Breath of the Wild: Link and Friends

Chapter 7

When the group next woke, Elyza was the first up. It was only 6:30 so she had time. They didn't have much food so Elyza was going to go out and gather some. Maybe not hunt because they didn't really have anywhere to put that where it would stay good, but some berries and apples might be good. So Elyza wandered out into the nearby woods to look for some.

-switching POV for a sec to Link-
    Link awoke slowly. When he finally opened his eyes and sat up, he saw that Elyza wasn't in her bed. Huh, wonder where she went. She's way nicer to hang around with than her brother. I like her more.
    As Link was pondering to himself, he noticed Elijah stirring and open his eyes. He glared at Link immediately and sat up. "Where's Elyza?" Link shrugged. Elijah scowled. "That girl."
    "Hey. She's probably getting food or something. You need to calm down. She doesn't need constant supervision," Link said.
    Elijah flinched. He looked really furious. Then he sneered, "I think she does because she runs off in the middle of the night to find her Hero. And now that she thinks she has, her mind has turned to mush. And don't think I haven't seen you looking at her. You stay away. I don't think you are who she thinks you are. You're not the Hero. If you were, you'd have the Sword that Seals the Darkness. The Master Sword. But you don't. You don't even have proper clothes to wear."
    "Maybe not, but your sister thinks I am. She's actually taken time to talk to me instead of judging somebody you don't know," Link retorted.
    "Well, I can see through you. I don't need to know you to judge. I can see that you're an arrogant jerk. The first thing you did was show off. Well, guess what, stay away from my sister and go adventure on your own," Elijah yelled. It seemed that Elijah's yells had been quite loud for Elyza was coming back to see Elijah standing over Link—who was sitting calmly— and looking about ready to fight.
    "Elijah!" Elyza yelled. "What the frick do you think you're doing?!!" She stalked straight to her brother and towed him back into to forest where she had been. Link shook his head. He almost felt bad for Elijah. He was gonna get a talking to.

