PROLOGUE ; The Wistful Gaze of the Sheikah [P.2]

Instructions

[CONT. 2/2] "Pa," she nudged his shoulder. His eyes slowly opened. He took about two whole minutes to sit all the way up. He was even more sluggish than he had been the day before. Ariphea looked disturbed. "Pa, you aren't feeling right. Me and Ma can both tell," Ariphea sighed. "I'm going to get you some Rushrooms or something. Anything to put a little pep in your step!" she announced. Before her father could protest, she had long scurried off. There was already an issue. Ariphea knew not where to find these mushrooms, only what they did and what they looked like. Naturally, she started scouring for them just outside of the village. Nothing. She went a little further out, just past where the mountains were beginning to scatter into significantly smaller boulders. There was a traveler approaching the village. Odd, considering they could seldom find the tucked away village. Ariphea paid little mind to them and continued to check every nook and cranny she could. That was, until they spoke to her. "Hey!" called the stranger. It was uncanny to Ariphea how cheerful they sounded, though she supposed some people were just like that. "Hello?" she hummed, tilting her head curiously to the side. "This is Kakariko Village, yes?" the traveler questioned, gesturing to the mountains that shaped the pathway into said village. Ariphea looked unnerved and didn't hide it well. She nodded affirmatively. "Yes, it is." "I have some business inside the village," he informed. "But hey! If you're still here when I get back, I'll chat for a little while longer," the traveler offered. When the traveler stalked away, she immediately returned to what she had been doing, trying to not waste a thought on how suspicious that interaction was. It was nothing, right? Nothing at all. Just a friendly traveler minding their business. She had more pressing matters to deal with. She, at long last, found a Rushroom on the side of the mountain. She cautiously climbed up, nabbed it, then hopped back down. Ariphea ran excitedly back into the village and to her humble abode, finding her father still in his bed. She eagerly handed him the Rushroom. "Eat up!" she told him, grinning. Her father steadily picked up the mushroom, and ate a bit of it. Barely a nibble. Instantaneously, he perked up. "Pa, what got into you?" Ariphea asked, brows raised. "A cold, it seems. Half the village is suffering," he huffed. "Oh," she mumbled. She hadn't exactly been paying attention to anyone else's wellbeing when running her errands. That explanation made sense. "I'll just let you rest now," she said sheepishly, taking a small step backward before whipping around and skipping out the door. Ariphea went back outside and breathed in the crisp air, stretching her arms as she stood just outside her house. She spotted the traveler again, wandering out from behind a tree. That wasn't weird at all. He seemed to spot her after, too, and shuffled over. "Nice seeing you again," he expressed, motioning her to walk alongside him. Suddenly the tense and suspicious atmosphere faded into a more casual one, and Ariphea willingly walked with him. "Beautiful day," he declared, matching her short steps forward. "Agreed. A lot of days around here aren't sunny. Rather, cloudy, foggy, muggy. Gross," Ariphea chuckled. "Hah. I could see that being an issue with mountains nearby. Great cover though," he added with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "So, what brought you into the village?" Ariphea inquired. "Just needed to stop by for a few items of food, and to have a word with one of the guardsmen outside Impa's house," he recalled. So, he really wasn't up to anything. Ariphea continued to let her guard down. "Funny thing. Impa is the only person in Kakariko village who has willingly spoken to me about Shiekah technology. All of the other villagers hush me and brush it off," Ariphea said thoughtfully. "Shiekah technology?" the man echoed. "I know a thing or two about that," he added vaguely. Ariphea's face lit up. "Really?!" she gasped. "Well, now you have to talk about it!" she exclaimed. The traveler chortled. "I wouldn't have mentioned it if I weren't willing to tell you about it," he voiced. "Way back when, and we're talking thousands of years ago, Shiekah technology was utilized to its full potential. Nobody had any doubts about its practicality and reliability. Smooth sailing. That was, until Malice infected it, and used it to corrupt the lands of Hyrule. King Rhoam banned the technology out of fear, and now, we're left with monsters and ancient technology alike, destroying civilizations instead of helping to build them," rambled the traveler. Ariphea listened intently to the whole thing, nodding along to show she was paying attention. "I didn't know the Malice had corrupted the technology. Just that the technology was banned," she murmured honestly. "Well..." began the traveler. "Not all of that technology was corrupted. Some was spared."