Note: Another chapter this week and a long one at that. I don't have much to say so I'll just say thanks for reading!

Chapter 15: Daka Tuss Shrine

The two walked down the path that Yunobo led them on the day before, Zelda had considered holding Link's hand, but she could never tell when there would be a Goron around. Despite their large size they could be sneaky with their near perfect camouflage. She glanced over at Link's face which was expressionless as ever. He was good at hiding his emotions and it was almost as if nothing had happened. They rounded the last corner on the outskirts of Goron City and walked straight towards Daruk's home. They would say their goodbyes to him before heading towards the Spring of Courage. Zelda would have liked to stay longer to talk to Daruk but she knew that Daruk was busy. Summer was approaching which was peak time for the Gorons to begin their mining since the lava began to flow more rapidly around this time.

They found Daruk talking with another Goron who was carrying a sizeable pickaxe on his shoulder. As Daruk saw them approach he sent off the Goron and turned to greet them.

"Hey Princess, how did it go with Vah Rudania?"

"Hello Daruk, it went very well and Vah Rudania is now cleared of the leftover malice. It may not move or respond to your access for some time but we are still trying to find the cause of it."

"Well, I'm not sure I understand enough about those beasts but I trust you Princess." A tinge of confusion was noticeable in his gruff voice, "I'm guessing that you still need to visit the other Divine Beasts then?"

"Yes, we are about to head towards Gerudo town next actually." She replied.

Daruk grinned widely, "Well then, tell Urbosa I said hi, it's been a while since we've all seen each other, especially since the Gerudo are so far away. Do you need anything for your travels?"

"No thank you, but we appreciate everything, I know Goron City is somewhat busy around this time of year." She replied and Daruk nodded in response, "Hopefully we will see you again sooner rather than later, I would like to get all the champions together again, it has been far too long since we last did so."

"Sounds good to me Princess, you send word and I'll be there." Daruk then looked over at Link to address him directly, "and you make sure to take good care of the Princess til then, alright little guy?"

Link smiled rather confidently in reply and that put another grin on Daruk's face.

After saying their goodbyes, Link and Zelda departed from Goron City and waved back to Daruk who watched them as they left. Zelda lamented not visiting the hot springs but there would always be time for that. The day seemed to drag on as they made their way down the path, Link suggested to stop every so often, but Zelda seemed determined to make up as much ground as she could. So they walked past the Maw of Death Mountain, past the Foothill stable, and managed to get to the Lanayru Wetlands. They decided that to save time they would cross through the wetlands rather than take the path that ran around the West side.

Link wanted to stop by the Daka Tuss shrine, ever since she left the Shrine journal with Robbie, Link would occasionally catch her staring at the shrines that dotted the horizon. He decided that he would take her to this one since she had yet to see the inside of one in person. This would also give him a chance to teach her how to use the runes on the Sheikah Slate. She had proven herself to be skilled with the bow, maybe she could use the runes too. She had found them before, but he had only described them to her and this shrine would be a good place for her to learn how to use them.

They walked through the ruins of Goponga village, Zelda spoke about how she had read about it in the history books. An old village of people who had thrived by using the nutrient rich nature of the waterlogged soil to grow their crops. However, they had apparently been overrun by a growing population of Lizalfos. It made sense to Link, the place was lousy with Lizalfos when he had passed this area during his travels. After finishing her historical summary she noticed Link leading them down the bridge towards Shrine Island.

"Where are we headed Link?"

"I was thinking we could stay in the shrine for the night, and there is something I want to show you."

Zelda practically lit up with excitement at the prospect, "What is it that you want to show me?"

Link grinned somewhat mischievously, "It's a surprise."

They walked up to the platform inside the shrine since the door was already open from the last time Link had been here. The platform was small but Zelda didn't mind standing closer to him as she hooked her arm around his. As they began to descend, Zelda stared wide-eyed at all through the blue veil of light that surrounded them. Linked could see her enthusiasm and couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't shown her one of the shrines sooner. When they reached the bottom, Link led her off the platform towards the square pool.

