"Hiiii~!" The eccentric man greeted us quite cheerily, seemingly unfazed by the fact that two people had just crash-landed onto his balcony. From a cannon.
I was starting to figure out that Hyrule proper was a strange place.
"Welcome to Falbi's Flight by Fowl! Were you two looking to go on a Cucco-powered flight around Lake Hylia? You will LOVE it!"
"Er, no, actually." Link interrupted his spiel.
"Aww, really? How sad for you..." He actually looked sad for a moment. But it was quickly gone, leaving me to wonder if it had ever happened at all. "Well, if you change your mind, come back anytime, partners!" He waved us off as cheerfully as he had greeted us. We thanked him and then hastily got out of there.
***
"What was that about?"
"What was that about?"
"Falbi and Fyer are...strange ones," Link answered as he shut the door behind us, and I just shook my head. Somehow that seemed like an understatement. We walked up the wooden stairs and up the main road until we came to the small fork that lead back to Hyrule Field, one leg leading to the bridge of Hylia. Link took the opportunity to use the horse grass growing there to call for Epona.
"The rental horse we left is probably long gone," he said as he climbed into the saddle."You'll have to ride with me. Is that okay with you?" he asked after a moment, still trying to be polite.
"...what other choice do I have?"
"Good point. Climb on."
Link moved forward on the saddle, and I, trying not to focus too much on how close he was, climbed up as best I could behind him. Then he guided Epona towards the path away from the bridge of Hylia, and we set off at a full gallop.
We rode into southern Hyrule Field, batting away Kargoroks as we went. Link made a brief stop by what we in Castle Town affectionately referred to as the Ordona bridge. It was a simple wooden structure, but its main point of interest was that it was built over a shallow pond. Link stopped at the bridge in order for Epona to take a drink, as she had had none all day. It was also for us to take a little rest after the the turbulence of today's events. Free of the weight of both of us, the horse tossed her head relievedly, and trotted over to the water to take a long drink. While Epona settled herself, Link took out the map, moving to the shoreline as he did so, and began to plot our next course. Meanwhile, I elected to use this time to begin the first of my promised letters to Eliza. No doubt she'd be dying to know what happened during my first day of adventure.
Dear Eliza,
The trip has been going well so far. I can't say that I know what to fully expect yet, seeing as in our first day we have traversed almost all of Zora's River, and toured some of Lake Hylia. I was introduced to the king of the Zora himself!
I also jumped off of a waterfall. And was shot out of a cannon.
So there's that.
I paused in writing, and being unsure of how to continue, let my mind wander. Eliza really was my best friend. Sometimes she did let her words wander a little too much, and she was a little over the top when she found out about the wolf thing, but the fact remained that she was the first friend I made when I first came to Castle Town.
When I first came to Castle Town I was tired, I was hungry, and I was in no position to even beg anyone's charity.
I had run halfway across Hyrule Field, fleeing the invasion, stopping only to rest. I had no place to stay, and had no idea when my next meal would be. I was at my wit's end and nearing the end of South Road when I saw her.
She was in the middle of haggling for a slice of cheese, and as she slipped the food into her basket she caught my eye. She walked right over, asked my name, where I was going, where I was staying. I guess it really must have shown on my face, because she offered me a place in her house, a warm meal, and a chance to settle in. This woman let a complete stranger into her home for as long as she needed, searched local listings and asked around for information on available houses. When I asked why she was doing this, she only replied, "My family taught me to help those who can't help themselves."
"Never look out for number one!" my mother had told me.
Even when I had gotten on my feet and left her home she sent me on my way with a basket of food and the words "If you need any more you come back anytime."
A week later I saw her again. I had just gotten in all of the supplies I needed for the shop, and was anxiously awaiting my first customer. She walked right in, browsed my wares, and soon plunked a set of assorted potions down on the counter like we'd never met. I rang them up and without hesitation put in two more bottles for free. She smiled at the gesture, and made friendly conversation as other customers came in, asking how I was settling in and if I needed anything. She even stood outside and called out to passersby, advertising my wares to all of Hyrule.
At the end of the day she helped me clean up and put everything away. I thanked her for all of her help, and as she went to open the door I realized something.
"Wait," I called. "I don't think I ever got your name."
She paused, then turned back around. "It's Eliza," she said, grinning. "Eliza Loftwin."
I smiled at the memory, and added a few more words to the letter:
How are things back at the shop? I trust it's going well? If you have questions, be sure to let me know! I'm happy to help.
Thank you again for running the shop in my place. And keep me informed about you and Ethan. Well, got to go.
Your friend,
Y/N
P.S: Link says hello.
I thought that short and sweet would be a good way to go for the first letter, and finished it with a final flourish on my postscript. As if on cue, the moment I finished the letter the postman appeared.
"Ms. Y/N! WAAAAAIIIIIT!"
The postman dashed up to us from seemingly out of nowhere. "I heard tell that there might be a letter needing to be delivered in this area? If that is the case, I am happy to assist!
How did he know I was even finished with the letter? Barely holding back my confusion, I presented him with the letter. He hummed a strange four-note tune as he received it and held it up in the air rather heroically. "Thank you, miss! This letter will be delivered to its intended destination as soon as hylianly possible!" He raised a hand to his head in a proud salute, then dashed off to gods-know-where to deliver it.
I watched the postman run off, and turned to see with some interest that Epona was now cantering about the field, grazing where she pleased. Link, finished with the map, stood up and walked over to me. "I've got our next route planned out right here. Anywhere you want to go between then and now?" I could think of none, and instead gazed at the map with interest. The path marked on it lead to a region of Hyrule that looked vaguely familiar to me, but my mind was strangely blurred as to where it actually was.
I think then it finally hit me what it was that I was doing. Link had just completed the first part of a quest spanning across Hyrule--and he had taken me along for the ride. All of the excitement that should have hit me at the beginning came rushing in now. I had so many questions, but I stifled them for the time being and voiced only one concern of mine.
"So, I still don't know what we're actually up against." Link put away the map and faced me. "I mean, I know we're heading to specific locations--the temples you cleansed--in Hyrule, but is there any particular order we're going in?"
"There isn't any particular order that we're visiting the temples in, although I do have a few I want to save for later. What I'm looking for most likely won't be in those places, so they don't take as much priority. Right now we're simply going in order of convenience. I also chose this one because it's pretty much one of the only ones that I have to do alone. The next one, we can journey through together!"
"Really?" I was excited to know that the next stop on our journey was one where I could finally start contributing to our journey. "Where is the next one, anyways?"
Link pointed eastward.
"Next stop, the Goron Mines of Death Mountain!"