Ocean.
Wind.
Rain.
Thunder.
Lightning.
She could make out all of these things, but her eyes were closed as she was tossed like a plaything on the turbulent waves. All she could do was try to keep her little head above the surface of the ocean as much as she could, even though it seemed futile. It seemed like there was no end to the storm, to the torment.
After what seemed like an eternity, the clouds began to part, the wind became calm, and the waves settled down. But she was still alone on a seemingly endless ocean, with no trace of dry land in sight, and she was exhausted from trying to survive the merciless storm. Her sight became blurry, and then things went dark.
…She suddenly became aware of a slow rocking sensation and a loving warmth encompassing her body. Her eyes slowly opened and she saw the face of an older woman who had her white hair in a bun. Although she was initially frightened, she realized this woman had her small body wrapped up in a blanket and was rocking her gently in her arms.
After a few moments, the woman opened her mouth and spoke, "Krystal… Krystal… Wakeup, Krystal!"
For a moment, her vision seemed to distort and she was looking up at the ceiling of a cave, but the woman's smiling face returned after a few seconds.
"Pull yourself together, Krystal!" she said, her voice changing as she spoke, sounding deeper and more masculine.
Krystal's eyes slowly opened, seeing the cave she had seen what she thought was moments before. She blinked a few times, but what she saw remained the same. She could still feel a gentle rocking sensation and she glanced to the sides. "Am I… in a boat?" she wondered, seeing wood on both sides. Her hands and legs were touching wood, but her head was against something cold and metallic.
She slowly raised herself so she was sitting, turning her body a bit and letting her legs rest to the side as she looked around. She was in a small alcove, the back wall a short distance away, but she didn't see anyone else. "Whose voice did I hear?" she wondered. She looked down at herself, "I am alive… right?"
She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the voice from earlier ask, "Well? Have you come to your senses?" She looked around again, but she still didn't see anyone. Suddenly, the boat's lion-like figurehead swung around to look at her and it remarked, "You are surprisingly slow-witted…"
Krystal reacted to this as anyone might: she let out a scream and leapt up onto her legs, backing up. Unfortunately, with the way she had been sitting, this caused her to back right up to the boat's port side and trip backwards, the vixen's body landing in the water save for her right foot, which rested on the edge of the boat. "What is happening?! Am I dreaming?!" she exclaimed in her head as she stared up at the alcove's ceiling.
The boat let out a hearty laughing, once again bringing her out of her thoughts as it swung its head around again and its clearly masculine voice asked afterwards, "Did I startle you? I suppose that is only natural. As wide as the world is, I am the only boat upon it who can speak the words of men." Krystal looked up at the figurehead as it said, "I am the King of Red Lions. Do not fear… I am not your enemy."
Krystal backed up onto the sand and sat down, pulling her legs close to herself as she hesitantly asked, "Well, okay, but… what is going on? Are you the one who saved me?"
The boat nodded, "Yes, Krystal. I have been watching and listening since you left for the Forsaken Fortress to rescue your sister. I understand your desire to protect your sister and how it could give you the courage to stand up to anything… But such a bold attempt was foolhardy!"
Krystal narrowed her eyes a bit, "What are you saying? That I should forget about her and let her rot in a place like that?!"
The King of Red Lions gravely replied, "You must have seen him… The one who commands that monstrous bird…"
Krystal blinked and thought back for a moment. "I saw someone inside that ship atop the fortress… But I didn't get a very good look at him."
She looked back up at the King as he slowly said, "His name is… Ganon…"
Krystal raised an eyebrow, "Ganon?"
The King spoke, "…He who obtained the power of the gods, attempted to cover the land in darkness, and was ultimately sealed away by the very power he hoped to command. He is the same one spoken of in the legends… The emperor of the dark realm and once feared as the Great King of Evil…"
Krystal asked, "You mean the legends that speak of the kingdom where the so-called golden power lay hidden? But that's…" His stare made her hesitate to say it was a legend or ancient history, so she decided on, "Wasn't that a very long time ago?"
The King replied, "Yes. I do not know how it happened, but now that Ganon has returned, the world is once again being threatened by his evil magic." He was silent for a moment and then said, "Tell me, Krystal… Do you still wish to save your sister from him?"
