...He is now in a damp swampy area.

Ruined, inactive machines in various stages of decay that seem vaguely warlike and crumbling stone ruins lie all around.

Rai lies there for a second. It turns out that having your essence sent someplace else is rather unpleasant. He feels odd, he tries to stand up, but extreme dizziness causes him to sit back down.

Looking around, he notices how different this place is from his world. He's used to seeing little more than sand, dry scorched air, and an dark heaviness that weighs upon the air.

The dark heaviness here is probably entirely due to the foul smell and the fact that it is night. It'd be creepy if he wasn't used to worse.

It's indeed unlikely to be worse unless there's the heavy scent of blood in the air. He tries getting up again, this time he fairs better. He's still off-balance, but at least he's up.

He's not really sure where to go so he decides to ask Vys. "Can you tell me where I should go?" he silently asks Vys

Vys is silent, which is typical, she's never steered him wrong before, but she only answers him when he's in dire need.

Without a clear goal in mind, he'll wander in a random direction unless something catches his eye.

There's smoke to the - he can't tell what cardinal direction it is. The stars are different. But it's probably a campfire.

That's as good a place to start as any. He'll briskly walk towards the smoke. His senses alert for any danger, something primal in him warns him that swamps often harbor ambush predators.

No ambush predators. There's something in the distance - a small, red thing - but it's not being sneaky enough to have the intent to ambush him.

The campfire is on a small grassy rise that lifts out of the muggy swamp a bit. He notices that the campfire has someone asleep on a tarp and blanket near it while still a ways off.

Rai watches the asleep figure from a distance. He doesn't want to startle them. He decides to wait until morning. He sleeps lightly, so whenever they get up, he'll know. He'll approach her then.

He tries to find somewhere close enough to hear them moving, but with enough cover to hide his presence.

In the morning twilight, she gets up, stretches, makes sure the fire's ashes are all out, packs up her sleeping back with a brief flash of magic...

...Looks around suspiciously. Acquires a bow with another dull flash of light.

Rai is awakened by the movement. He doesn't even think about how predatory his actions might seem to an outsider. This is just how he's used to doing things. He decides to risk a peek over his cover. And he is greeted by someone wielding a bow and looking around alertly. That's probably not good.

He gets up slowly, though remains as crouched as possible in order to make himself look smaller. He seems to act with an almost animalistic manner.

His hands are raised and he speaks very calmly, "I mean you no harm."

"Oh, good! I thought you were a Bokoblin or something." She puts the bow on her back. "I'm up here 'cause I couldn't make it all the way to the stable before sunset and it seemed like good weather. How 'bout you? Bit off the trail here."

"I happened to be in the area." He really shouldn't lie, he's quite bad at it.

"Naaah, it really sounds like you're lost. How about you follow me to the stable? If you like."

"Yeah, I'm lost." he admits sheepishly. "Sure, I don't have anywhere to be right now." 

"Alright, so just stay over there for a few minutes while I get ready to face the day and then off we'll go."

She's back before long. "I had a good view of the place coming in. Reckon it's about two hours' walk."

Rai stays put obediently.

"That's not too bad a walk."

As they begin walking he'll start some small talk.

"Where are you headed? After the stable, I mean."

"I'm trying to get up to Kakariko Village. You'll think I'm crazy if I explain why."

"That's not terribly likely. I'm used to crazy."

"I woke up in a pool of glowy water a few days ago, can't remember much of anything, wandered around a bit, met an old man who turned out to be the ghost of King Rhoam... Learned about the Calamity Ganon caused. That was depressing. And then he sent me to go find Lady Impa so I can maybe figure out how to stop Ganon from destroying the world."

"Huh. Yeah, I buy it. I don't know how things work here that could just be how things work here."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how things work here for most people. The first guy I explained it to thought I was running a fever and hallucinating. Or something. But it's all true."

"You're not acting like someone hallucinating. And I know how nut jobs act, you aren't one of them either."

"Maybe it's part of my cunning plan. Act natural and see how far I can get away with it."

"Then I will applaud your acting ability after you go full crazy on me."

She laughs. They pass one of the ruined machines - she pauses to peer inside it.

"Are you handy with mechanical things?"

"Nah. But old parts from these things can be valuable..." Clunk. She emerges with some kind of gear. Shrugs, and with a flash of blue it disappears.

"That was magic, you sent it somewhere?"

