...That looks like Nick, over there. Except dressed differently again, and... Much paler than the other two Nicks. There's a strange facet to the way he's standing.

"Oh, you already know Milliways, grand. Any chance you lot want to rent a magic crystal ball?"

"We do know Milliways and an alternate version of you from another universe. What's your crystal ball do?"

"Alternate version of me. I hope he's made out well, can't very well copy my circumstances. It gives the user a metaphorical vision - a hallucination - almost like a dream, to truthfully answer a question they ask it. There's a short ritual to do. It works better on things like 'where is my hated enemy, That Guy' or 'how do I use the lost compass of Gale Saxon' than 'what is the meaning of life'."

"Think I could find the Master Sword with it?"

"Quite probably, though I can make no guarantees. The door needs to be open to your world while it goes, to answer questions about your world."

"I can imagine I might want that if it didn't cost much. What currencies are you familiar with and how much do you charge for how long with the ball?"

"This is a powerful magical artifact, you know. I'm quite lowballing it at sixty dollars per question. Bar, what's that to them?"

177 Rupees.

"There you go. Or if you want to rent it for an hour and ask it lots of questions, you could probably fit at least ten in if you're quick, flat six hundred rupees will do. I do regret that I can't give you a free sample question to prove it works."

"I can get a similar service for a thirtieth the price back home with more proof it works than your say-so. You feel like matching that?"

"Nope! If your service is really that good and cheap you'd be using it. Also, it's not easily accessible from Milliways, is it? Though, perhaps I could allow you to pay after asking your first question - I'll still want my pay unless you are very unsatisfied with the result, that is."

"My door opens in the middle of a city. It'd be mildly inconvenient but leaning out and shouting would get me someone with the right kind of magic in a couple minutes. But you're right, you're here, you're convenient, if I only have to pay once I know your ball works I can offer you a little extra. Say, twenty rupees?"

"If that's twenty rupees on top of the fee I already stated, you have yourself a deal."

"You have anything urgent to ask, Val? I wanna find that sword. I'll pay. If it works."

"Nah, if I had anything I really needed to know I'd just ask at home or ask Bar. I don't think this guy's price is any less of a hassle than managing bringing in a knowledge mage."

"Well, I do need to know, but maybe one of Purah's lost books will have it. I know it's in the sacred forest, just not where that is. Probably one of the books will say, now that I think about it."

"Well, if you don't want my services at the price quoted, oh well. There will be people who do sooner or later. Bar, another cup."

What looks and smells like blood appears.

"Your loss. ...Two rupees if you tell me what species you are?"

"Deal. I'm a vampire. It's more of a curse than a speciation, technically. I've learned to live with it."

He pays.

"Hey, Bar, do you have books on vampires? And any books from Link's world from before the civilization known as the Sheikah, if there were any other book-writing civilizations before them?"

Quite a few of both. Are you looking for anything more specific?

From within a pile of texts, Purah shouts, "I've got ancient Sheikah books covered, Link's friend!"

"How old is the oldest book from Link's world? In their local time, not Milliways time."

That does depend on how strictly one defines a 'book'. The oldest written work I can provide you, however, is approximately 56,000 years old.

"Wow. From what you can tell, were any past societies more advanced than the Sheikah? Would we be better off looking at books from twenty or thirty thousand years ago instead?"

I have not actually read all these books. I simply have them available to me. I'm afraid you will have to read a representative selection for yourself.

He gets the shortest nonfiction books from twenty, thirty and forty thousand years ago in Link's world and six hundred years ago in his.

"Hey, Purah, what's your strategy? I'm probably not overlapping with you but we can jointly learn more if we coordinate."