Krystal immediately nodded, "Of course I do!"
The King asked, "And will you do anything to save her?" Krystal nodded again, so he said, "…I see. Then I shall guide you, advising you on what you should be doing and where you must go." Before Krystal could ask, he explained, "Ganon cannot be defeated by human hands, let alone what little strength you currently possess. There is a great power that can defeat him, but you can only wield it after proving you're worthy to, which will entail much toil and hardship. Do you understand?"
Krystal nodded, "I do."
The King replied, "Then climb aboard! Let us depart!" He blinked, seemingly remembering something. "…Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself." He turned away from Krystal, his head pointing slightly down as he admitted, "This is embarrassing for me to admit, but… although I am indeed a boat that possesses the power of speech… I possess no sail." Krystal nearly fell over onto her side at that. "And a boat with no sail will not get you far from here."
Krystal realized the thought of where they were hadn't really crossed her mind. "Where exactly are we?" she asked.
The King looked back at her, "I have brought you far to the east of the dark gaze of the Forsaken Fortress, to this island called Windfall. This island hosts a town of merchants who deal in a wide variety of goods. It is a well-known location for travelers and traders alike. If you search hard enough, surely you can find someone who will sell you a sail. I am sorry to ask this of you, but without a sail, I will be useless to you."
Krystal nodded, "All right." She stood up and started to walk out of the alcove.
Before she could leave, the King spoke again, causing her to stop, "This island of merchants is home to many valuable goods. While a sail must come first, do not feel limited to buying only it. Feel free to buy anything else you find that you think may help you, and don't be afraid to talk to the townspeople. Any information they share may come in handy."
Krystal replied, "I'll remember that."
The King added, "Remember this as well: there is no time to play. Come back here immediately as soon as your errands are done." Krystal nodded to show she understood.
She shielded her eyes as she stepped out into the sunlight. Her eyes soon adjusted and she looked around. There was a gentle grass-covered slope going up from the sand, the town at the top. Krystal pressed her palms together, suddenly feeling nervous, and looked back over at the King of Red Lions for a moment before she began to make her way up the slope.
She saw two young girls playing in a patch of flowers as she was walking and stopped to look at them. They noticed her and stared back at her for a moment before one of them asked, "Why are you staring at us? I know we're super cute and all, but SHEESH!"
The other girl added, "You look kinda weird. Not as weird as that guy in green locked up in the prison, but still weird." Krystal blinked at their words and decided to let them be.
As she reached the top of the slope, she saw a lone building on the cape to her right and a tall tree to her left, a stone gate marking the main entrance to the town past the latter. She walked over to the gate and stood in front of it, looking up at it. She could see small cracks in places and the stone looked weathered, yet it stood strong and gave her a homely feeling, calming her nerves.
While she was looking up at it, she heard someone call to her, "Hey there, lass!" She turned and saw a man in a green shirt with a broad chest waving to her. She walked over to him and he asked, "Fascinated by the gate there, are you?"
Krystal replied, "Yes. I don't know what it is, but there's just something magnificent about it."
The man nodded, "I know what you mean, yes, I do. After a long time away at sea, I come back here to Windfall and that gate is just a welcoming sight. It's like it's saying "You're home, sailor." That's the feeling it gives me." Krystal turned to look up at it again at that.
Suddenly, she felt something crash into her from behind and she lost her balance. Someone grabbed onto her while she was trying to get her feet under her and she fell forward with a cry, the person falling on top of her when she landed. "Oh my, I'm so sorry. I was just…" The owner of the voice stopped talking and Krystal turned her head to look up. She saw an older man in shabby clothes looking down at her; after a few moments, he suddenly looked furious and he yelled, "Beast! Monster! Begone!" He began hitting her with his fists while she tried to shield herself.
"Hey, stop it! Leave her alone!" The sailor exclaimed as he ran over and grabbed the older man by the shoulders. The commotion attracted the attention of two other sailors, one at the end of the docks and the other on the cape, both of them running over to help. The three of them had no problem pulling him off, the two sailors holding the older man up so his legs flailed in the air. Krystal looked back while the man looked at the older man and asked, "What's your deal now, old man? You bumped into her and then you attacked her after you pushed her down!"
