Still in Kakariko Village, Lasli, the woman who advertises for the armor shop, spends her nights at home because it’s not safe out anymore. She particularly enjoyed catching fireflies, so Link releases a few of the ones he’s caught in her house, which lifts her spirits a little and she gives Link a purple rupee. (And, just like the apples and Korok bowls, Link can round up the fireflies before he leaves, with no reaction.)
One of Paya’s duties is caring for a large ball that’s been a Sheikah heirloom for some time. There’s a bit of text associated with it: “The hero, as chosen by the Sheikah heirloom, will be gifted the blessing of antiquity.” Paya, thinking Link is said hero, has been researching what it could mean, and decided it’s the key to opening a shrine. And before she could tell Link this, someone stole it. Paya’s shaken by this turn of events, and Impa asks Link to stay with her. Once Paya’s feeling better, Link begins investigating who in the village could have stolen the heirloom. Dorian, the guard on Impa’s house with the daughters, tells Link he’s seen suspicious movement from Lasli and Mellie (the woman with the plum garden). Link follows Lasli at night to a graveyard where someone she loved is buried; she’s annoyed he thought she could be the thief. (I didn’t follow Mellie, so I don’t know what she’s up to.)
Those aren’t the only people who behave suspiciously at night, however. Dorian himself sneaks off into the mountains, talking about how he has to do something. Link follows, and at the entrance to the shrine, witnesses a confrontation between Dorian and a Yiga Clan member, the one who stole the heirloom. Dorian himself is ex-Yiga, and apparently told the Yiga about the heirloom. The Yiga plans to kill off Dorian, but first intends to deal with Link, prompting a small boss fight. This is tougher than the Yiga Travelers Link encounters, and sadly, his cool-looking sword disappeared in the cutscene after Link defeats him. Dorian confesses the truth to Link, that he tried to leave the Yiga when he married a Sheikah woman, and they killed her for it and forced him to pass information to them. The Yiga didn’t get far with the heirloom, so Dorian gives it to Link; Link puts it in the pedestal, causing the shrine to emerge from the ground. As a final request, Dorian asks Link to keep his involvement a secret, promising to do better from now on.
The shrine – Lakna Rokee/Lakna Rokee’s Blessing – is different from the other ones Link has completed. The monk greets Link, “By entering this place, you’ve already proven your worth.” There’s nothing to it, just a chest with a Sheikah greatsword and the monk’s cubicle; the monk’s parting message is also a bit different: “You have done well to arrive at this shrine. A hero rises to right the wrongs of Hyrule.” Spirit Orb, monk dissolves, done.
While I was following Lasli, I’d seen a shrine off in the distance, and I decided to tackle it before I headed back to Hateno. The shrine’s in the next region up (Lanayru), on one of a group of islands named for people and places primarily from Phantom Hourglass (Linebeck, Zauz, Molida, Bannan), plus Goponga Swamp from Link’s Awakening. Both of which took place in completely different worlds. The monk’s name is Daka Tuss, and the trial is Sunken Scoop. There’s a pool of water with several balls floating on the surface, and a bowl that can be controlled via Magnesis on the bottom of the pool. The third element of the puzzle is a walled-off area with a basin for one of the balls, so Link needs to scoop a ball with the bowl and dump it in the walled area. Then there’s another version with another complication: a trap door on the walled area controlled by a floor switch in the pool that can only be pressed by the bowl. Set the ball on the trap door, press the switch, clear.
There was one other shrine I could make out from Daka Tuss Shrine, and that was Sheh Rata to the north. This shrine, like the Hateno Tower, is surrounded by brambles, so Link has to burn them away to go in. The puzzle inside (“Speed of Light”) has a wheel that, when spun, causes a mounted laser to sweep around the room, eventually hitting a crystal switch that raises/lowers the water level in the shrine. The second room has a floor switch that can only be pressed when the water’s low. I’ve seen several different solutions for it; what I did was probably the hardest way – spin the wheel, raise the water, spin the wheel, quickly swim across before the laser hits the crystal switch and the water goes back down.
Next: The Great Calamity may come, Hyrule may fall into ruin, but polka, apparently, will never die.
