The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time - Part Two: The Quest

Chapter Three: What It Is Like To Live a Normal Life

        “I never thought this town would be so big!” Link stared around in circles, trying to take everything in. It was so huge! It was so much bigger than the little forest village he had only ever known, and so vastly different. Everything was made with timber and stone, even the ground. And the people! So many, many people! He felt so small, amongst them, they were so big. And there were so many kinds! Tall, short; fat, skinny; pale-skinned and dark-skinned; wealthy and needy – there was no end!

        Malon giggled at his astonishment, finding it amusing. The first time she had come to this town she had done the same thing, but that was years ago, and she already knew all about buildings and people and whatnot. She could hardly imagine what it would be like for someone who knew none of those things. Navi too smiled at his actions. While she too was fascinated by it all, she at least knew such things existed.

        “Malon, help me set up shop, please,” Talon called, placing down one of the crates. They had parked their wagon in the corner of the square, towards the main gates, and they ingeniously used the back as part storage, part display as they would be selling their goods; meats, cuccos, and their prized Lon Lon milk. Malon had explained how she was old enough to manage the store well enough on her own, and her father, Talon, would make any deliveries that had been ordered. They were well respected, and they made their profit well.

        Of course, “profit” and “selling” were completely new terms as well.

        “Link, may I have a word?” Talon asked as soon as Malon was out of earshot. Link nodded, curious.

        “I’d like to thank you, Link, for doing what I could not do.” He knelt down to look at him at eye level, beside the fountain in the center of the square.

        “Sir?” he asked, puzzled.

        “You’ve made my daughter laugh again. You may not have known, but before you came, it had been a long time since I had heard her laugh.” He glanced over her way, and smiled as he watched her happily arrange the cucco crates and the meats beside one another. “I missed it. I just didn’t know how much.”

        He turned back to link still smiling. “I’d like to give you this as a small token of my appreciation,” he continued, extending his hand. In it was a simple leather pouch, complete with draw straps and a belt loop. Taking it in his own hand, he heard a tinkling sound. Curious, he opened the draw strings, and reached in.

        “Rupees, Link; it’s what we use to exchange for goods and services as opposed to bartering. It’s much more convenient because the colors stand for a set amount,” he explained, watching Link sift through the small gems in his hand. They were not large, only about as wide and tall as the middle digit of his finger, so it was easy to carry a large amount. He had predominately green and blue ones, but he also held a red one in his hand.

        “What do the colors mean?”

        “The green ones you see there are worth itself, a single rupee. The blue ones are worth five of those greens, meaning something worth five rupees can be exchanged for one blue rupee as opposed to five green ones, you see? That red one there is worth twenty green rupees, or four blue ones. There are other kinds, as well; purple rupees are hard to come across, and they’re worth fifty green rupees, or ten blue rupees, and so on. Rumor has it there are bigger values, though I’ve never seen them. That pouch there has about sixty rupees; it’ll last and do you well if you can manage it.”

        “I can’t take this,” Link said as he placed the rupees back in the bag and held it back. “You took care of me when I got hurt. I owe you.” Talon shook his head, smiling.