Selecting the cube remote-bomb rune, I look around and spot a wall made of cracked blocks. Oh, this is so obvious. I raise a hand, and a weightless, glowing blue cube appears. It feels like it has no substance at all, but, when I hurl it, it lands right in front of the wall. Snapping my fingers, I detonate the bomb, and the wall shatters into fragments.

A second wall reveals a hidden ladder, and, upon climbing, I’m confronted with a pit, with a floating platform moving from one end to the other and back, with another wall of cracked stone blocks.  Stepping onto the floating platform, I create another bomb and set it down, stepping back onto solid ground. Once the platform reaches the wall, I set it off, exploding the wall and moving back onto the platform, using it as a bridge to the other side. The room before me has strange mechanisms that look like they could launch objects, and I examine the puzzle set out. “Hmmm…”

I approach the strange funnel, creating a spherical bomb, and drop it into the hopper, watching it roll all the way along, rolling into the bed of the launcher. As the stone post thrusts forward, sending the bomb sailing into the air, I wait for the perfect time, before snapping my finger, detonating the bomb and destroying the stone blocks stymying my progress, leaving me free to meet the monk.

Spirit Orb no. 2 in hand, I make my way out of the shrine, hoping that now I won’t have to deal with the terrible machines. On my way to the next shrine, I manage to do a little hunting, scoring a couple of raw bird drumsticks, some honeycomb, and a few more mushrooms.

As I get closer to my destination, I can hear the rhythmic sound of an axe biting into wood. Upon inspection, I recognize the broad silhouette of the old man. Not far away from him is a hut, built between a series of boulders. My curiosity getting the better of me, I poke my nose into the hut. A book lies open on a rough-hewn table, and I leaf through it. It’s mostly just details of life up here on the Great Plateau, but I do note a recipe. Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry. The old man apparently forgot one of the ingredients, but it’s not hard to work out. If he remembered meat and Spicy Pepper, then the only thing left is fish!

I already have meat and fish, but… ah! These must be Spicy Peppers! I swipe one of the large, red and yellow peppers from the table and make my way outside, settling by the fire as I wait for the old man to return from his woodcutting, idly feeding the flames with a little wood from a pile nearby. By the time the sun begins to set, I look up to see the old man standing there.

I smile, silently preparing a meal, fish… then the meat… add the pepper… and into the pot. Let it sauté for a while…

The inviting smell and clouds of steam rise into the air, and I get the feeling that the old man is staring. As soon as the food is ready, I look up.

“Do you have any plates, or bowls?”

Without a word, the old man heads into his home and returns, two wooden bowls in hand, spoons in the other. Handing them over, he settles himself against a fallen tree-trunk near the fire.

Dishing up the food, I hand one of the bowls to the old man, filling the other bowl and sitting cross-legged on the grass as I take a bite. It’s VERY hot, and really piquant, but satisfying in a deeply warming way. I can hear the sound of a second spoon meeting a bowl, and notice the old man is eating, right alongside me.

Once he finishes, he places his bowl to one side. “How… did you make that? That was an exact replication of my signature dish…. Could I trouble you to share the recipe?”

“Oh, it’s just Hyrule Bass, raw meat, and Spicy Pepper.”

The old man hurries into his home, and I hear the sounds of frantic writing, followed by shuffling. He emerges, something in his huge, gnarled hands. “Here. Take this, young friend. As thanks for teaching me the recipe to that dish. I had quite forgotten one of the ingredients.”

He hands me a folded bundle of heavy fabric. I unfold it, and look closely. A warm, woollen doublet. It feels thick, perfect for warding off the cold.

“A token of my gratitude. Feel free to stay the night, if you like. It’s too dark to travel, but the fire is always burning. It’s not too cold here, but on the peaks, you’ll be grateful of that doublet.”

I nod. “Thank you. I mustn’t tarry, though. I hope you enjoy the recipe, though.”

I stand, the doublet under my arm, and check my map. The next shrine is across a small ravine and up a cliff. I make my way towards the ravine with the last of the light. There’s no way to cross, but I might be able to rectify that. Leaning against a tree-stump is the old man’s axe, a massive single-edged chopper, which I take in hand. Looks like I’ll have to make my OWN Bridge.

Selecting one of the trees at the edge of the chasm, I position myself, and bring the axe back, swinging. THUNK. Chips of wood and bark fly, as I bring the axe back for another swing. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK-crrreeeeeeeeeee-CRASH!

The tree falls, and, with a mighty thud, lands perfectly, the leafy end resting on the other edge of the ravine. Leaving the axe behind, I check that the tree isn’t likely to roll, before climbing onto it and walking across, balancing carefully, almost holding my breath until my feet land squarely on the far side.

