All right, let's get into this real quick here. Besides, Link's heading to his next destination, the Emerald Grove. So... yeah. Chapter 16, let's go.
Chapter 16
The Emerald Grove
Heading out from Castle Town, Link thought back to the directions he got from the map from the Twilight Tavern earlier.
"So," he said in thought as he kept Epona moving, "I have to head to the border of Eldin and Lanayru. Well, I already know my way around a good part of Eldin Province, so I might as well head there. That, and there's an Inn out in Kakariko last time I checked, so I might stop there for a rest. It's been a while since I've slept..."
"Yep. You should really get a map of Hyrule. Just trying to remember everything might not end up as well as you might think it will," said Marze from Link's shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess I should," Link agreed. "I should be able to pick one up out in Kakariko from one of the stores. I'd think they'd have a general store, at least."
And with that, he continued on his way out to Kakariko Village, his destination for the time being. Having headed out of the Eastern Gate, he had to make his way southeast in order to re-enter Kakariko from Hyrule Field. Along the way, he encountered more than his fair share of monsters, but he was hoping for that.
"Finally," he said as he spotted a Kargorok, a huge avian creature, "I needed a chance to test my new weapons, so here we go!"
Quickly pulling Epona to a stop, he dismounted and drew his new sword and shield, which he fittingly nicknamed the Antares Edge and the Sirius Shield, confidently brandishing the new gear. He found that even though his Antares Edge was longer than his previous sword, it was also lighter, meaning he had the capacity to swing it faster and deal more damage alongside greater reach. Even his Sirius Shield bore less weight than his older shield.
Thinking back to the Kargorok that had finally noticed him, Link narrowed his eyes and waited for the beast to make a move. It didn't make him wait very long before diving at him, Link responding with a well-timed shield bash that dazed the beast, leaving it wide open for a counterattack. With a single slash, he cut it in two, the beast dissipating as monsters usually did.
"Wow," said Link as he looked at his sword. "That would have taken way more than one hit with my old sword. You do good work, Petra."
Turning around, he cut down another Kargorok, finding the same result of a single swing taking it down.
"This is really sharp..." he said as he noted that before the Kargorok dissipated, the slash wound was clean, meaning that it didn't rip at the flesh of it, but cut it cleanly.
Sheathing his sword, he reached into his pouch and grabbed his new ax, heaving it over his shoulder as he tried to grow accustomed to its greater weight.
"Whew," he said as he rested it upon his shoulder, "This thing must weigh at least 50 pounds. My older ax only weighed maybe 30."
Finding another Kargorok, he was satisfied when his ax did more than rend it in half, but the sheer force at which the ax hit it at sent it flying away. Then again, more weight hitting you across the face was sure to do more damage then usual.
Putting the ax back in his pouch, Link went back over to Epona and mounted her, steering her towards Kakariko.
Entering town again, he was happy to see that the usual hustle and bustle of the town had returned, and even the Gorons had joined in. Riding up towards the Inn, comically named the Eld Inn, he dismounted Epona and told her should could wander, entering the Inn. He knew it was going to get dark soon, so he decided that now was as good a time as any to get some sleep. Besides, it's been forever since he's gotten any form of rest.
Approaching the counter, the man who stood there waved in greeting.
"Howdy! Welcome to the Eld Inn, how can old Henry help you this fine evening?" the man asked.
"Just one night," Link responded.
"That'll be 50 Rupees!" Henry responded.
"50? All right then, that's easy enough," said Link as he grabbed his wallet, finding that it had grown a lot lighter since his adventure had started. Regardless, he placed the requested 50 Rupees on the counter, Henry checking them and smiling in response.
"Follow me, if you'd please!" he said cheerfully as he gestured to follow him, walking up some stairs to the second floor, where he pointed Link to a room. "This'll be your room! However, though I do not mean to be rude, since you've only payed for one night, you'll need to be out by noon tomorrow, otherwise I'll have to charge you more."
"I understand," Link said casually as he entered the room, Henry waving and heading back to the desk downstairs. Looking around the room, Link wasn't surprised to see that it was a small one-person room, though it was rather nicely kept. Removing his mask, hood, armor, tunic, and boots, he sat on the bed, resting his sword and shield next to it. Leaning back on the bed, he rested his head on the pillow, Marze flying up next to him.
"Not bad," said Marze. "But it needs more flying space."
"You said the same thing about my house," Link said in annoyance as he looked at Marze, who had taken his tunic and cloak and used them to make a makeshift bed for himself.
"Hey, Marze, make sure I'm awake by 11 tomorrow, okay? I don't need to be charged anymore for leaving a few minutes late," Link requested.