She waves a small stone device unhooked from her belt. "The Sheikah Slate does it. It's old magical technology, like all these dead Guardians. I'm not entirely sure about the details but it seems to like me and nobody much else."

"Then you don't want me touching it. I've got some magic of my own. But it's not friendly."

"Huh, neat. What kinda magic?"

"My parents bound a dark spirit to me when I was a very young child, I won't go into the details of the process, suffice to say it wasn't pretty. I can mostly control it, thanks to Vys. I'll explain her in a second. My magic allows me to be faster, stronger, tougher and effect minor body changes like gaining claws or fangs. I also heal rather fast. That's all mostly passive, if I try to draw on any more power than that I risk allowing the spirit to influence my actions. And as for Vys, she's an Angel, from the celestial bureaucracy. I can't draw upon her power at will, she wants to help me, but she has something called the Will of Heaven that she has to abide by."

"Sounds complicated. I have Goddess Hylia's blessing. Apparently. So far all it's done is make me tougher and make it hard for me to get tired."

"It is complicated." he agrees. "We haven't introduced ourselves. I'm Rai."

"I'm pretty sure I'm Link!" Handshake?

Handshake. "Well, if you're trying to stop Ganon, I'll help you anyway I can."

"Great! I appreciate it. I haven't run into too much that I really needed help on yet, but there will probably be something at some point."

Rai nods. "We're bound to run into something sooner or later."

"Yeah. I've had to fight a few monsters already. They weren't very threatening, but having some backup will be welcome."

"What kind of monsters? What are we going up against here?"

"Bokoblins - about three, four feet high, very wide, they like to use wooden clubs and crude spears. Some of them can ride horses, those are a pain. The red ones are the weakest. Moblins are their big brothers, they're like eight or nine feet tall and they're actually pretty threatening but at least they're usually slow. And, ugh, octorocs. Water monsters. Not super threatening but annoying."

"What makes Octorocs so annoying?"

"They stay out into the water where you'd have to swim to get at them and spit rocks at you. You have to have good timing and a good bow arm to get rid of them. Annoying."

"I have a few days worth of supplies on me, but I'm going to have to stock up at some point. What's good to hunt or forage in this area?"

"Oh, most everything that looks edible actually! Patches of woods are especially good for that. Mushrooms, nuts, apples, berries... You can fish, there are deer. Hyrule is a kind land, aside from the monsters. And we can just buy some food if we have to."

"I'm not used to places this nice. I usually had to hunt to survive, didn't usually have much money on me. And in a barren wasteland, it's not always easy to find food."

"Yeah, I'm remembering, like, background things. How Hyrule is such a nice place, especially in the center and this region, the Necluda... Some parts aren't as easy. And I can't remember, like, specific things. It's annoying."

"I'm sorry, that sounds awful. Do you know why your memories are gone?"

"I was pulped by Ganon enough in the first fight that the Shrine of Resurrection couldn't restore me entirely. Lady Impa is supposed to help with that."

"I hope she can, memories make us who we are."

"Don't know about that. I feel pretty 'me' even like this. Maybe if I restore them I'll have both perspectives. Maybe I'll be a different person then." Shrug.

"I can't say, I'm not you. So if you think that you're still you, then you are. Memories give us so much context though, my memories influence my decisions and my attitudes."

"I bet mine will have plenty of context. It seems like I had a rousing adventure even before the whole Shrine of Resurrection thing."

"In that case, knowing who you were may give you insight on how to proceed in the future."

"Who knows."

Walking, walking.

"What's an angel, anyway?"

"Supernatural beings that are devoted to something they call, 'The Will of Heaven'. I think they are supposed to stop demons and prevent a Millennial reign of darkness. Apparently, I got one assigned to me after I refused to work for the forces of evil."

"Huh. That almost sounds like something Goddess Hylia would do. I mean, there's the dragons... Wait, dragons? I just remembered that."

"I have heard tales of dragons in my home. Nasty, evil creatures, I'd stay far away from them."

"Mm. Feels like they're more neutral than that to me. Different kind maybe?"

"Quite possibly. However, even neutral dragons are dangerous things, at least as far as I know of them. They are powerful, deadly, long-toothed and nigh-invincible. Yours may indeed be different." 

"No, that sounds about right. Also huge and don' talk to Hylians much."

"I would not like to meet one. Dragons are powerful and threatening, I don't like being threatened."

