TOTK: The Lonely Hero

Lookout Landing

Splash!

Link dove head first into Bottomless Pond, sending water droplets high into the air. Gasping for air as he resurfaced, he hurried to swim to shore. Letting out a breath of fresh air, he gazed at the surrounding environment.

He recognized where he was standing was Hyrule Field, not a great distance from the castle, which he could see now standing high up from where it once was, having been ripped from the ground by a great pillar, clouds of gloom emerging from the pit it had created.

Opening his map, Link cursed to himself when he realized the map of the ground was blank, with no data whatsoever aside from the Great Sky Island on it. Still, he could tell where he was on it. Knowing his way around this part of Hyrule well enough, he began to head in the direction of Hyrule Castle.

"Lookout Landing is my best hope in figuring out what in Farore's name is going on. And maybe I can get this thing fixed too," he thought.

Jogging through the green meadows of Hyrule Field, he was eventually able to join the road, as he began to follow it north.

It was strange. He couldn't see the glowing Sheikah Towers anywhere in sight, whereas just a few weeks before he could see at least one wherever he was in Hyrule. And not only that, but soon, he realized that was not the only thing that had changed in the kingdom.

After a while, he could soon see the wooden palisade of Lookout Landing in the distance. After Calamity Ganon's defeat, the princess had ordered the outpost to be built as a base of operations for her, as the castle's ruined state left it uninhabitable, even with the monsters having been cleared out.

However, Link and Zelda had left a few days before the builders could finish building the two towers for the new outpost, a new lab for Purah and something that she and Robbie called a 'surprise for later'.

However, between him and safety lay an obstacle. A group of red bokoblins were marching along in a small row, patrolling the area. And at the head of them was one larger than all of them combined, with a massive horn on its head and rather decayed looking traveler's claymore in its hand.

Ducking into a small wood nearby, Link watched from behind the trees as they scouted out the area. As he began to think of how he could sneak past the group, from behind, he suddenly heard one of the trees begin to move.

"Huh?"

Turning back, he was met by the sight of one of the trees standing on its roots, using them as legs to hold it up, as it suddenly swung its trunk a Link, battering him out of the woods and right into the view of the bokoblins.

"Argh!" he cried out as he hit the ground. Groaning in pain, he stumbled to his feet, "Tch...Oh no."

Before he had a chance to do much, the bokoblins began charging, their leader goading them on. Drawing a bomb flower from his inventory, he threw it at the bokoblins, blowing three of them away, allowing him to quickly charge forward through the gap. Drawing his soldier reaper, he charged forward toward the boss bokoblin.

Leaping into the air, he brought the blade down on its head, leaving a gash on its chin. It wasn't enough though, as just as he raised his sword to attack again, he was suddenly struck by the claymore, knocking him back into the grass with a cut on his side.

"Gah!"

The boss bokoblin roared with laughter, before commanding its surviving underlings to regroup and charge. Stumbling up to his feet, Link held his bleeding side as he did his best to hobble away as fast as possible. Lookout Landing was only a short distance away, if he could make it inside, he'd be safe.