She's Just Not That Into You or Your Bugs

Now that I’ve washed the taste of that motion-controlled marble maze out of my mouth, It’s time to explore the rest of the town. I see a small farm and house hidden in the north, behind the armor shop - missed it on my first pass. As I approach, I see a small woman, Tamana, standing among some Cuccos and sweeping. I speak to her and she immediately accuses me of trespassing. And then apologies, offers me a free Bird Egg, and asks me to leave. ...okay. Bye.

I move on, this time to the dye shop. I figure I might as well try it out at least once while I’m here, right? I walk in, past Senna, and take a look at the inside of the place. The most unique feature of the shop is probably the two large tubs along the western wall. Above both is wooden platform, with a set of stairs along the left edge leading up. All over the shop I see posters, similar to the one in the general store showing a recipe, except these seem to be color coded rather then for a particular food item.

...this place definitely isn't a cover for a meth lab, right?

I go ahead and speak with the shop owner, Sayge. After a terrible dye pun, he explains the basics of the shop to me. They’ve been around for ages, but after the Calamity (I assume) gathering ingredients became too dangerous, so the shop no longer produces its own dyes. Instead, they have their customer bring in their own ingredients for dyeing. The process is fully reversible, and it only costs 20 rupees. Doesn’t seem unreasonable. Let’s give it a shot!

I switch to the Hylian set except for the head, which I swap for the Climbing Bandana. I speak with Sayge, who brings up a menu of 15 different colors to choose from - significantly more then there are posters in here - but it also shows me a nice preview image of what my clothes will look like. I scroll through the options and end up settling on a light blue. Kind of a cool feature, letting people customize their stuff like this. Can’t recall previous Zelda’s coming anywhere near this level of customization.

I’m then instructed to select five items from my inventory of the color I have selected. I pick the thing I have the most of - Blue Nightshade - most of which I gathered near Cotera’s fountain. I remember there being a lot of this all around Kakariko, so even if I was running low, gathering more won’t be an issue. Link holds them all in his arms the same way he does when cooking. He’s so awkward and adorable.

Mood.

After confirming my selection, it’s cutscene time! I see link on top of the wooden platform, holding the bundle of Blue Nightshade. And then...the floor gives out, and Link is dropped directly into the tub below. That seems...excessive. But it works! I witness Link standing in is new all-blue duds. Not bad, if I say so myself.

I exit the dye shop in my new duds and head across the first bridge in the center of town. On the way I pass a few buildings, though they are all empty. A couple of homes, a windmill, and what looks like some sort of outdoor kitchen area. I almost take a few utensils to use as weapons, before I notice a woman standing on a dock next to the dye shop. Her name is Clavia, and she has a quest for me.

She points out three trees on a snowy mountain overlooking Hateno. She found a letter in an old book with a riddle: “When the three summit trees become one, turn your back to them and head toward the sea. A trail encased in stone awaits you there.” She knows that whatever the riddle is talking about is east of those trees, near Afromsia Coast. She can’t go there herself - she has a child (choices, honey) - but she knows I can. She says we can split the treasure. Now, I dunno about that, a trial means a shrine, and I don’t think you can divvy up Spirit Orbs. As we finish speaking, I can see that I have a new Shrine Quest!

 Secret of the Cedars

Leaving Clavia, up ahead I can see the Inn, but first to the left of that is a path leading up to a large house on a hill. It’s not immediately obvious what the building is, but it seems larger than the others. There’s even a shed. The home also houses the village’s Goddess Statue in a small alcove outside. Actually, I think I remember Teebo mentioning that the chief of the village had a Goddess Statue outside of his home. I'm still one orb short of an upgrade, so I can't do anything with it for now.The inside is empty, save for another journal. The “Girl’s Journal,” as it is labelled, gives me another recipe! This one is for Pumpkin Stew. You start with a Fortified Pumpkin, then add Tabintha Wheat, Fresh Milk, and Goat Butter.

...Jesus?

Exploring more outside of the house, I notice a figure in a nearby field that overlooks the rest of the village and valley below. His name is Reede, and he is the head of the village, the chief previously mentioned. He looks rather young to be the head of a village, but Link’s techncially over 100 years old so who can really say. He talks about how the village has managed to recover and survive after the Calamity, and let’s me know I am welcome in the village for as long as I would like.

Considering I own a home here now (again), I don’t think I count as a visitor anymore.

I leave Reede in the field and head back down the stairs, turning the corner towards the Inn. I see a man standing outside, next to a stable containing a donkey. Manny is posted here outside of the Inn every day, saying it’s his job to check out anyone suspicious in the village.

Or at least that’s what he implies. In actuality it seems like he’s kind of a creeper, instead standing out here and checking out any women who may walk by. In particular, it seems he has a really strong crush on Prima, who runs the inn. Like, really strong, strong enough to trigger another side quest!

Is this the Hylian version of an Incel?

 A Gift for My Beloved

Manny would like to know what kind of present Prima might enjoy. Not for himself, but for “his buddy’s friend.” Right. Well...why don’t we find out? I leave Manny at his post and head up into the inn.

It’s a nice little inn. Seems to have more amenities than the one in Kakariko had at least. There’s a fully stocked kitchen (I mean, as stocked as a kitchen I can’t actually interact with can be), and even a decked patio area. Sitting outside I speak with a gentleman named Worten, who tells me about various places he’s traveled to. Or tried to travel to, at least, seems like he hasn’t been able to actually get in to any of the places he’s visited. A place that was burning hot, a place he was unwelcome, a place that was too dangerous to get to and one that was too far away. I’m guessing I will be visiting these places one by one. Hopefully I get further then he did.

...We all have big ass ears, you have to know I can hear you.

Back inside, I see Prima standing at the counter. When I speak to her, though, I can only talk about staying at the inn - there’s no option to talk to her about anything else. The hell? After a few attempts to make her say anything different, I went back outside to Manny, thinking I skipped a step in the quest or something. But nope, he has nothing new to say, and the info for the quest hasn’t updated either. I go back inside, this time searching through the inn’s room. Maybe there’s a diary I need to read? But still, nothing.

I walk back down to Prima, frustrated as all hell. And this time, she talks to me!

...Oh. I had to stand behind the counter for her to talk to me about non-work stuff. That’s...very specific. But at least she’s talking to me now. I ask her about what she likes, and after she begins to talk to herself, (does she not know I can hear her? I’m literally right next to her) she decides (lies) to tell me she likes crickets. She just dreams of having a collection of 100 Restless Crickets, Right.

I'm older then you.

I return to Manny with this information. I don’t really care if she’s faking it, this dude’s kind of a creeper so I’m not exactly rushing to get him with the object of his affections. He does at least confess to me that it is in fact him, and not his friend, who wants to woo Prima. And to do so he’s going collect a hundred crickets. Or, as seems much more typical for his “type,” he’s going to ask me to collect them.

He’s only asking me for 10, planning to collecting the remaining 90 himself. It’s not as though the game gives me the option to decline, but I agree. I have a few crickets on me already, 6, so I’ll only need to collect a few more. I should be able to find them around here, having found a few in the grassy plains around the village already. I’ll keep my eyes peeled for now.

---

Heart Containers: 5
Shrines Completed: 11
Koroks Found: 34
Clothes: Dyed
Village Leader: Messianic looking
Prima: Harassed (I'm so so sorry)