"I keep getting the sense that they're actually harmless, but okay."

"I hope you're right. If we meet one, I'll probably let you do the talking. My nature is as a predator, and while I reign it in, some stimuli can be overwhelming."

"Eh, that seems like it'd make you nervous all the time." She shrugs.

"Better nervous than dead. If I let my guard down, there are any number of things that are quite willing to eat me whole, and those are the nicer ones. My world is far harsher than this."

"Hmm." Link picks up the pace of the walk to a slow jog and goes silent.

Rai will follow her silence and effortlessly pick up the pace. 

About fifteen minutes later, she slows down and half-whispers, "Hey, looks like we get to test your hypothesis that this world's nicer. There's some monsters right up there."

Indeed there are some Bokoblins and one Moblin, wandering around in a small swampy clearing up ahead.

Rai immediately crouches into an ambush posture, silently draws his knives. He lies in wait to see what they do.

Link appears a bow, hands it to Rai, plus a couple of arrows, appears another bow. "These ones have only got clubs and things. Pelt them from afar and they might not even get to swing at us."

Rai nods and switches his knives for the bow. He tests the draw strength a bit.

"I'll sneak around, flank them, force them to split their attention. Maybe confuse them."

Unless she says otherwise, he'll carry out that plan.

Link sneaks to the right as he sneaks to the left.

When one of the Bokoblins spots her and starts to make an alarmed noise, she starts firing arrows.

...Bokoblins and Mobins don't bleed, apparently. They all run for Link.

Rai's a good shot, and with the monsters running towards link, they're easy targets. After a few shots, he'll let out a threatening growl, see if that gets their attention.  

They're all still focused on Link. Two of them have fallen flat and crumbled into black dust from the damage.

Link swaps her bow out for a long spear as the last remaining Bokoblin gets to her, using it to keep the thing at a distance.

Seeing them get near Link, he drops the bow and goes for a running charge. He's quite fast, making up the distance within seconds. If she hasn't dispatched the Bokoblin in that time frame, he'll go for a pounce into a grapple.

That's convenient, because it lets her dodge the lumbering Moblin's massive overhand swing with a club as big as she is. "See? Tough but slow. But don't get hit!"

Faced with two nimble opponents, though, the Moblin does not have much chance.

The poor Bokoblin is quickly dispatched via neck snap. He then gets up to flank the Moblin, with his knives back in hand.

The moblin goes down from flanking attacks, and crumbles to dust like the rest. "Monsters are stupid. Ganon made them smarter than animals, but not much smarter."

"I'm used to things that are quite a bit more cunning... Sometimes, at least. That said, I think we can provide some evidence towards the "Hyrule is nicer than Rai's world" hypothesis, as I'm used to things like that being far, far nastier. There would have been a lot more blood, ours and theirs, for one. 

"Nah, monsters are mostly dark magic by weight. It's just that there's kind of a lot of them. And some are much nastier than these red ones were."

"We have goblins back where I'm from. Like those Bokoblins, except crueler and more cunning, with a penchant for traps and poisons. They also tend to kidnap their victims and eat them alive. They also have guns, powerful long range weapons. If those things had them, we'd have been shot where we stood."

"Yeowch. Some of them have bows. And Guardians shoot explodey beams. But yeowch."

"Nasty creatures." Rai agrees. "Orcs are almost worse, they run around in mounted gangs, terrorizing small settlements, pillaging and plundering. They love raiding farmers and the like. They are somewhat similar to that Moblin over their but twice as big, and a nasty sadistic streak." 

"Maybe I'm gonna get soft with only Hyrulean monsters to deal with."

"You strike me as someone who would rise up to the challenge. I haven't seen much of this world yet, as far as I know, it requires skills that I've never had to develop."

Shrug. "Gather up the monster bits, we can make elixirs with 'em."

Rai gathers the monster bits, handing them off to Link. "What kind of elixir?"

"Depends on what else we can find. Or we can just sell them and I'll give you half."

"You can keep control of the funds for now. We'll decide what to do with the ingredients when that comes up."

"I'd rather settle this now so we don't hafta worry about it. No offense?"

"None taken. I propose that we use the ingredients to make elixirs when possible, and extras that we don't end up using get sold in order to ensure we have an emergency fund. Since it would just be for emergencies, it would be wise to split it up just in case we get separated. Any thoughts?"