The old man cried, "It's a monster! Get rid of it! You're a man of the sea; can't you see it doesn't belong here?!"
The sailor replied, "She didn't do anything wrong! You don't know that! Besides, you struck first and she didn't resist! What does that say about you?"
The older man insisted, "You're a fool! Banish it! Throw it back to the sea!"
One of the other sailors, who was wearing a blue shirt and a red hat, said, "All right, I think you've screamed enough colorful remarks already, pal."
The other sailor, who was wearing a vest and had his hair tied up on top of his head, added, "Aye! Let's sit you down and have a little discussion about respecting others, shall we?"
The sailor turned back to Krystal as they walked off and knelt down next to her, asking, "Are you all right, lass?"
Krystal answered, "Yes, I think so." He offered her a hand and she took it.
After helping her up, he said, "Sorry about that guy. He's been hanging around here a lot lately from what I heard. He's been begging anyone who'll listen to rescue his daughter. Apparently, she was kidnapped by a giant bird that's been showing up all over the Great Sea recently."
Krystal blinked and looked over at the older man, currently sitting on the stone wall beside the path going out to the cape as the two sailors lectured him. "There were two other girls in the cell with Aryll. Could his daughter have been one of them?" she wondered.
She could hear the sailor speaking as she came out of her thoughts, "-can understand why he's so desperate, but Ican't think of anyone willing to go after a bird like that without a good reason, and to a place like the Forsaken Fortress as well. I sure can't think of anyone who would do that. And there's no excuse for that kind of behavior. …Hey, you sure you're alright, little missy?" Krystal quickly nodded in reply.
"Hey, what's going on?" a new voice asked. Krystal looked to her right and saw a young man wearing a blue and white striped shirt and a green jacket and pants walking in her direction. He stopped a short distance away and said, "I heard shouting. Is everything all right?"
The sailor replied, "Yeah, don't worry. The old guy over there had a moment, but it's fine now."
The young man remarked, "Oh." He looked down at Krystal and, after a moment, said, "I've never seen you before, Miss. What brings you to our little island?"
Krystal hadn't been expecting to be put on the spot, so she had to think quickly. "Oh, well… actually, I… think I was drifting on the ocean for a while and was fortunate enough to drift to this island's shore," she explained.
"Well, that is indeed fortunate. You fall off a ship, lass?" the sailor asked.
"Something like that. I woke up on the shore here," Krystal replied.
"Well, you certainly found one of the best islands to wash up on, Miss! Our Windfall Island might be a little homely so to speak, but I'd say it's much better than washing up on a deserted island. Wouldn't you agree?" the young man asked. Krystal nodded, so he said, "If you'd like, I could show you around to help you get your bearings."
Krystal replied, "That sounds like a great idea. Thank you, Mr.…?"
The young man said, "You can just call me Anton." Krystal gave the sailor her thanks and they said goodbye to him before they started walking into town
As she walked with him, Anton pointed out the Chu Jelly Potion Shop and the house next door to Krystal. He then pointed to an outdoor shop and the café after they climbed a set of stairs. "You really know your way around the town, Anton," she commented as they stopped for a moment.
"Well, not to brag, but I take a lot of walks around the town. Call it a hobby of mine," Anton replied. He directed her off the main path onto a side path that went up before continuing, "As a result, I not only know all the best walking paths, but I also know a few secrets! Like, you know the Bomb Shop, that lone building out there on the cape?" Krystal nodded, so he went on, "How many people know there's a little path on the side that goes around the back? I've never told anyone else, so I think we're the only ones! Can you help me keep it a secret?"
Krystal replied, "My lips are sealed." They reached level ground a second later and she looked around the small plaza-like area. There were several buildings and she expected Anton to start talking about them, but when he didn't, she looked over at him.
He was looking at a woman in an orange dress who was standing to the side, and from her angle, she could see she was looking back at him. They stared for several moments before they both looked away, Anton resuming the walking tour while the woman glanced at him longingly. Krystal felt something inside as she observed this. It was a strong, warm feeling, yet it felt like it was being held back, restrained. And she felt it from both of them. She was curious about this, but she noticed Anton was leaving, so she pushed it to the back of her mind and hurried to catch up with him.
