Before heading off in search of Ilia, there’s stuff to do in and around Kakariko Village. With the Gorons playing nice again, Barnes is able to open his bomb shop again. He sells Link a starter set of a bomb bag and 30 bombs for 120 rupees – 10 bombs are 30 rupees, so it’s not a bad deal. There are apparently eventually going to be multiple types of bombs, as evidenced by him lamenting the destruction of his storage house and the empty spots on the store wall. Also, bomb arrows are an advertised feature of this game! Out in the village, Link can blow up a couple rocks to get heart pieces; one is sitting out in the open once the rock is gone and the other is in a chest in a pool in a cave.
Some Gorons are hanging out in town and, now that they’re friendly, offering to springboard Link to higher places without having to be beaten into submission first. (One of the Gorons mentions the town “meeting with a terrible fate” – I wonder if that’s a coincidence or an intentional nod to Majora’s Mask.) Way up above the town, Talo’s keeping watch over the town, and asks Link to show him how to use a bow. Link agrees and joins Malo down by Eldin’s spring for some target practice. Malo’s not sure Link knows how to use a bow, but sets up a couple targets for him to shoot. Then Talo challenges Link to hit a pole near his watchpost, and Link obliges. Talo’s thrilled, and Malo gives link a heart piece.
There are two more heart pieces Link can get before setting out to find Lanayru and/or Ilia. The first is up on Death Mountain, much easier to explore now that the Gorons are friendly and the rock showers have abated. The second is in a cave system across the bridge over Kakariko Gorge. This area is fairly vast and has a number of other interesting things, including a Yellow ChuChu, whose jelly can be used as lantern oil. The postman has three letters for Link: One from Ooccoo talking about how much fun their shared adventures are; one from Barnes explaining Bomb Arrows; and one from Malo advertising a special item. That item is the Hawkeye, a mask that works as a telescope and can be combined with the bow for sniping.
With the bombs, Link can open a passageway between the Kakariko Gorge area and the Bridge of Eldin area. This time he’s not chasing around a Bulblin on a boar, so he’s a bit freer to explore. There are two golden grasshoppers running around the field and a bomb/jumping puzzle near the path to Kakariko Village that leads to a heart piece. On either side of the bridge itself, Link catches a phasmid, bringing the bug total up to 10. As Link blows the boulders leading to the next section of Hyrule Field, a portal opens up over the bridge, steals a chunk out of it, and drops a set of shadow beings down. This is the first time Link’s had to fight them in human form, meaning he doesn’t have Midna helping coordinate simultaneous attacks, but spin attacks have been part of the toolkit for so long it’s easy to know what to do.
At the end of the path is a curtain of twilight, and Midna notes that the quest is nearing the end. She pulls Link through to the other side (Link has to leave Epona behind), and he becomes the wolf one more time. The transformation’s becoming easier; this one seems almost instantaneous. After a short run, Link finds Ilia’s purse and gets her scent from it. Link flashes back to the scene with Ilia at Ordon’s spring, and Midna teases him about his reaction. As they come to an open part of the field, Hyrule Castle stands in full view before them, and Midna says they’re back where they started and things are about to get harder.
Ilia’s path leads Link on a long run through two sections of field and finally into Hyrule Castle Town. Then it leads to a medical clinic, and then Telma’s Bar, where Link finds her with an older woman looking over an injured or sick Zora. The woman says she’s sent for a doctor, and wonders if what happened to the Zora is related to something soldiers are discussing elsewhere in the bar. Meanwhile, Midna’s only concern is teasing Link about being so close to reuniting with Ilia, only she can’t see him and even if she could… well, Wolf Link hasn’t exactly gotten the warmest reception from people.
Meanwhile, the soldiers the woman mentioned are discussing a problem with the spirit in Lake Hylia, and he points to the map for the location. So Link has his next destination.
Next: Frozen fish.