"But then I have to keep track of what I had before you showed up and not and ugh. Can't I just give you like thirty rupees right now for them so I don't have to remember which half are yours?"

"That works for me. Like I said, I only need emergency funds anyway. I'd rather you have what you need. I'm good at doing things on a low budget."

"Well here's thirty rupees. Probably more than they're worth anyway but I don't wanna worry about splitting the loot later, so."

She hands over a small bunch of shiny hexagonal gems, coin-sized. "Red's twenty, blue's five, green is one."

"You can keep anything else you get, I don't need much else. I'm not terribly interested in hashing out how much we each deserve and would rather assume that you are more than capable to putting the money to better use than I would ever be. Is that fair?"

"Sure, fair enough. I'm just thinking about what would happen if you decide to split off, ya know."

"I'll be fine, like I said, I'm used to operating on a low budget. And while, I'm sure you're just as capable, you have a world to save. I'm just here to help."

"Glad that's cleared up then."

They cross a small bridge over a fairly strong river, and then they're on a road. Or at least a trail. The stable is visible just ahead.

"That's the stable, so where do we go next to find the Lady Impa you were talking about?"

"We keep heading north. There's a fork up ahead. I think."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Jogging, jogging...

"You do anything interesting when you're not busy not getting killed by horrible monsters?"

"I mostly spend time looking for the forces that power my world's magic while trying to keep them out of the hands of those who would use them to oppress. When I have free time, I spend it being a tourist." 

"My profession: Legendary Hero! Hahaha."

"I wonder if becoming a hero was something you chose while you still had your memories, or if it was just a part of who you are? I don't really know what makes a good hero, I'm honestly just trying my hardest to be the best I can."

"I was actually kinda making fun of you with that. And I dunno but being the hero is surprising but not, like, absurd. Can't really tell."

"Me? A legendary hero? That's not who I am at all. I think you have a much better claim on that title than I do. What with the rousing adventure you mentioned earlier."

"You got some magic and this 'Vys' person, you fight monsters, you're seeking The Important Magic Things... Seems like a hero to me."

"Being a hero implies some sort of inherent goodness. I do what I can to atone for past mistakes, I'm not a good person. I want to make up for things I've done in the past, it's mainly about me, and my guilt. Not for any pure motivation on my part. I just happen to try to hurt people who actually deserve it now."

"I'm just a monster that realized what they were."

"Something seems wrong about that. If you're trying to do good now, maybe you used to be a villain and now you're a hero."

"To be a hero is to be pure, noble, good; I'm not that. You haven't seen it, but there's a very ugly side to me. I hurt people, I hate them and I like it. That's not what a hero does."

"Well, I'm gonna argue with that."

They pass a guy on a horse heading the other way, who waves politely but doesn't talk to them.

They get to the stable.

Rai shrugs "That's up to you. I don't see myself as a hero, it doesn't bother me."

He is still a bad liar.

"The way I see it being a hero is about what comes next. I don't expect you to agree yet. Wanna stop for a proper breakfast?"

"I haven't had a proper breakfast in quite some time. Sure."

Link wanders over toward a campfire with a cookpot. There are a few others nearby. "Hi everyone! Mind if we pitch in some roasted apples and mushrooms and have some of your yummy looking bread  and soup?"

"Not at all, as long as you're feeding the pot! I'm Kinta, that's Gleema, and over there's Monar." They all three have tall pointy ears like Link's.

Link pulls the food items out of thin air with more blue flashes. The Hylians look a little curious but not alarmed.

"Neat trick, can you teach it?" comments Monar.

"Sorry, nope!"

"Bummer. Oh well."

Rai watches with interest.

"I'm Rai." he says awkwardly. As he has nothing to contribute, he will stay silent.

Kinta continues, "Gleema and I are heading home to Hateno Town. I think Monar is just wandering around Hyrule."

"You got that right."

"We're visiting Kakariko Village I think maybe an old friend's up there," Link explains.

If Rai has nothing to say the three travelers discuss the weather and the local wildlife and what a nice place Hyrule Fields and the Dueling Peaks would be if it weren't for the Guardians and monsters, so pretty.

"Do monsters cause you much trouble?"

"It's mostly alright during summer, knights and so on try to keep the main roads clear. And in this region, they're mostly harmless if you're prepared and armed. Not so much everywhere else."

"I'm glad to hear that you're safe. All this suffering in this beautiful place by these monsters is not right. This place doesn't deserve that kind of pain."