A few minutes later…
The café owner made her way over to the table that Krystal and Anton were sitting at, a mug of hot tea in her hand. "Here you go!" she said as she set the mug in front of Krystal.
"Oh, thank you. This looks great," Krystal remarked while looking at the water and teabag in her cup.
"That's nice of you to say. Let me know if you need anything else. It's nice to see new customers here, fuzzy and otherwise," the owner replied as she headed back behind the counter.
A plate of tea cookies sat on the table between the two, Krystal reaching for another one before she began to gently blow on the tea. She'd already eaten most of the cookies on the plate; it was a bit embarrassing, but it was only after she tried one that she realized how hungry she was. Anton had noticed this and after she finished eating the cookie she grabbed, he asked, "Are you sure you don't want something a little more filling? It's probably been a while since you last ate if you've been floating around on the sea for a while."
Krystal blushed, touching her stomach with one hand, but replied, "I wouldn't mind that, but I should take it slow and make sure my stomach can keep these cookies down." Anton nodded in understanding.
"So, what do you think so far? Our little island may be small, but it's a warm, welcoming place overall, wouldn't you say?" he asked. Krystal nodded, but he could tell something was on her mind. "What's wrong? Is what that old guy said still weighing on you?"
Krystal looked up at him and started, "That woman we passed in the square… You really like her, don't you?"
Anton blinked. "Well, I wasn't expecting that. Wh-What makes you think that?" he asked.
Krystal replied, "Oh, um… I don't know. The way you were looking at her, I guess."
Anton looked stricken for a second, but then let out his breath and admitted, "Yeah, I do. I see her all the time while I'm walking, but it's not just how she looks. She seems to be nice, and has a good sense of fashion, and I see her looking back at me and I feel like that means she likes me too, but I just don't know."
Krystal asked, "Well, why don't you ask her if she does?"
Anton asked back, "I guess I could… but what if she doesn't?"
Krystal replied, "That could happen, but, well…" She trailed off, realizing she probably had no business telling him what he should be doing. "I'm sorry. I'm sure I've said more than I should have…"
Anton replied, "No, no, that's all right. I… I'm glad you said something. I should…" He lowered his head for a few moments and then suddenly leapt to his feet exclaiming, "THAT'S IT! I'm going to do it! I'm going to work my nerve and go ask her out and see how it goes!" He then seemed to falter as he turned away, uttering, "So, uh… when do I ask her? What's her name? Where should I ask her to go? That's a lot to think about…"
He noticed he was walking towards the café entrance and turned back to Krystal, "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to just leave. I guess I already started thinking too much about this…" She gave him a wave to let him know it was okay and he said, "Oh, yeah. I guess you have a lot to think about too. Guess I'll see you later, then! Thanks!" He turned and exited the café.
Krystal looked over at another man in the café, who was wearing green and orange and was shaking like a leaf in the wind. He noticed her looking at him after a few moments and stated, "That was surprising. I didn't expect him to shout like that!"
Krystal turned back to her tea and cookies. Now that she had a moment to herself, she had a chance to think about what happened earlier. "Of course, I'm happy that Anton seems to be in love with that lady, but what I felt earlier was completely different. It felt like… like his thoughts and feelings were in me. I could feel his happiness, his adoration, and his anxiety as if I was actually feeling it all myself, but why? How did that happen?" she wondered.
She continued to ponder this as she ate the cookies and drank her tea. It was something to temporarily take her mind off of Aryll, and it was soothing in a way. By the time she was finished with the cookies, she was feeling considerably better. She still had a little bit of tea left and she still felt a little hungry, so she stood up and walked over to the front counter. The café owner was doing something under the counter when she walked up; she stood up after a few moments and immediately saw Krystal. She held her arms in front of her, not surprised to see the fox girl seemed like she wanted something else. "I am feeling a lot better now. I think I will get something else," Krystal told her.
