Live Your Own Story in Hyrule

Translation available: Wolf

Revali stowed his readied arrow and huffed, "Might as well remove the gem. It wasn't doing him any favors, anyway. Besides, I think the least that can be done is to remove that thing so he's no longer desecrated." He really didn't like that thing on the guy's hand. It upset him to think about. Whatever happened to this warrior, he didn't deserve that and in some ways, he hoped nothing similar would happen to himself or his other, much less to the group. If what Mipha experienced was only a small part, then this guy must have been absolutely tortured.

Red agreed. "It might not leave his hand the best, but just look at the rest of him. Guy has already had it pretty bad..." He shook his head. "And we all saw what it did to Mipha. Besides, seems she wants to see it destroyed too and I don't blame her. I'll just...look the other way when it's removed," he rubbed the back of his neck. Macabre as the idea was of removing the gem, watching it separate from flesh wasn't exactly appealing either.

Mipha reached out and placed her hand atop Wolf Link's head, receptive to his thanks and returning it in kind. "I'll be alright. That is why we are all together, isn't it?" She smiles at him. "And besides, had I not done what I did, we might never have known the extent of what it could do or even have a reason to remove it." Yep, she agrees it ought to be removed.

"So, yes, please remove it. The suffering it imparted on the Sheikah should not stay as a tragic reminder of his fate."

Irina's eyes look left and right around at the group before answering to Link. "Yes. Agreed. But... with your mouth?"

"I can take it out." _Gatu said, equipping his Moblin Spear in both hands. The length of the polearm and razor-sharp spearhead would work in his favor, and he didn't want Mipha anywhere near the gem again after it rattled her._

"You guys cool with that?" _Gatu asked the others, looking for any objections._ "Because if so, everyone should back up a bit just in case, so it doesn't make any contact with any of us. Won't be a flawless or perfect removal of it out of the back of their hand, but it'll do the job to pop it out."

Wolf Link had figured out how to extend the claws on his paws. He glances at them, then listens to Gatu’s offer and obliges, retracting the claws. He whines, not for any particular reason, and walks a few steps away from the body to let the man of many skills do the dirty work.

Translation available: Wolf

Mipha nodded. "Removing it is fine. We've already surmised that the gem responds to magic, so please, feel free to remove it without consequence." She briefly looks to Wolf Link as he speaks, then she looks back to Gatu. "He says we should safeguard this gem until we can have it taken in for further investigation. Since you already in the process of removing it, would you mind holding onto it, as well?"

"Sure, I can do that. Since it might react if I stow it away in my Inventory, I'll carry it on person instead in one of my belt pouches."
_Readying his spear and focusing, Gatu carefully aims the spear downwards at a diagonal angle and pushes the tip of the Moblin Spear into the back hand of the dead Shiekah against the gem; leaking out some dead diluted blood ichor stuff._

_It take a few minutes, but with some careful twisting and nudging it upwards gradually, he gets it to push up and pop out, clattering onto the cold stone floor. Gatu takes the spear out, flicking the dead sheikah's blood off of it and then sheathes it onto his back with his Hylian Shield and Traveler's Bow. For extra measure and to avoid skin contact with it, he tears off a bit of fabric from the battle shirt part of his tunic and picks the cursed jewel up with it, opening an empty belt pouch and putting it inside for safe keeping before closing it, securing it shut with the pouch's string knot._

"One cursed gem... secured." _Gatu says to himself quietly and to the others as he loosens his shoulders from how tense they were, reaching up and wiping the beads of sweat off his forehead with the back of his left hand._

"Are we sure we should be letting you carry that thing? The way you mention reactions leaves me concerned you're going to explode. Last I checked, I'm the explosion expert and I don't need anyone coming for my carefully curated work. My explosions got us here, after all. I don't want yours sending us away." Revali joked with Gatu.

"Anyway, I'm sure it'll be fine." He proceeds to walk off and down the corridor to head to the next area.

"Is it going to be fine?" Red gulped. "Y-yeah, it should be fine. We should be fine. Nothing to worry about. I think..." Now all he can think about is somebody just going off like a bombchu. When will that happen, if ever!? No, no, they've got enough numbers. They've managed up to this point.

Irina watches as the jewel is removed, unsure of whether it might have any unwanted effects. Seeing that the extraction was uneventful, she relaxes and starts thinking about the next steps, waiting for Link and the princess to lead the way.

"Tell you what, I'll think of a surprise and it'll be on the house." Fallon replies to Saria, jotting down 'surprise' and circling it. "Okay, that ought to take care of things and--" her head lowers to see her little one at the table. "Play? That is what you are offering after they have just arrived?" She smiles, giving way to the table so they can all take off. "Of course, they wouldn't say no to that offer."

She chuckles and clears the milk and water cups while she determines what would be good for them to eat. "Make sure you stay close by!!" She called out to them, ensuring her voice could be heard through and beyond the door.

"Okay, now what to feed to them... Perhaps some cuccoo tenders. I think that'll be good. Side of greenery and that ought to cover it."

That in mind, she quickly heads to the kitchen to drop off the glasses and put the order in. She then hustles towards the exit so she could watch them and wait for the order to finish.

"Okay Mommy!" Naomi says as she follows the other two, her brain immediately filing the instruction under 'Things that have been responded to and thus require no further thought'.