"Well, that's the Calamity for you. Are you from the far south or something?"

"Long story," Link evades for him.

Rai nods and looks to Link in silent thanks.

"No matter where I go, I can't escape the suffering of those who have done nothing to deserve it." He mutters, more to himself than to anyone else.

Gleema speaks up, "There's good things in the world too, young man. Plenty of kind, interesting people, beautiful sights to see, things to make and magic to do."

"That only makes it worse. If this were a blasted wasteland--" he stumbles over his words, "it would be different. To see such beauty tarnished by evil for no good reason is awful."

The Hylians all disagree with this.

The one with dark skin thinks he should visit his village some time and try the beauty there.

Link opines, "We'll just have to ignore the monsters and carry on with the beauty and whatnot out of spite."

Rai looks at Link in amazement. He tries, and fails, to form words.

Gathering his wits. "I've never thought of it like that before. Happiness to spite evil. That's amazing."

"It's better than being miserable if you can do it, right?"

"It's not what I'm used to. I honestly don't know if I can will myself to be happy. I've never tried it before."

One of the travelers says, "I don't think most people can do things like that..."

Link shrugs. "Attitude is a powerful thing. But it's hard for some people and that's okay."

He frowns. "I don't know if I can. It sounds nice, but... It's complicated. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be a downer. I'm glad to see that you have all found some happiness."

"I hope you can figure it out. And good luck getting to Kakariko Village you two - if you hurry it's probably doable by tonight!"

Rai turns to Link. "We can try at the very least."

"I think we can make it." The apples are nice and roasted. She takes one of the sticks they're on and hands one to Rai. "Roasted apples are great especially if you can get a little caramel for them..."

"Thank you." He accepts the proffered apple.

It's subtle, but for just a moment, a shadow seems to pass over his face as he holds it.

He tries a bite, and the shadow disappears. He gives a very slight smile.

"It is good."

And Proper Hylian Breakfast proceeds with casual conversation. The dark-skinned guy leaves first, and the other two are cleaning up when Link suggests they start jogging north again.

"Let's go."

He does a quick stretch and is ready to go.

After they are underway, he will silently jog with a pensive look on his face.

Link can do pensive (quietly happy) travel too. She stops to gather things from near the roadside occasionally.

While they jog, Rai speaks up suddenly. "I knew someone a lot like you once. They were the hero I always wanted to be. Even though they had gone through so much pain, they chose to keep fighting for happiness. They never gave up. I've never understood it. I wish I did."

"Some people are just... Sad. It stinks. Life's hard. I'm just glad I'm this way. I sure hope I can stop Ganon though!"

"I'm glad that you're happy, you deserve it. Something tells me that you'll be able to stop Ganon. You're a hero."

"Glad you believe in me."

"You never give up, and while I know that doesn't mean you'll succeed. I want you to succeed. Maybe it's this world, I want to believe that a world like this rewards people like you. Unlike my world, where too many heroes die so young."

"I mean, I kind of did die. Sort of. And all my heroic friends did too." Sigh.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bring that back up. I didn't think about whether or not you'd lost anyone."

"Mm. Ganon's gonna pay."

"I certainly hope so. People who hurt others for no reason deserve nothing but misery." Rai clenches his fists and grits his teeth.

"The Princess might be alive still. Somehow. Divine magic is weird. I heard her voice in my head... I don't think I'm the type, but that does sound like, uh, a stress hallucination."

"Your memories will probably be able to tell you if she was able to survive. As for stress hallucinations? I don't know, I've had them before, but it's impossible for me to know whether or not you felt something real."

"Wait and see, wait and see. I don't even remember who Impa is, but... Best lead I've got."

"I'm not usually very patient. But if that's the best we got, then there's not much we can do."

"I've only been awake for three days you know. Haven't had time to get impatient yet."

"I keep forgetting. I know I wouldn't be happy to be missing most of my memories, even if I only had three days of wakefulness."

"I've got bits and pieces... I have a sense of self despite lacking probably quite a lot of context. So, yeah."

The road splits and they go over a bridge and they meet and dispatch another small band of monsters on this path into a canyony area. They're really not very formidable at all.

"The lack of blood is very convenient." Rai says after they dispatch the monsters. "I'm used to having to smell like blood and death."

"Maybe being made mostly of magic lets Ganon make more of them more easily?"