A couple minutes later…
Krystal stepped out of the café, her hands on her stomach. She was feeling much better now; her thoughts were clearer and her belly was full. "Right, that's enough of that, then," she thought. She turned to her left, "I need to find a sail. The open-air shop that Anton pointed out below here seems like it might be the best place to ask about something like that around here." She walked down the steps and over to the counter next to them.
A small man wearing a coat with an oversized hood popped up on the other side as she stepped up. "Hello! Yes, good day to you, young Miss! Do you have a moment to listen to my tale?" he asked.
"Well, certainly," Krystal replied.
He started, "My story is a strange one… I came across cursed seas from a land far away… a land where the blizzards blow violently… heading for this town called Windfall. But dear me! As I traveled, a tense storm descended and tore my ship to bits… yet mysteriously, only that escaped without so much as a mark on it…"
Krystal nodded, very interested in his story. He looked at her for a moment and then continued, "From the looks of you, Miss, I would say you are no local. Surely you are a traveler as well!"
She shrugged a bit, "I suppose you could say that."
He spoke, "Could you not purchase that from me? It is my one and only heirloom from home. The people of this town do not seem the least bit interested in that, despite the fact that it would help them travel the dangerous seas about their town…" He did a quick bow, "Please, I beg of you! I wish to open a business here in this town, so I am in desperate need of finances! How does… eighty Rupees sound?"
Krystal had a good feeling that the item he was selling was exactly what she was looking for. She reached for her wallet on her belt and pulled it off, opening the sack and looking in. Her face fell after a few seconds as she realized she was thirty Rupees short. "Oh dear… I'm afraid I don't have enough," she said.
"Oh, dear me… really? You're a pitiable soul yourself!" he remarked. Krystal sighed, closed her wallet, put it back on her belt, and turned to leave.
"I shouldn't have bought such a big sandwich. Now how am I going to get the Rupees I need to buy that sail?" she thought as she made her way up the stairs to the town plaza. At the top, she walked over to a bench and sat down to think. As she sat, she watched a group of four boys sauntering around like they owned the place. Suddenly, she thought she heard what sounded like someone was talking, but she wasn't sure because it didn't sound clear. Her first thought was that it was coming from Tetra's stone, but she quickly dismissed that thought; she had heard her clearly. She looked around; there was no one nearby talking to her, yet she could still hear it. When she focused a bit, she realized it sounded like it was inside her head. "Someone must be doing this, but who? And where are they?" she wondered, slowly getting to her feet.
She walked through the nearby entryway and down the wooden ramp on the other side, which put her on the outcropping above the cove the King of Red Lions was in. She looked to her right and saw a door leading in a building built into the rock face. As she approached it, the voice she was hearing became louder and clearer. She reached for the doorknob and pulled the door open; stepping inside, she found herself in a prison, wooden bars in front of her separating her from the other side of the room. She took another step and saw a strange man sitting on a stool in the back corner. He was wearing a tight green outfit that covered even the sides and top of his head with red trunks on the outside. She was perplexed by this, but she could still hear the voice and it was coming from the other side of the bars, so she warily took a few steps in, pulling the door closed behind her.
The man noticed her and leapt down off of his stool as Krystal approached the bars. He walked over and stared at her with his squinty little eyes, this and the unsettling smile on his face making her feel perturbed. He suddenly reeled back and spoke, "Hmmmmmmmm! I see… blue fur! And… pointy ears and a tail! By the looks of you, I'd say… Miss! Could you, by chance, be… a fairy?"
Krystal blinked at this, "What…?"
The man leapt up and then leaned forward excitedly, "Goodness! Did you feel my telepathy?! That's what brought you here, isn't it? Isn't it? Isn't it?"
Krystal started, "Well, I…"
The man held up first his left hand and then his right hand before striking a pose as he said, "Do not worry! Tingle knows without you telling him, sir! Yes, sir!"
Krystal was confused further by his words. "Erm, Tingle?" she managed to ask.
The man replied, "Tingle is my name! I have been looking for your kind, for I, too, long to be one of the fairy folk! And yet, I was mistaken for some sort of troublemaker and put into this dreadful place!" He huffed, "How disrespectful!" He leaned forward again, "Please, Mrs. Fairy… Rescue poor Tingle from this place and take him to where you and your kind live in splendor!"
