BOTW: The Lonely Knight

Hyrule Castle

It was a cold night as Link arrived at the Woodland Stable. The wind was howling in the chill night air, the nearby trees rustling, swaying back and forth peacefully. Boarding Epona up at the stable, he sat down by the fire outside, warming himself up. Taima curled up beside him and laid down on the ground. The other dogs looked at her strangely. Being used to chasing away wolves that came near, it was odd to see one being accompanied by a traveller.

One of the travelers, an older man, seemingly unfazed by the presence of such a large canine, sat down in front of the fire as well.

"Thought I'd just warm myself up here." he said, holding his hands up in front of the flames.

Link said nothing, as he pulled a piece of meat from his inventory and laid it down in front of Taima. The wolf hungrily dug in, chomping away at the meat off the bone.

"I've travelled through these parts many times before, and seen a lot of different faces around here. Most I recognize. And yet, I don't recall ever seeing your face before. Are you new around these parts?" he asked.

Link gave him a nod as he was stabbing some meat on a skewer, before holding it above the fire.

"I see. Hmm... Just between you and me, where are you headed?"

"Hyrule Castle." answered Link quietly, focused on cooking his food.

"What?!" the man held back the urge to yell it out. "That place is cursed, kid. If you have any concern for your own life, you'd stay as far as possible from it. That's the rule of anyone with sense in Hyrule."

The young Hylian didn't say anything back, as he turned the meat over to cook it on that side.

"Hmm... Well, if you're hell bent on going, here's a little thing I heard. Whatever you do, don't enter through the front, you'll be torn to shreds by those machines. There's an old dock down by the castle's moat. It's said to be one of the few places that isn't crawling with guardians."

He saw Link raise his head, now a little more interested.

"Just head there if you want a safe way in. Got it?"

Link gave him a nod, before finishing up his cooking and digging into the meat.

"What's a kid like you doing out here alone anyway? Are you travelling with anyone other than your... dog... wolf... thing?"

Link shook his head.

"Eh, I guess you can't be a chooser when it comes to company." he said, stretching his arms back. "The beds here are really nice and soft. I'm gonna turn in early."

He got up to his feet and began to walk inside.

"Safe travels, kid. Safe travels."

Link didn't answer, as he looked off into the distance, at the swirling clouds of malice around the ruins of the royal castle. All this for a few memories? This would be a lot more difficult than he expected.

The next day

Link had left the stable by himself and went off on his own without Taima to Hyrule Castle. The wolf would not have been able to follow him into the castle, so he had ordered her to stay behind as he headed off to get to the dock.

As he walked along the northern shore of the moat, he used the Sheikah slate to take a closer look, trying to see if he could spot the dock anywhere.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of an opening in the base of the castle, large enough for boats to easily get in and out. Just like the man at the stable had told him, there didn't seem to be any guardians watching that opening.