Now for the cliff ascent. Looking up, I can just make out ledges and spots to rest while scaling this crag. With cautious, steady motions, I grip on and feel my way up, triple-checking each hand- and foothold to make sure it’ll bear my weight.

It takes quite a while, and I have to take breaks whenever I reach a new ledge, but, on the plus side, I DO manage to pick some rock-growing mushrooms, before I make it up to the top of the cliff-face. Panting and gasping, I lurch away from the edge of the cliff, staggering towards the shrine and slapping my Sheikah Slate against the pedestal.

Inside, I head over to the pedestal and claim my new rune, ‘Stasis’, before staring. “This could be challenging…”

There’s a bridge… but it’s attached to a rotating gear, so it’s not exactly staying where it should be. With a carefully-timed use of Stasis, I manage to make the bridge do its job, and cross over before it wears off and starts spinning again.

The next problem is a big boulder rolling down a hallway, falling into the void below, and another one falls very shortly after. Maybe it’s the same boulder? I ready my rune and put it to use, freezing the boulder in time, before sprinting up the hallway and to the left, as the boulder resumes rolling. The final obstacle is a boulder that WILL. NOT. BUDGE, no matter how hard I push. Maybe… I use Stasis on it, and then grab one of the clubs I’d acquired from the Bokoblins, beating on the boulder as hard as I can.

The clubs both end up shattering into splinters, but, when the Stasis wears off, the boulder flies into the abyss, falling away, leaving me free to finish up with the shrine and meet the monk responsible for this BS. Three Spirit Orbs down, one to go…

The next shrine is quite a distance away over the mountaintops, a journey that would be treacherous at the best of times, but, now the full moon has risen, and I can see perfectly. Tugging the doublet on, I begin working my way towards the final shrine.

It’s cold enough that my breath fogs in the air, but I feel nothing thanks to the old man’s doublet. It’s a little itchy, but it’s so much better than freezing to death on an ice mountain. By the time the sun has started to rise, I’ve made it, standing at the entrance to the fourth and final shrine on the Great Plateau.

Stepping in, I can feel this one is as temperate as the others. Not even the mountain chill reaches this place. This time, the rune is ‘Cryonis’, and allows me to create pillars of ice from the surface of any standing water.

The first pool of water is right by the entrance, and, when I raise the pillar, it’s made of pure blue ice, but it isn’t so cold I get stuck to it. Instead, it feels almost ‘grippy’, like it’s made to climb up. On the other side, another pool of water covers the floor, and a barred gate prevents further progress.

Upon assuring myself that there’s no button or secret switch, I raise another pillar beneath the bars, pushing the gate up and slipping under. On the other side, there’s another of the weird crab-like machine. Raising a couple of ice-pillars to block the creature from rushing me, I switch runes, selecting first the round remote-bomb, then the cube bomb.

Throwing both of them, I wait until both bombs are right up against the machine, before snapping my fingers. The cubed bomb sets off the round, and the cumulative explosion destroys the ice pillars as well as the robot.

The danger passed, I make another pillar, forcing a see-saw plank into a ramp, climbing up and introducing myself to the withered mummy of the monk, claiming my final prize. Spirit Orb no. 4, you are MINE!

Upon exiting the shrine, the old man sails in out of nowhere. HOW DOES HE DO THAT???

He takes notice of all four of the Spirit Orbs, before getting serious.

“Link… it is finally time for me to tell you everything…but first… Imagine an X on your map, with the four shrines as the endpoints. Find the spot where those lines intersect. I shall wait for you there…”

He turns to face me, and then vanishes in a blue glow. “Do you understand? The point where… the lines intersect… I shall… wait there for you…”

How… did he know my name? I never told him! Pulling out my Sheikah Slate, I run a finger over the map. Once I pinpoint the intersection, I realise it’s the ruined temple I visited yesterday! I start hot-footing it for the temple, descending the mountain as quickly as is reasonably safe.

Upon arriving at the temple, I spot the statue at the far end of the building. It’s… glowing, and I get the feeling I need to offer up something to it. The only thing I have that might be the right thing are those Spirit Orbs….

Sure enough, the Orbs are accepted by the statue, and I feel more energy flowing through my body.  The old man calls out from above. “Up here! I’m on the roof!”

Why?? Why is he up there?? Are all old men like this??

Shaking my head, I head through the giant hole in the temple wall, casting about for some way up there. A ladder built into the wall seems to have weathered the elements well enough to remain sturdy. Scaling it, I delicately place my feet, heading to the ridge of the roof,  then along, to what looks like it was once the belfry, the old man waiting there. As I get close, he turns to face me, glowing blue.

“Well done, there, young one. Now then… the time has come to show you who I truly am!”

His arms folded, the old man announces, back straight, “I was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule! I was… the last leader of Hyrule. A kingdom which no longer exists…”