Krystal was tilting her head, a perplexed expression on her face as she stared at Tingle. "This man… He's either confused or he truly believes everything he's saying… But he doesn't seem to be dangerous. Should I help him?" She walked over to the cell door, Tingle turning his head to follow her every step, and tried the knob. The door didn't budge, unsurprisingly, but as she lowered her hands, Krystal noticed that it didn't seem to have a keyhole. "There must be something else keeping it locked," she realized. She looked around the room, trying to ignore Tingle's staring, and soon discovered a switch in the opposite corner of the room hidden behind some pots. She placed one pot on top of it and the door swung open, Tingle stepping out.
He walked over to Krystal and exclaimed, "Hoorayyyy! Thank you oh so VERRRY much! Here is Tingle's heartfelt gift of thanks!" Before Krystal could say anything, he swung his arms to the sides as if he was doing a dance and then did a spinning jump, releasing confetti as he said, "Tingle! Tingle! Kooloo-limpah!" He then leapt back and said, "Become… an item!"
Krystal was confused for a moment, but then she noticed a glowing coming from her left arm. She looked down and saw a green square-shaped object had materialized on her brace in the middle. "What… What is this?" she asked, amazed.
"Hmm! That is the Tingle Pad! It's a very useful tool! With it, you can store your Sea Chart, your Treasure Charts, and all other kinds of charts in one convenient location! No need to trouble yourself with keeping track of all your charts now, Mrs. Fairy! And you can make notes, mark locations, and most importantly, contact Tingle! So, no matter how far we travel from this dingy cell, our souls will be as one!" Tingle explained.
Krystal raised her right hand and tapped the reflective surface with her finger. It lit up in response, showing a blank screen. "Wow…" she breathed.
Tingle said, "Splendid! Tingle is going to return to his special island to get ready to go to the realm of the fairies, so you just wait here." He turned to leave and then stopped, saying, "Ahh! I was forgetting something important!" He turned back to Krystal, "Oh, Mrs. Fairy! You want to come to my island, don't you? Don't you? Don't you?" She hesitantly nodded, so he produced a rolled-up parchment that was green. "This is Tingle's Chart! It will show you where my island is, and now I'll show you how to add it to the Tingle Pad! Now, you just open it and hold it up to the screen…"
After a minute, Krystal was able to see the chart on the Tingle Pad's screen, the chart now physically stored inside. She lowered her arms and looked back up at him, prompting him to say, "Now you know how to properly use the Tingle Pad! If you ever need any help with your charts, just leave it to Tingle! Don't… ever…forget it!" He turned to leave again, stopping briefly to add, "If you ever need help with charts… Don't forget it!" before continuing on his way.
After he left, Krystal looked down at the Tingle Pad, thinking, "This pad is really something, and it'll be quite useful if I have to do a lot of traveling. He may be odd, but he has some interesting ideas." She looked up at the cell,"I wonder what he did to end up in this prison?" She glanced over at the vase sitting on the door switch before walking into the cell. There didn't seem to be anything unusual inside aside from the stool he was sitting on and a wooden bed with mushrooms growing on it. And a large crate positioned against the back wall. Krystal raised an eyebrow at this. "There could be something in it… or even behind it," she thought.
She was able to push it to the side and discovered a hole in the wall; kneeling down, she peered inside and saw a tunnel stretching behind it. It appeared to have been dug out recently and was certainly seemed wide enough for Tingle's rounder body to squeeze in, so she was able to crawl inside easily. The tunnel turned out to be more complex than she anticipated, as she had to turn several times, but she eventually reached an open space at the end with several treasure chests and two stones that had writing carved into them. The larger treasure chest held a Pictograph Box and the smaller chests held, in total, forty Rupees. Looking at the writing on the stones, she found Tingle had not only written down the directions for how to use the Pictograph Box, but also that he actually stole it and was planning to come back and get it eventually. She looked down at the box and thought, "He must've taken it from that one building that Anton pointed out in the plaza. I'll take it there and see if it belongs to whoever lives there right after I buy the sail from that shop."