"Perhaps. Whatever the reason, I'm glad for it. Though, now that I think of it, there were creatures that were just like you said. Mostly magic, they didn't bleed either."

"Huh. Your world sounds kind of messier in a lot of ways actually."

"I can't deny that. Magic runs wild, monsters roam free. The little civilization that remains are mostly small towns trying to not succumb to monsters and/or wild magic. There are a few larger factions, but they want to control people, not help them. It's a mess, and I have no idea what I can do about it."

"...The world is difficult. I kind of want to suggest training people to defend themselves? Except they're already doing that, and maybe some of them end up fighting each other if you train more people. I don't really know enough about it."

"There are already people trying to use militia groups to seize power. It's ugly. I'm trying to figure out a way to fix it, but I have few allies and resources. So for now I just try to put down fires as I find them. Unfortunately, my world is a blazing inferno, so I'm pretty busy."

"Maybe you need a magic royal crown like we have. Or a goddess. If there's an authority that most everyone recognizes... Maybe they can do some mean things, but at least people aren't killing each other all ther time?"

"Unfortunately, we already have someone who wants to become a god. They also don't care how many people have to die in order to do it, and I'm not sure they will actually fix anything. I'm trying to get to the seven magical forces that they want to use before they can try."

"So maybe we are really lucky for having Hylia. I don't have any more suggestions right now... I'm not sure if you can even get home anyway."

"I'll find a way home somehow. For all I know, Vys can get me home but hasn't yet."

"That's the spirit!"

"There's no point in worrying."

"Yep. Just keep moving forward. And plan your next move intelligently and with kindness but, eh, that corrupts the simplicity of the motivational phrase a bit."

"In my experience, life is rarely simple. I'd rather have the complex truth than a simple lie. In any case I appreciate the encouragement."

"Uh huh. I think we're only like two hours out from the village now."

"We're making good pace then."

"Well to be fair it's like lunchtime. Time flies when you're traveling on your own two feet."

"That's fair. "

Rai chuckles softly.

"When do you want to stop for lunch?"

"May as well be now."

"Sounds like a plan."

Lunch is various raw fruits plus a small wooden container of cold rice in Link's pack.

"How are we doing for food? I don't want to take too many of your supplies. I can probably hunt something if I need to."

"We're fine on food. Easier to sell the monster bits and buy rice or whatever. And I find berries, apples, mushrooms and things along the road sometimes."

"Alright then." The logistics settled, Rai will settle down for the meal.

Food is yummy. Link eats quietly.

Quiet eating is fine with Rai.

And then quiet jogging again. Uphill into a craggy cliffy area.

Up into the cliffs... "Do you know if there's anything we need to be worried about in this area?"

"Nope. But it's supposed to be a relatively well-traveled route, it's probably safeish."

"That doesn't comfort me much, in my world, well-traveled doesn't guarantee safety. Most traveling is done in convoys. I used to work as an escort for a caravan."

"We've seen a bunch of lone and pair travelers already. Including that old guy. I hardly think that'd be common if death lurks around every corner. I guess we'll see."

"Fair, we've already discussed how different your world is. I just keep forgetting how different."

"Paranoia could be useful too."

"It's kept me alive this far. I'm used to my paranoia not being good enough... It's definitely something I've learned. I've lost people because I wasn't prepared enough for danger."

"Yeah let's not have a repeat then."

"It won't."

Link rambles about the kinds of monsters and plants and animals she knows as they finish the jog to Kakariko Village.

The houses are in a strange style, and ropes full of wooden slats that clatter together are strung up everywhere. "Huh. I think I like it."

"I've never seen anything like this. I wonder what the slats are for."

"They say the sound frightens ghosts and spirits," pipes up a surprisingly stealthy grandma-type. "I think folks just like the sound t'be perfectly honest."

Rai jumps back a bit in surprise, suddenly very tense, acting very much like a startled animal. His eyes narrow and he bares his teeth instinctively before reigning himself in.

"You surprised me, I don't like that." 

"It's not my fault you're jumpy, young'n. I'm just an old lady minding my own business."

Link looks nervously between the two. "Hey, it's okay. We're all friends here."

Rai snorts derisively. "Coming out of nowhere doesn't seem like minding your own business to me." he mumbles under his breath.

After Link interjects, he shrinks a bit. His shoulders slump, looking at Link sheepishly.

"Sorry Link, you're right." he says genuinely.

However, his knuckles are clenched.