"Link, this is amazing! I always pictured the shrines to resemble the divine beasts but this is far more incredible than I could have imagined."

"I figured that we could stay in the shrines when we travel from now on. It might be a little more uncomfortable than a bed but at least this way you can see more of the shrines."

"Yes! I would love that, thank you Link." She said as she hugged him tightly.

Link couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction, "That isn't the surprise though." He said, causing her to pull away slightly in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

Link motioned for her to hand him the Sheikah Slate, "I thought you might like to learn how about the runes on the slate."

Link had thought she was already about as excited as she could get but he had just been proven wrong. Her eyes were practically gleaming and he couldn't contain his own smile. He brought up the slate and showed her how to get to the runes, he decided to start some of the less dangerous runes first.

"This one is cryonis," he said as he pointed at the snowflake icon on the slate, "you can create and break columns of ice. It's all motion based, just select the rune and thrust your arm out with the screen pointed towards the surface of the water." He then showed her an example.

"Ok, could I try?" She asked anxiously, and Link handed it over.

In one quick motion she spawned a column of ice right next to the one Link had made. Taking one look at the slate, she repeated the motion pointing it back at column, causing it to shatter into tiny chunks of ice which caused her to jump slightly. A smile broke out onto her face.

"You can only make 4 columns, making another will make the first one break." Link said to her.

"Interesting," Zelda said, "How long do they remain in the water?"

"Pretty long, I don't think they have a time limit. Do you want to try Stasis next?" Link replied, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Switch runes to the one that looks like a lock. Stasis is activated the same way as Cryonis, but it only lasts for a short time. You can stop animate objects too but they recover even more quickly than inanimate ones. I'll throw my shield up, try to stop it in mid-air." Link then took the Hylian shield off his back and tossed it up into the air.

Zelda got it first try and she squeaked her excitement. Link caught the shield when it finally came down and told her to switch it to Magnesis.

"With Magnesis, you point the slate at a metal object and hold it with both hands. Turn it clockwise to bring it towards you and counterclockwise to push it away. Try solving the puzzle in here with it."

She immediately knew what to do and she picked up the bowl using magnesis. It was a little awkward at first but she was eventually able to place the ball where it belonged. Once the gate opened she looked over at Link questioningly and he signaled for her to continue. Still holding the bowl up with magnesis, she carried it over into the next room which had a larger pool and a large button underwater. Upon seeing the button, she instinctively placed the bowl on it and traced its action to the cage on the other side of the room. After realizing the buttons purpose, she made quick work of this room too. Once the water flooded out of the pools she led them through the entrance that had been hidden under the water.

They followed it until it took them to the empty pedestal that sat at the end, Link explained that these once contained monks who had dedicated their lives to oversee these shrines. They were long gone now ever since they glimmered into nothingness after Link had first spoken with them. He did notice that there was a sizeable mat on the pedestal where the monk used to sit, maybe they could sleep on that. He pushed aside the thought for now, instead turning his focus back to Zelda.

"So, what do you think?" Link asked.

Zelda hugged him again, "Thank you Link, I always wanted to experience these for myself. I admit I was a little jealous when I found out that these shrines had been made specifically for you. Thank you for sharing this with me."

Link stared into her emerald eyes that stood out amongst the blue haze of the shrine. He wanted to kiss her, but he wasn't sure if that would be right, he chose to just smile and nod in response.

"Well, now that we're here, we could sleep up on that mat right?" She said, it was as if she had read his mind.

Having satisfied her scholarly curiosity, Zelda climbed up into the pedestal and patted the mat beside her signaling for Link to join her. He quickly obeyed and laid down on his back letting her nestle into his shoulder again. Link was extremely glad that he had decided to bring her here, he would definitely have to share more of his travels with her. As he recounted all the places he had visited, he hadn't noticed Zelda silently fall asleep but he soon followed after.