—going back to Elyza's pov—

   Elyza towed her brother by the arm back into the forest, furious. She whipped around to face him once they had gotten far enough away. "What do you think you're doing!?!"
   "I-I," Elijah stuttered.
   "Why were you yelling at Link?" She asked, suddenly deadly calm.
    "I was...um," Elijah faltered.
    "Why? Tell me now," Elyza demanded softly. "Or go home."
    "I..."
    "You don't have a reason do you? Not a good one at least, otherwise you would have told me. You just don't like that I was right."
    Elijah found his voice. "Maybe, but he's arrogant and a show off. He was making moves on you and—"
    Elyza laughed, but without any humor. "You don't even know him. At. All. He's actually really nice. He's smart and capable. As for 'making moves on me,' he isn't. We were just talking when you came. Not flirting, you idiot." Elijah was silent. "Now. You listen here. If you act like this anymore, you're going home. Regardless of what you want. You'll apologize if you want to stay. We set out to find and help him. That was our goal. Now, suck it up or leave." Elyza stormed away, leaving Elijah behind.
    She walked back to Link immediately and apologized for her brother.
    "It's fine. It's obvious that he just looks out for you as you big brother. I get it," Link responded.
    "Thanks for understanding. He's just been worked up a lot recently I guess. I do ask though that you guys try to get along. He's really quite a good guy. I know you haven't seen that side yet."
   Link shrugged. "It's fine. I'll try to be friendly. Not that I've been unfriendly."
    "I know. It's more him than you. Still, I appreciate it," Elyza said sincerely. They sat quietly together until Elijah finally came back over. He was silent. "Anyway, so, should we go find this treasure?"
    "Yeah, shouldn't be too hard. Riddle's pretty straightforward. 'The little twin steps over the little river. My cave rests above that rivers source.' So, we find the little river," Link said.
    "I don't know if there's a river named that. There's a Little Twin Bridge nearby though. Maybe that's it?"
    "Can't think of anything better than that. Might as well check it out." Link stood up. "Should we go?"
    "Yes. Coming Elijah?" Elyza asked. Elijah nodded, not meeting her eyes. They all stood up. They walked in the direction of the stable, but realized it wouldn't really speed them up much. They turned instead onto the Big Twin Bridge and walked onward. They turned left, away from Dueling Peaks. They walked on the outer edge of a hill until they came around the other side and into Hickaly Woods. It was relatively quiet until the three of them heard a roar.
    All three of them jumped and looked around. Right in front of them was a big, black bear. Elyza yelped and dashed to a tree and climbed up. Elijah also climbed a tree nearby and Link glanced at us then followed in suit. Elyza pulled out her bow and notched an arrow.
    "Wait, Elyza!" Link called. She looked at him. "Hold on a sec. Watch." With that, Link jumped out of his tree and glided onto the bear. It started thrashing and trying to throw him off but Link calmed it down enough that he could control it. He walked it around Elyza's tree. He grinned.
    Elyza sighed, "You're an idiot. That's a bear you're on, you realize. It's going to throw you off eventually." As if in response to that statement, the bear suddenly roared and threw Link off and ran away. Elyza laughed then said, "Told you so." Link grinned from the ground. Elyza climbed down as did Elijah. They had wandered far enough into the woods that they were basically in the center. In the center was a clearer area that held bones.
    Yep. Bones. Big bones that were taller then Elyza was by far. Probably 20ish feet tall if it had been standing up. "Uh, guys? What's this?"
     Link responded, "Huh. Dunno. Pretty big though." Elijah shrugged. He didn't know either.
    Elyza eyed it then started walking back to the little river. After all, it didn't really matter. They were trying to find the treasure right now. Elijah and Link followed her.
    Together they reached the river. "Ok, now what?" Elyza asked. "What's the next part in the riddle?"
    "Its 'My cave rests above that river's source.' So, where does the river come from?" Link replied.
    Elijah pointed over to a small waterfall coming from a cliff. The cliff had a bunch of Silent Shrooms on the sides and bottom. It looked like there was a ledge at the top of it. "There. Overtop it." Elijah led the way and went over to the edge. Then he jumped over to a rock in the middle with Link and Elyza following. Link looked at a big rock on the top of the rock and picked up.
    There was a sudden pop and a...thing appeared.
   It was short with wood colorings. It had a leaf on its face with, well, a face on it. It looked like a tree with legs and short little arms. It's was flying on a leaf helicopter? Weird. The thing yelled, "Yahaha! You found me!" Then it tossed a little pebble or maybe a seed to Link and just stared at us.
   Link looked at it, dumbfounded. "...The heck is that? And what's this?" He held up the little seed thing.
   Elyza shrugged but Elijah spoke up. "It's a Korok. They are little tree things. They hide around. Nobody really knows where they are from or what truly they are."
    "How'd you know that?" Elyza asked.
    "A book." Elijah left it at that and pointed to the cliff. "We going up?" Link and Elyza nodded and they all kept to where the cliff was and stated upward.
    It wasn't a large cliff so they all made it to the top relatively quickly. At the top was a ledge big enough for us all. There was a big pile of rocks at the back of the ledge that looked like it was obstructing...a cave. Misko's treasure! "Guys, I think this is it. But how do we get in?" Elyza said. She looked at her companions.
    Elijah shrugged. He didn't know. They probably weren't strong enough to move it all. Link looked...embarrassed. "Do you have something to say Link?" Elyza asked.
    "Well...I might have a way we can get in. But don't get like weirded out," Link said. Then he got out his weird thin box device at his side. Elyza had noticed it, of course. But she hadn't asked about it yet. Hadn't thought about it. Link held it up. "This is a Sheikah Slate. It's a cool little thing. Just after I awoke, I went around the Central Plateau, finding shrines that restored the slate's ability to do...things. It can pick up metal objects, freeze moving objects, make ice blocks." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "And bombs."
    "What?" Elyza asked, incredulous. Elijah looked alarmed.
    Link held his hands up, "Don't worry! They have small explosions. They are kinda like spirit bombs. Here let me show you." He pushed a button on his Shiekah Slate and a bomb appeared in his hands. Link held it over his head and tossed it off the cliff. Before it landed in the water, he pushed another button in his slate and it exploded. Link was right. It wasn't very big at all, and from where they were, there wasn't a shock wave. "See? Small. So, what I can do is place a square bomb, so it doesn't roll away, by the rocks and blow them up so we can get inside. Easy."