"Got it," replied the little Stardrake right before dozing off, Link doing the same shortly afterwards. He needed this way too much, that much was for sure.
OOO
"Hey, time to wake up. It's 11:30."
Link's eyes fluttered awake, looking to see Marze hovering above him as he shook him awake.
"What time did you say it was?" Link asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes, yawning.
"11:30. I let you sleep in a little longer," Marze replied, dropping Link's tunic on his face. "Now let's go before you get billed."
"Yeah yeah, whatever," said Link as he put back on all of his equipment, strapping his sword and shield back on as he headed out the door.
"Oh, awake?" he heard Henry ask.
"Yep," Link replied as he looked over the balcony, seeing Henry there waving at him. "I'm heading out."
"Thank you for your business!" Henry said gratefully as Link walked out the door, waving.
"Well, he was nice. Usually people tell me to leave before I even ask to sleep there. Or before I say hello. Sometimes even before I enter the building... Or the town..." said Link as he recalled the downside of being the Hooded Demon. Plenty of people didn't like him despite how efficient he was and how many people have been saved thanks to him. Then again, trouble was more attracted to him than stupid to a bokoblin.
"It's obviously your new clothes," said Marze from within Link's cloak as he whistled for Epona, who came to him quickly enough.
"Yeah, I guess so. It's not like anyone would be any more supportive of me after that little run-in with Virtus back in town the other day," Link agreed. "Anyway, let's head out. Though before we do, let's check the local general store for a map of Hyrule. Relying on heading back to the Twilight Tavern every time might get a bit old quickly."
"Sure," said Marze quickly before quieting down as Link walked into the store. There were several shelves of items ranging from food to cookware, and thankfully, he saw a map near the front. Grabbing that, he headed to the register, an old Goron siting there, smoking.
"What can I do for you?" he asked as Link held out the map. "Just a map of Hyrule? Okay. 10 Rupees."
Link nodded and handed him the 10 Rupees, the Goron taking them and nodding in return.
"Thanks, bruddah. We here at Malo Mart hope you come back soon."
Link smiled and nodded, remembering that in the Era of the Hero of Twilight, a child from the Hero's town had taken this shop when its owner had died, making it a respectable shop that eventually spread to Hyrule Castle Town itself.
Leaving the store and hopping on Epona, he pressed her sides and got her moving, heading back out of Kakariko and into Hyrule Field, this time avoiding whatever monsters he saw in order to save time. Of course, some monsters were very persistent, forcing him to introduce his blade to them, ending all of their lives in one-shot as usual. After a few minutes of riding, he came across a landmark that told him he was going the right direction.
The Great Bridge of Eldin.
He slowed Epona to get a good look at the bridge, as he'd never been this far into Eldin Province before. Therefore, the bridge was a big deal to him, much like how Hyrule Castle was to Ryla.
"Whoa..." said Link in awe as he looked upon the bridge, "this is huge. It must have taken ages to create this by hand."
Marze nodded in agreement as he looked upon the structure. Even mages from the Land of the Stars would have a hard time with a construct such as this.
Link merely continued across the bridge, but that didn't stop him from looking at the chasm that the bridge spanned. much like the bridge leading from Ordon to Kakariko, this was an absurdly far fall. Keeping his mind of the otherwise impending doom, he rode past the other end of the Bridge of Eldin and up through that end of Hyrule Field. Stopping Epona, he got off to check his map, seeing that the area he was heading to wasn't that far ahead. Putting the map back in his pocket, he continued on his way in order to get the Emerald Grove, likely the resting place of his next Starlight Coin.
"Heh, maybe it'll just be a Poe," laughed Link as he kept walking, "and it just has the coin, but it's also scaring off local villagers."
"That would be a bit too easy, right?" Marze asked.
This of course made Link laugh a bit louder. "You aren't seriously considering that as an option are you? So far in order to get these Starlight Coins, the easiest thing I've had to fight has been a King Gohma. And let me tell you, a King Gohma takes way more to kill than a Poe."
"Hm. I guess you're right," Marze agreed.
Link nodded and kept walking, eventually came across a gateway made of stone that led to what looked like a graveyard.
"'The Emerald Grove,' huh? All right, this looks like it. Let's go get our next coin," said Link as he entered the graveyard.
The first thing he noticed was of course the titanic emerald gravestone that sat at the far end of the graveyard. Not only was it the most impressive of the graves there, but it also sat on a large marble base that had some kind of inscription.
'Those who wish to brave the depths of my tomb to claim my eternal wealth must first prove themselves with a riddle.'