Out in the field, Naomi spreads her arms to the others. "So what should we play? How abouuuuuuuut" (points at Aio) "you're the heroic knight," (points at Saria) "you're the pretty princess," (points at self) "and I'M the ferocious dragon?" >:) Naomi raises her hands high like claws and stomps dramatically toward Saria. "IIIIII'M GOING TO EEEEAAAT YOOOOUUUUU!" >:O

Aio stares at Naomi blankly. He clearly didn't understand her. He wonders why this girl is threatening the other girl.

As he doesn't quite understand the rules of the game, he does the same and chases after Saria, holding his hands up like a dragon as well. He calls out "Raaawr!" and something unintelligible in his language.

Saria lets out a scream as both come after her and laughs, running. She looks at Aio and points at Naomi without stopping. "Attack HER, not me! We are the good guys! Dragon! Dragon! " She repeats, hoping to teach Aio a new word.

Aio begins chasing after Naomi, too, and calls her by what he thinks is probably her name, "Dragon! Dragon!"

Fallon opens the door and is immediately met with screaming and shouts of a dragon. She hurries outside, checking the sky and surroundings to see if one had suddenly popped up. Thankfully, there was no such creature and further processing allowed her to realize they were just playing out here. Of course, that's what they intended to do in the first place, but flashbacks of moldugas and spiders said otherwise. Briefly, anyway.

So, she heads back towards the walls of the inn and leans against them, watching them play and enjoy life for the time being. A refreshing change of scenery to what she knows lies beyond.

Naomi blinks at the swift derailment of her CAREFULLY CRAFTED FANTASY WORLD. o.O; At least Saria seems to get the idea and is trying to explain it to Aio -- but it looks like he still thinks _he's_ a dragon. Okay, well, maybe he can be a knight AND a dragon! Like some kind of...dragon man!

<https://i.redd.it/xcbi8yj0nhv81.jpg>

"Ummm...OHNOES IT IS THE DRAGONBORN! BUT YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME UNLESS YOU FIND THE, ummm, MAGICAL HELMET OF RAINBOW FLAMES! IT IS IN, ummmmmmmmmm...aaaaaa SECRET PLACE THAT--THAT ONLY THE ROYAL FAMILY KNOWS ABOUT!" Yeah, Naomi is totally engaging in AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION and not dumping her DM responsibilities on Saria. n.n

Those were a lot of words and Aio understood none of them! He continues to chase Dragon and shouts her name. He giggles with excitement as the air and sun and open space combine to create a volatile reaction of fun.

As the screams of the children echo through the field outside of the Wolfos, a tall imposing Gerudo woman cuts the horizon perpendicularly. She holds a spear and walks in a relaxed pace but with a serious expression. The expression softens when she sees the children playing, particularly the boy.

She stops and observes them by the stables outside of the inn.

Saria laughs and nods, pointing at Noemi! "Yes! Catch the dragon!"

Seeing Risa arrive, Saria hmms, touching her chin with a finger. She approaches Risa and Fallon and brings her hands to her back. "Excuse me, I have a question."

"As you know, Aio is living in the Kokiri Forest now. Do you know of any grown-ups that may help us build a treehouse for him?"

Risa crouches down to become eye-level with the forest child. She rests her elbow on her knee and says, "A treehouse?" She thinks, and says, "Sweetie, I am from the desert. I don't know much about trees. But I will find someone who can help."

Fallon laughed to herself. Of all the things Naomi could've been, a dragon...born was not one she expected. Yet, she could appreciate her imagination. Those bedtime stories must've sounded far more spectacular to her than she'd thought.

Spotting movement in the distance, she looked towards it and found it was a friendly face upon closer inspection. She smiled as Risa approached, acknowledging her presence with a nod.

With Saria now approaching, she then pondered her question, "You need help with one, hm? Well, I'm not much of a builder, but I can assist in whatever way I can. I'll have to ask my husband if he has any suggestions or ideas. All else fails, I could just read about trees and houses and then attempt to replicate it."

Saria grins, her hands on her back while she listens to them. "You are big and strong women, so I knew you could help! Thank you." With this, she goes back to playing with her friends.

GUUUHHHH!!! &gt;_&lt;; Being a DM is so FRUSTRATING! You put in all this work to give the players an intricate world to interact with, and they just want to be MURDER HOBOS that solve every problem by charging at it swords waving! "Okay, fine! TAG, YOU'RE IT!" Naomi shouts to Aio. Then she turns and dashes away.

Saria runs after the Wolfos family with Link. When they arrive at the temple, the kokiri's interest switches from the animals to the building. She runs to it, touching the wall and looking for the door curiously. "What is this place? Have you been here before?" she asks Link.

Link shakes his head. "I haven't. And from the looks of these vines, it doesn't look like anybody has been here for a while." He looks up at the stone walls and tries to peer into an opening. "Let's explore it!"

Saria grabs one of the vines to make a small climb to one of the openings. "Hellooooo!" She looks inside and hmms. "I am so curious to see what is in there..." She follows you, wondering if you fit into the opening.

Link barely fits but he squeezes in, pushing past vines and other plants. There is a sudden drop but plenty of vines to hold onto. He climbs down. Some light filters in from other windows and a hole in the roof. He reaches a large central room and calls out to you.

Saria almost falls as well, and not as gracefully as Link. She grabs onto the vines, almost getting trapped in them, but climbs down after Link and looks around. "This is place is so mysterious! I wonder how long it has been empty. We should be careful; there might be some skulltullas and deku babas around."

_------+++++++++++++++------_

A certain Gerudo chef is examining the few fallen logs at the edge of the Woods, turning them over and disturbing the life within as her little troop begin the trek to Kokiri Forest proper.