    "That's doesn't sound very safe. It wouldn't be far away. What if it knocks us off. I don't know if we'd live if we fell from this height," Elyza said, worried.
   "I've done this before. It'll be fine," Link assured her. "Do you trust me?"
    "Yeah..." Elyza watched Link place a square bomb in front of the rocks. He motioned for us all to get back as far as they could safely and hit a button in his slate.
   The bomb exploded and rocks flew forward, not towards us, and cleared the way into the cave. Link grinned and waved for us to go in. We did.
    Inside was several chests. There was some food it looked like as well and some barrels. There was also a spear on the ground. Elyza squealed with excitement and ran to the chests. She threw open the first one and inside was a Luminous stone. It was a cool rock that glowed at night and was worth a good amount a rupees. Elyza tossed it to Elijah and moved to the next one. This one held an Amber inside it, then next an Opal. She handed both to her twin and opened the last one. In it, she found 2 Sapphires. She never even seen that gem. It was pretty rare and valuable. Elyza grinned. Good money indeed. She stood up and looked to Link and her brother. Link was picking up the food in the corner and Elijah had the other gems on the floor and was opening the barrels.
   "Guys, look what was in this last chest," Elyza said, smiling. She held up the 2 sapphires. "These are worth a lot." She put them in them pile of gems on the ground and Link came over and put them in his bag along with the food he and Elijah had found. "That looks like everything. Not bad." Elyza turned to leave the cave as did Link.
    "Wait!" Elijah said suddenly. Link and Elyza turned. "Look. In the corner. Isn't that more movable rocks? Maybe there's more."
    Elyza looked to Link who shrugged and said, "Could be. Might as well check." Link went over and placed a bomb and everyone moved to the opposite side of the cave and blew it. Sure enough, there was another final chest. Link went over and threw it open. His eyes widened, then he grinned. He reached in and pulled out a glowing sword.
    Yep. Glowing. Or maybe radiating. It was a molten red with ornate carvings on the blade.
   "Oh wow. Guys this is really warm." He hefted the blade a did a testing swing. As he did, fire trailed behind.
    "Wow," the twins said at the same time.
    Link grinned wider and went to put it on his back but stopped. He held it out to Elijah. "Here. It's yours," Link said.
    Elijah looked surprised. "What?"
    "Here. It's yours," he repeated. "You found it. You pointed it out. We would have left without. It's yours. Take it." He shook it insistently toward Elijah.
    Elijah walked over looking still a bit bemused and took it. He looked like he nearly dropped it in surprise, "That's really warm. It's like the blade is made out of fire."
    "A fire blade maybe? No, Flameblade sounds better. Anyway, it's yours," Link said.
    "Thank you." Elijah gave him a strange look, like he was seeing Link in a less biased way. "By the way Link, I'm...sorry for how I acted earlier. It wasn't fair."
    "I accept the apology. Sorry if I gave a negative first impression. Didn't mean too," Link replied.
    Elijah gave a small smile. "You did from my perspective, but that's ok. I know now you wouldn't have meant it that way." The two boys nodded to each other. It looked like they might be able to become friends. Elyza smiled to herself, happy that they would get along better now. She was also happy she wouldn't have to make Elijah leave and go back to Hateno. Annoying or not, he was her brother and she loved him.
    "That was touching boys. Now, I believe we should go before it gets dark. Wouldn't want to be caught in the woods at that time," Elyza said then walked out of the cave. She moved over to the edge and waited for the boys to finish awkwardly staring at each other now that they didn't hate each other. They eventually joined her and Link motioned for Elijah to start down but stopped Elyza. Elijah did so, but Link whispered to her to hold onto him. She did so, even if it was kinda awkward. Wow. He feels muscular. Elyza blushed and hid her face from Link. Link grabbed her for a moment then jumped off the cliff and whipped out his glider. Elyza held on for dear life. She wasn't really scared of heights but she was unaccustomed to not having ground beneath her. Elyza glanced at Elijah who had definitely seen and was clearly not very happy.
    Link and Elyza landed on the hill by the banks where Elyza let go of Link quickly and they waited for Elijah. When he got down and over to them he immediately moved Elyza over and put himself between her and Link. Well, he's still my big brother, Elyza thought. He's going to do that still. She shook her head and started walking back to the stable. After all, they still had to get to Kakariko Village to see this Impa.
    As Elyza was walking along the banks, however, she spotted another pileup of rocks. "Link look!"    
   As if in response, as Link turned in that direction, the Sheikah Slate started beeping loudly. "Huh. That's my shrine sensor thing. There must be a shrine in there," he said. He quickly got a bomb and threw it at the wall and detonated it. It revealed a cave that held an orange shrine. "Hey do you guys mind waiting out here? I have to go in here to do some stuff. It might take a while. Could be hours."
    "What's inside?" Elyza asked.
    "Depends. Usually it's a puzzle or challenge I have to complete."
    "Can't we come help?"
    "No. It only allows me inside. Don't know why really. It blocks everyone else."
    "Oh. Ok, I guess we can wait for you." Elyza was kinda mad she couldn't go in but she didn't really have much of a reason to go in. She waved Link on so he swam to the other side, and fiddled with a pedestal. The shrine opened and Link stepped onto a platform that lowered him into...Elyza guessed the ground. She couldn't see him any more and the place where the platform had been covered it self up.
   Elyza and her brother sat down on the banks to wait for Link.
       ——— a few hours pass——
    Link still hadn't come out. It'd been hours. (Author's note: We all know that some shrines take that long when you first do them.) What's he doing in there? It was nearly 8pm. Elijah and her had already eaten and were still waiting. At the rate they were going, they weren't ever going to get to Kakariko Village.
    "Alright, that's it. I can't stand waiting here anymore. If he's not going to come out, I'm just going to go get the horses. At least then it will be a quicker trip back again," Elijah said, looking annoyed.
    "Ok. Go on. I'll keep waiting. Maybe I'll get some foraged food or something while we wait," Elyza replied. Her brother nodded and then left.
    Elyza continued to wait. Eventually, maybe another hour later, she got up. She was going to go do something. She walked off into the woods and looked for mushrooms and things for a while when she heard a ripping and rattling sound. She turned.