A few minutes later, she waved goodbye to the shop owner, who was very happy to receive his eighty Rupees, as she left with the folded-up sail in her possession. She walked up the steps to the plaza and over to the bench, where she put the sail away in her bag and pulled the Pictograph Box out. The bench was up against the building that Anton had pointed out to her earlier; she walked inside and found a man wearing yellow clothes with a long beard fiddling with another Pictograph Box that was bigger than Krystal's behind the front desk. He looked over at the door when it closed with an uninterested expression and remarked, "Another visitor? Begone with you."
Krystal blinked in surprise. "Er, come again?" she asked.
The man replied, "I'm terribly sorry for my bluntness, dear lady, but this is not a good time. A most valuable possession was stolen from me and it has left me…" He stopped talking when he noticed the Pictograph Box in Krystal's hand, his demeanor changing completely. Suddenly, his eyes were filled with life, the corners of his mouth under his beard turning upwards. "Why, my dear, you appear to be in possession of a very fine Picto Box!" he said.
Krystal started, "Oh no, it's not really mine. I actually found it. I think it's…"
While she was speaking, the man, Lenzo, walked around to her and interrupted her, "You don't have to say any more, dear lass. There can be no villains among Picto Box lovers!" He put his hand on her back and gave her a slight push forward, "Please, come in! Have a look around. I implore you. My Pictograph Gallery is just upstairs." Krystal tried to say what she was trying to say before, but he interrupted her again, "But I must say, yours is an exceptionally crafted Picto Box. I had one like that once. I would've liked to compare it to yours." She gave up at this point and decided to take a look around, walking around the desk and going up the stairs behind it.
Krystal reached the top of the stairs and turned to enter the gallery. She set one foot inside and stopped, looking around in amazement for a moment before walking to the center of the room and looking around again. Pictographs covered each of the walls in the room, each one in a frame with their subject centered. "Oh, ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! Aren't these some finely snapped pictographs? You must admit it!" Krystal leapt up and turned around to see Lenzo coming up behind her. "Come now! You needn't be so surprised, my young miss! It is a hobby of mine to sneak up on people when they least expect it. It's quite an amusing diversion. Think nothing of it." He gestured to the walls, "By the way, the pictographs you see decorating these fine walls have all been taken by none other than myself. They are my pride and joy! You see, in my younger days, I was tireless, sailing far and wide across the Great Sea, snapping pictographs wherever I went…"
Krystal asked, "Would you be willing to tell me a little bit more about them?"
Lenzo nodded, "Of course. Have a look at them, young miss!" And so, Krystal spent several long minutes looking at the pictographs and listening to Lenzo share the tales behind each of them as well as some of his breakthroughs in regards to pictographs since those days, such as being very close to being able to take pictographs in full color. It was a wonderful time and she left with high spirits.
Her stop by the Bomb Shop was, unfortunately, not so pleasant. The shopkeeper demanded absurd prices for his bombs and he was rather pompous and irritable. As Krystal was leaving the shop, he yelled after her, "I didn't call for you, girl! Get out and stay out!" She slammed the door a little harder than she initially intended to, but her own irritation at his behavior kept her from feeling too bad about it. She stared at the door for a moment before turning and making her way down to the alcove. She figured she'd kept the King of Red Lions waiting long enough.
The boat's head turned to look at her as she approached and he remarked when she was closer, "Ah! That look in your eyes… You found yourself a sail, I take it?" Krystal nodded, so he said, "Very well! Then I shall teach you the art of sailing!" After a few minutes, the new sail was hoisted onto the mast that he had and she knew how to steer and catch the wind. As they floated out of the alcove, he stated, "Now, Krystal! A westerly wind blows! Steer so that it may carry us to our destination to the east!"
As the sail caught the wind and the boat began to get pushed across the water away from Windfall Island, a new exuberance and feeling of freedom filled Krystal's being as they glided across the surface of the water. They were finally on their way and it felt like the winds of fortune were at their back, taking them where they needed to go. It all felt so exhilarating and she couldn't help but let out a joyful whoop. She had no idea how long this journey was going to be or when she would get another chance at rescuing Aryll, but for the first time since she left Outset Island, she was excited.