Wet and Undressed

Upon further inspection, Zelda found that the tower had an easily climbable surface and had areas where she could rest along the way. After making the climb down, she set off to the nearest temple that stood as the one in this direction of the tower. The shortest way was straight ahead and was a dusty path with a ruined bridge and the water it once crossed over. She arrived at the edge of the broken bridge and looked down below to find no dry way across. She contemplated going around it, but a pack of bokos were patrolling that end so swimming was the only way.

Not wanting to get her clothes wet, Zelda pulled her sundress over her head and placed it down on the cobblestone. She wasn't shy as the plateau seemed abandoned like the old man said and he was the only current occupant as far as she could tell and he fucked off to nowhere. From the edge she stood once again and dove into the cool blue below, rising back up and flipping her long blonde hair back and away from her face. She swam across and found an easy slope up to the other end of the bridge.

Zelda took a moment to shake some of the water off and dry in the sun before continuing onward to the shrine. The rocky structure was covered in runes and had a big eye like the slate, all glowing orange so that it could be easily spotted from afar. Another pedestal stood at the entrance and after placing the slate inside, the lower half turned blue along with two circles on the ground. Inside she stood at yet another eye and found a blue ring flashing around her before the circle shook and she was lowered into the ground.

She was amazed at what the shrine was hiding, a large chamber carved into the stone that was as bright as day without the light of torches or the sun. A second pedestal stood before her and upon offering her slate again, she was rewarded with something called a rune. It granted her the power to lift metal objects with her slate and allowed her to complete the puzzle that stood before her. At the end she found a long dead monk who had offered this challenge to a hero who could complete it and gave her a spirit orb as a reward. Some chests inside gave her new and better weapons that she found she could store within the slate.

After receiving the spirit orb, Zelda was transported to the shrine entrance above. She stepped back onto the dirt and looked forward to see that her dress had disappeared. Zelda panicked and looked about to see if it had blown away only to find a rowdy pack of bokos waving her white dress around as they ran into the woods. The dress wasn't much, but it was her only real article of clothing and did protect her from some of the elements. Another call came out from the sky and Zelda grew red with embarrassment as the old man descended from the sky.

"Hello, looks like you've lost something," he pointed out the girl as she attempted to cover herself, "I saw them take your dress. If you still want it, I bet they'll take it to their layer further in the forest. A large skull shaped rock beyond hopper pond. But if you ask me, you look fine without it."

Zelda feigned a smile as she felt a creepy wave pass through her as the old man ogled her exposed flesh. "Thank you, but I do want it back. I'll head out and go get it, she said as she walked off toward the woods, arms crossed over her chest and head looking back at him as he watched.