      ——switching to Link pov——
   Link walked out of the shrine. He was finally done. He couldn't wait to tell Elyza what the puzzle was. But then Link looked out of the cave. Elyza wasn't there. Her bow and arrows were, but not her and neither was Elijah. Link jumped out of the cave and crossed the stream to the other side to look around.
    Just then, Link could see Elijah down the way coming back with two horses. He must have run to the stable to get them. Then where was Elyza?
    Suddenly, Link heard a scream in the woods. It sounded like Elyza. Link cursed and whipped out his sword, grabbed Elyza's bow and arrows, and dashed off into the woods. He looked around desperately and spotted a huge skeleton standing over a much smaller form. Elyza.
  
     ——back to Elyza's pov——
   Elyza backed away in fear from the huge skeleton. It had one big eye and a horn and looked down at her menacingly. She saw it rip off it's own rib and lethargically throw it at her. Elyza screamed again and threw herself out of the way and rolled back to her feet. Of course. The one time she left her bow was the one time she really needed it.
    Out of nowhere, an arrow shot out and nailed the skeleton thing right in the eye.
    Link had come back.
    The skeleton let out a pained yell and fell to the ground holding its face or, rather, where a face should have been. Link ran to Elyza grabbed her hand and dashed in the direction of the stable. Behind them, the skeleton got back to its feet and looked around, probably looking for Elyza. It spotted them and started walking towards them. Link glanced back and dashed faster with Elyza in tow. They ran by Elijah who had been on his way back apparently. Elyza halted there and yanked Link back so that they could get on Frihet. Elijah, noting an urgency, did the same and glanced back the way they had come. He obviously saw the skeleton because he paled and launched into a gallop as did Elyza and Link.
    They went quickly and a glance back told Elyza that the skeleton thing wasn't giving chase anymore. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. That was unexpected. "By the Goddess. I thought I was a goner for a second there. Thanks Link," Elyza told him gratefully. He nodded.
    The three of them galloped all the way back to the stable then finally slowed to a stop. They got beds at the stable. They'd had enough adventure today. Kakariko was for tomorrow.