"Oh, Goddesses," said Link in annoyance, "a riddle? This is going to be tedious, I can feel it."
'He who fell to darkness was always the first to sleep. My wife was never the last. The Master of Blades always hated company when he rested, and the King of Shadows always watched over those who couldn't.'
"So, what do you think it means?" Marze asked after Link finished reading the inscription.
"I can't really say I know..." admitted Link as he read the grave itself. "Dolan Arcturus, huh? Must have been quite the crafty bastard in his time," Link said as he looked over the other graves. To his surprise, he noticed that every single grave there had been moved from their original positions.
"What the? Wait, this might have something to do with that riddle," Link said as he remembered the riddle. "'The first to rest...' Oh, rest must mean to fix their graves! So, he who fell to shadows always rests first, so someone who fell into the chasm?"
He and Marze began looking though the graves, but none of them detailed anything about a man falling into the abyss under the Bridge of Eldin. However, Marze still found something.
"Hey, this one says that the person died in his sleep one night," he said as he flew around the grave in question.
"Well, it did say he fell to darkness... Oh, I get it, 'fell to darkness' means that he died at night when he slept. Well, this one goes first, as always," he said as he recalled the riddle, pushing the grave back in place, a Green Rupee popping out as he moved it.
I mean, Link wasn't one to pass up free money, so of course he took it.
"Maybe I only get money from correct answers," said Link. That would be an interesting prospect indeed.
"Then that's one more reason for you to get this right," agreed Marze. "Okay, I'll be honest, but I have no idea who's next."
"Well, let's think back to the riddle. It said Dolan's wife was never the last to sleep, so there should be someone after her. The 'Master of Blades' apparently hated company when he slept, so that probably means he hated people watching over him when he went to sleep, so..." Link trailed off, letting Marze get the next part.
"Oh, he slept last! So out of the four graves we have to fix, his is the last," deduced Marze.
"Exactly!" said Link. "Now, what about the 'King of Shadows'? It said he always watched over those who couldn't, so where does that leave us?"
"He must have slept after those who couldn't protect themselves. I'll guess that the 'Master of Blades' didn't count, so maybe he was a swordsman or knight or something," deduced Marze.
"Yeah, you're right!" agreed Link as he looked through the graves. "So as long as the wife didn't practice any form of combat, it'll go her, the 'King of Shadows', and then the 'Master of Blades.'"
The two went back to looking around the graves, Link seeing that one was slightly large than the others. Reading the inscription, he saw that the name upon it was Adriana Arcturus, and it said that she was the wife of the late Dolan Arcturus.
"All right, number two!" said Link as he pushed the grave into place, a Blue Rupee popping up as he moved it. "Next would be the King of Shadows."
Looking around, he didn't see any graves that fit the description. Marze, however noticed something.
"Wait, if he's a 'King of Shadows,' wouldn't it make sense for his or her grave to reflect that?" he asked.
"I guess so..." said Link as he looked for any source of shade, seeing a single grave resting beneath a lone tree far away from the others. Pushing it back in place, he was greeted by a Gold Rupee which he picked up.
"And finally," said Link as he cracked his back, "The Master of Blades. I already know which grave is his," he finished as he pointed at a grave with a sword coming out if the top, using it as a pedestal.
Marze nodded and flitted over to it, quickly reading the inscription. "Yep, this is him."
Link made his way over and pushed the grave back into its proper place, a Red Rupee being his final reward. Hearing the sound of stone grinding on stone, he looked to see the large emerald grave move to allow him entry. As he approached the grave, he saw that there was a new inscription where the grave had been sitting.
'Finally, a soul worthy to claim my fortune! But only those who prove their might against the dead can return to the living as rich as a God. Come prove to me that you're worthy of my favor.'
"First a riddle, now a challange? Wow, this guys must really not want people to just take his money. Though I'm surprise grave robbers haven't just taken his headstone, it's clearly made of Rupee Ore..." Link said before turning back to the stairs that led into the man's grave.
"But grave robbers or not, I have to a job to do," he said before heading down the stairs, more than ready for whatever challenge lied in wait for him ahead.
It's about time he got to a new dungeon! This one is fittingly named the Emerald Grave due to the huge gravestone made of a huge Rupee he had to move in order get into it. But anyway, I've got a heads up for you guys.
The story The Legend of Miraculous will now be updated on PrincessZelda1468's profile from now on, so if you guys read that, then head over to their page in order to follow and keep up. If not, then check it out, it's pretty good.
Anywho, that should wrap this outro up.
OniHelix out!