"Uh. Let's move on. Have a nice day, ma'am?"

Link guides him away into the village.

He follows silently. Chewing his lip as he walks. It only takes about of minute for him to calm down, his hands relaxing.

They pass some other villagers working in gardens and such. All are wearing similar, and unusual compared to what Rai has seen, clothes. "I think the wooden clatterboards sound a bit too much like footsteps... You hear someone walking and you register it as those boards. That's how we didn't notice that lady."

Rai nods. "There's more to it than that. I think I'm letting my guard down. That would have never worked back home, which was part of the reason I got upset there. I realized that if she had been someone who wanted to hurt us, I may have been too late to do anything."

"...That doesn't seem healthy. And yet it seems like the only thing that keeps your blood where it belongs. Hard choice."

"I've never had to question my paranoia before, I needed it to survive. This place taught be another way, but I don't know what to do about it."

He lets out a long, sad sigh.

"She could have been hurt too. My instincts work faster than my mind sometimes." he says, voice laden with guilt.

"Something else I can only offer 'do your best!'" - said in a ridiculously cheery voice that drops right after "-as advice for. Ooh, a clothes store! Think you might want an outfit that's better for blending in?"

Rai is caught off guard by her cheeriness and the topic shift. "Uh, sure. It'll help me not stick out as much."

"Well, let's see how expensive it is. I might have to lend you some money."

They go in. There's a saleslady at the counter who goes on about the various fancy clothes they have in a cherry voice. "...And our best line are these special garments made in Sheikah style. They're made with old technology and designed to make almost no noise when moving. You'll find nothing better to sneak up on monsters than these!"

The sneaky clothes are very expensive, though... And even a more standard set isn't cheap.

"I'll figure out a way to pay you back. Let's start with the standard set for now." 

"I'll grab one of those for myself too, matter of fact. Ma'am, will you buy up the monster parts and gemstones and things I have from my adventures?"

"Oh, my! Well, certainly. I can always sell them to some other merchant..."

They start haggling as Link pulls things from her pack. Does Rai have anything to contribute?

Rai will give anything that he's found while traveling and some of the money that Link gave earlier.

"I have some stuff from back home. I know my knives are expertly made from good materials. I've also got a little bit of gold, if that's valuable here."

The merchant doesn't know how to fairly valuate the knives, he should take those to a weapon expert if he can find one. Gold is pretty valuable! It's not actually in common use around here, but it's reasonably valuable.

They come away with two sets of more local clothes. They're reasonably comfy, warm, and look tougher than a simple thin piece of fabric, too. "Changing rooms back here if you want them!" The shopkeeper calls.

Link takes advantage and shows off a bit, twirling. There's even a small decorated cape attached. "These are much better than what I had before. Lovely."

"Looks good." Rai is far more matter-a-fact about it. After changing, he stretches a bit, testing a few poses. Apparently satisfied, he turns towards Link. "Any pressing matters before we move on?"

"Not really. I kind of want the special sneaking clothes, but wow that's expensive. Maybe in a couple of months."

She goes outside again and keeps going down the village road. "I think Impa's house is that big one."

"So do I, but I don't even know if I'll be here long enough to purchase a set."

He shrugs.

"I can't wait to meet her."

The guards at the big house initially want to bar them entry, but marvel at Link's device, the Sheikah Slate.

Eventually they are led in by a very nervous young woman. Impa is old. Very, very old.

"Ah, so good to finally see you again, Link."

Link looks at Impa hesitantly, slightly scared. "Uh. Hello."

"Do you not remember me?"

"...No, not really. I lost my memory."

Impa sighs. "Truly? All of it? ...I see."

"Can you help her?"

"Not all of it. I have bits and pieces. And... I heard the story of what happened a hundred years ago. It sounds familiar. I know I will do everything I can to help seal away Ganon."

Impa smiles. "Once a hero, always a hero. Perhaps I can help you recover more. It was a hundred years ago... You say you know what happened then. It was Princess Zelda's final request that you be placed in healing slumber."

And Impa speaks of the cycle of Ganon's return and banishment - always by a warrior with the soul of a hero and a princess with the bloodline of a goddess. The story of the army of mechanical Guardians and the might Divine Beasts created by the ancient Sheikah nation ten thousand years ago, how they were uncovered and studied a hundred years ago, how Ganon turned to his own evil ends and caused the Great Calamity.

Link sits down in shock after the first minute of the story.