open]
In the wild areas near Elysium, Link’s been exploring. It’s a common activity for him. There’s mushrooms and flowers to pick, game to hunt, monsters to fight…

…Then one day, while he’s up in a tree collecting some bird’s eggs, he spots a wolf. A big wolf. A really, really big wolf. It’s as big as a horse.

And once he makes that mental connection, Link immediately thinks, I could ride that.

Which naturally means Link now has to find out if he can. He pulls out a Sneaky Elixir, and swiftly swallows it - demeaning the sounds of his movements. Silently uses his paraglider to move from tree to tree, getting closer. And then carefully drops down behind the massive, monstrous wolf.

He crouches down. Creeps forward. Slowly, slowly. Until he’s right behind the beast, so close he could reach out and touch its fur.

And then he leaps up onto its back, and grabs on.

The wolf yelps and snarls - but Link’s got a good position, and he doesn’t let it twist back and bite him. He just directs the beast to run, and keeps a good hold.

What do you know, he can ride it!

ii. A retrieval of memories [locked to Shu]
Shu had spoken to the Admiral. They’d tracked down the Imperial Commander who’d been given Link’s Purah Pad.

And then they’d sneaked onto the Commander’s warship and completely trashed his quarters.

Well, Link had trashed his quarters. Shu was a bit too dignified for such wanton destruction, but Link wasn’t. And he didn’t regret it either, since in the process, he’d found the Pad!

Now, their getaway was nearly complete. Here in a small alleyway in Elysium, they were far from the scene of the crime. The Crimson Portal wasn’t far off.

But Link had to pause. He hadn’t had a chance yet, but - he had to see. Were all of his pictures still on the Purah Pad? Were they safe?

He pulls out the Pad, and turns it on. And turns to the photo gallery.

iii. Link has a slide show and he’s gonna make you watch it [semi-closed]
Later, Link thinks of all the new people he’d met. People who’d helped him grow plants from home, or who’d shown interest in things from his home. Shu wasn't the only one who he knew would like to see his pictures.

Before, he hadn't had any way of sharing these images of his home. But…now he could.

So Link tracks those people down. Says, “Hi,” when he finds them. And then shoves the Purah Pad - with a picture from Hyrule that would interest them on the screen - right in their face.

[[ooc: this prompt is for Nephenee, Ilphyll, Donnie, Maomao and Atom - but could be open to others if there's a reason for Link to decide to share]]

iv. Wildcard!
[[if you'd like something not on her, contact me!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Link listens to her observations. Yes, the donkey was a bit overloaded. Not everyone had a Korok-enchanted pack. Yes, the Water Buffalo's horns were big.

And then she spots the Stalhorse.

Link nods to the first question - the horse was dead - but shrugs to the second one. Sure, the Stalkoblins like to ride them and try to kill Link. But he didn't think that made them every.

"I've ridden one," he says. Because of course he has.

"I imagine that would be painful."

Given the prevalence of saddle sores when riding normal horses, she can't imagine bones digging into your thighs and buttocks would be comfortable.

"But why are there undead horses? Do things normally reanimate in your world after death?"

Is this like bomb flowers. Why must this dreadful place continue to pervert the normal state of biology. Exploding and flaming plants she could grow to accept, but she draws the line at skeletons getting up to run around.

Link shrugs. It was fine. He figured out how to do it well enough. And then he got to say he'd ridden a dead horse!

And then he nods, because yes, things do reanimate. "Blood moons bring all monsters back," he says. "But Stalmonsters only come at night."

A few more taps, and Link shows her a different set of creatures in the Compendium - this time, the monsters section. In addition to the Stalhorse, there is the Stalkoblin, Stalmoblin, Stalizifos, and more terrifyingly, the Stalnox.

And a good number of other, more fleshy monsters, if Shu watches closely and takes a look at some of the other thumbnails that Link scrolls by on the way to the Stalmonster entries.

blood what

"Tian ah!"

Shu scrunches up her face.

"What is all of this? Do you mean to say you just have these kinds of things walking around at night? How does anyone go out?"

Well, there were plenty of places that people didn't go out at night in Terra, but that was because Other People Were the Real Monsters. This was more reminiscent of some sort of fantasy story.

"Perhaps your people can invest in cremation."

Link cocks his head to one side. He doesn't quite see the issue.

"Not everywhere," he says. "And it's safer now. The blood moon and monsters were part of the Calamity and the Upheaval."

And both of those forces had now been defeated. Link had seen to that.

Shu doesn't really know what he's talking about, but she can make use of some context clues from previous conversations.

"This is what you needed to save the princess from? But how did such a thing come about?"

There was a bit more to it than just saving Zelda. And it wasn't just Link either; Zelda saved herself, too. But it was close enough, so Link nods.

"It's...a cycle," he says, repeating the words the Impa used to explain it to him, all those years ago. "A primal evil from before history."

Which means Link didn't know how it came about. Nobody did, not anymore. They didn't even know if anyone ever did know.

As is often the case, Link's taciturn nature makes it difficult to divine exactly what he is trying to say, leaving much to the imagination. Shu's frown deepens.

"You are saying that your victories are short-lived? That your world will always be threatened by such things time and time again?"

Metaphorically, history was bound to repeat itself. She had borne witness to such. The wars of the many countries repeated in a cycle of power and greed and lust for control. This seemed more literal.

"But I should hope it is not planning to arise again in your lifetime."

Link nods, to both questions. Yes, this victory will not last forever. Yes, it wasn't meant to rise again in Link's lifetime. Although that didn't mean Link - or at least some part of him - wouldn't still be called upon to fight it.

"Not for a while," he says. And then pauses, thinking about. "...Probably."

Link wasn't the Calamity; he didn't know what it had planned.

"The threads of fate weave a pattern to which we must all adhere. What a burden your world carries. I pray that it may one day find a lasting peace."

Shu clasps her hands together with a sigh.

"Quite unfair for you to end up here when you ought to be enjoying the fruits of your labors."

Link pauses, and then nods. Thinks again of that picture of him and Zelda. Of all the other memories that he would want to look through later, when he was back in his dorm room.

Yes. It was unfair.

But he's glad for Shu's sympathy. Sympathy that he will attempt to repay by raising the Pad once more, and saying "...Want to see plant pictures?"

He's pretty sure Shu would like the plant pictures.

She would, if it weren't for the abominations! Actually, she's quite interested in anything a botany compendium might have to say about the odd flora in his world, and she can sense even without words that Link would prefer the subject changed. Regretfully, she cannot quite make sense of the symbols. She scrolls towards the literal cartoon bomb on a stalk.

"What is this, exactly?"

Doubtless another aberration created by the Blood Moon of Calamitous Upheaval.

"Bomb flower," Link says, before tapping on the image of the flower to bring up the Compendium. It's written in Hylian, but he translates: "A dangerous flower that contains explosive elements. Does not mix well with fire or electricity, unless the goal is to blow things up."

And then because Link clearly has no concern for such dire warnings, he promptly pulls one of the flowers out of his pack. Ta-da!

"Wah peh!"

Shu chokes on her words as Link flourishes his bomb with nary a care.

"Please do not do that! Did you not just tell me it was highly dangerous?! You will hurt yourself." When she has recovered from her alarm, she gingerly squints at the object from a fair distance. "...I truly do not see how this can classify as a real plant. That is a bomb sitting on top of a leaf."

Link blinks at her.

Really, he hasn't hurt himself before. Well, not that much. And not that often. He's only accidentally exploded a bomb flower in front of his face a few times.

"It's fine," he says. See, it's not exploding or anything. Totally fine. "They grow."

Certainly bomb flowers seemed like flowers to Link.

She squints further.

"I suppose those are stamen... if you have an interpretive eye. If the bulbous portion is a pollinated ovary... May I?"

Shu tentatively reaches out a hand. Given that Link has seen her ability to speed the growth of plants multiple times, she is not particularly shy about applying her will onto the specimen before her.

"This is a sexually mature specimen..."

The bomb swells somewhat alarmingly and puffs out something that smells of gunpowder. Shu catches the dust in her hands and rubs it between her fingers.

"Ah. And so the explosion is a means of dispersing seeds. Hm, hm." She nods to herself. "...Quite absurd and utterly inconceivable! And yet here it is. May I plant these seeds for study?"

Link nods, and holds out the bomb flower for her hold. Yes, she can have it. Link's got more.

He's got quite a few more, actually. Thanks to the help of another friend.

"Donnie grows them," he says, "In the Vault."

Why is she not surprised?

"I am sure Donnie is a very reliable young adult."

This is said in a perfectly composed tone of voice, even if there is a small emergency alarm going off inside her. If the Vault collapses in a giant explosion, she will know why. Moving on down the list... rice, wheat... she would have to ask if she could have some to grow for the next season's harvest. Perhaps she would attempt some crossbreeding.

"What are these?"

She gestures to some vibrant blue flowers.

"Beautiful, really."

Donnie was good with explosions, and plants. It'd be fine! Besides, at most they'd probably only collapse a few tunnels. Nothing to worry about.

He leans over, and peers at the picture she's found.

"Blue Nightshade," he says, before tapping on the image. Translating, he reads: "A plant that grows in the quieter areas of Hyrule. At night, it gives off a soft glow. Cook with it to increase your stealth."

Don't ask why a glowing plant could make you more stealthy. Link had never really understood that; he just knew that it worked.

"Blue nightshade...?"

Many members of that family were poisonous. Then again, tomatoes were also a member of that family. She does not understand still how the plants of his world can imbue magical properties, but she supposes if she can accept explosive plants, nothing is out of the question.

"And this one -- "

And so it goes. Eventually, they will remember to head back to the portal that takes them home, but in the meantime, Shu receives a substantial education on the crops and botanical oddities of Link's world.

Some of this might be helpful for future missions.

((Think we can fade to black from here if that's OK with you!))

There's plenty of botanical oddities to share, but Link's happy to do so. He even brings out many samples, since most of these Link has stored away in his pack.

It's nice, to share something from home.

[[sounds good! And know Shu knows All The Plants!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Quest 07 (Open + Closed)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject