The Valley West

The second informational presentation at Wednesday’s Finance Committee was for Community Development & Planning made by Director Liz Murphy. Before she started, Liz Murphy wanted to attest that the Treasurer’s Office is going beyond this year to make sure tax compliance is in order. This has caused some frustrations with new businesses trying to open in Fitchburg because it takes a little more time as the office does their research and checks their compliance records. The start of Community Development’s presentation was to tell who its customers were: developers (both business and housing), property owners, landlords, prospective property investors, small and large businesses, realtors, architects, and residents. Community Development also works with other departments as they help with finding grants, planning activities, as well as working along with the City Council. The Department also supports the Planning Board, the Conservation Commission, the Disability Commission, and at times the Historical Commission. Community Development has three divisions: Planning Division, Economic Development, and Housing. The Planning Division is focused on business and housing development, its expansion, its improvement, and its repair. They look at a piece of land and find a use. A few of the upcoming projects with the Planning Division: • The Kmart plaza redevelopment will be going before the Planning Board sometime soon. • Possible updates to zoning due to the Housing Production Plan currently in the works. Once the plan has been submitted to the city, there will be discussions and recommendations to implement. • Updates to zoning in order to comply with the new Clean Energy Siting requirements that the state has regulated. It will be a zoning overhaul that includes solar and battery. • Changing of zoning to comply with ADU (accessory dwelling unit) regulations changes. The state now allows people to build ADUs on their property. • There will be possible zoning changes around some proposals for social consumption. Social Consumption allows the on-site consumption of cannabis at licensed Social Consumption Establishments in the Commonwealth. • The Development Guide also needs to be updated and needs an overhaul.. The guide was created before the city was using OpenGov and helps developers and businesses navigate the permitting process. • A brand new Conservation agent is starting soon. Because most of the urban core has already been developed, most of the remaining land touches or is in proximity of a wetland. There’s a lot more that goes to the Conservation Commission now versus ten years ago. Anything that is within 100 feet of wetlands or 200 feet of a river/stream has to go before the Conservation Commission. It ends up touching a lot of vacant land at this point. The agent will also work with the DPW on stormwater enforcement and enforce regulations. • A conservation restriction has been in the works at 77 Bennett Road that has been several years in the making. The next division is Economic Development which has a Director and a Downtown Coordinator who is part-time grant-funded. Economic Development works with businesses for expansion, retention, direct them to resources, and to remove barriers if possible. The Downtown Coordinator does a lot of marketing and coordinating events. The Economic Development task force is coordinated to provide development review meetings for big projects that look to have all of the departments at the table to give feedback. These meetings help get projects through boards and have a smoother permitting process. There were some project updates within this division: • An Airport Site Readiness project is being worked on. • In West Fitchburg, the focus is on industrial redevelopment, particularly with the former Greif plant. A grant has been received for the property adjacent to the plant that will allow for the Greif site to be studied. • The department is moving ahead with its three-year Water Street revitalization project and working with DPW to replace sidewalks. • The department will be applying for funding for next year for an update of its Economic Development Strategic Plan. They will also be implementing a tourism marketing strategy called “36 Hours in Fitchburg” that gives folks suggestions of what visitors could do in the city. The department is looking to create a Cultural District in Fitchburg but is waiting on the state to open cultural district applications. • Amazon is set to open on Intervale Road in the Fall of 2026 if they stay on track. Economic Development wants to work with MassHire to do some CDL training because Amazon will need a ton of drivers. They want to do a training session for the local workforce to get jobs. • There is a proposal for the Sandpit site on Airport Road for a new warehouse/distribution center. The sale is close and at the eleventh hour and already has been permitted by the Planning Board. • Webpage updates and revamping are also in the works to meet the Cannabis Control Commission’s Social Equity requirements The third division is Housing & Development. The bulk of Community Development staff is in this division. They do a lot of grant writing and manage grant projects. They also manage housing programs and projects, both market-rate and affordable housing. Affordable housing that has been funded has to be monitored for a number of years. This division also offers small business loans and manages the CDBG program. Here are some of the things this division is working on: • Implement the Digital Equity Plan with equipment being purchased and training happening at the Senior Center and the Library. • Implement the EV Charger Project which may come to pass before the turn of the fiscal year. • Expanding ticketing uses with IT, Building, Fire, and the DPW. • 80 Lunenburg Street is currently being cleaned and the department has cleaned what it could of the contaminated soil with the state funding it had. • Support of the ongoing market-rate housing development projects such as 280 Main Street, 533 Main Street, 350 Main Street, 84 Elm Street. • 84 Elm Street is the former courthouse which the city bought from the state and then resold to the Tocci Group for development. • The Iver Johnson Mills project on River Street is still ongoing. • The Theater Block is now going to be housing with a retail front. • Some other market-rate housing projects currently happening include Eleanor’s Lofts in West Fitchburg. • The department is encouraging mill conversions in West Fitchburg as well though the area faces a sewer capacity issue that will need to be addressed. • The murals on Mill Street are looking to be replaced and some of the frames have already been fixed up. The goal is to make it as low maintenance as possible. • The department is working with a developer for a housing development project on Fairmount Street. • MassWorks funding is being applied for improving Moran Square that allows for paving once construction is done. • There is an EPA Brownfields grant that is for an assessment as well as a clean-up grant to remove contamination at John Fitch Highway after the demolition of the old Dunkins location. • At 173 Bemis Road, the old vacant gas station has also had some clean-up work done. Grants have been applied for to both demolish it and clean it up further. • The department is participating in the Green Communities Program to make energy efficiency improvements in various buildings such as last year when the non-LED lights were replaced at Longsjo and Goodrich Academy. • Work is being done with the DPW with the Rail Trail Connector on Railroad Street. Phase 2 of the Rail Trail will be a pedestrian bridge from Railroad Street over to the intermodal center. • Grant funding is available for sidewalk work on North Main. • Signage for the Rollstone Hill Rock Walk • In the next month, the city will be demolishing 7 3rd St, 580 John Fitch Highway (former Dunkins), and 104 Daniel St. After the presentation, there were questions from the Finance Committee members. Councilor Fleming was up first with questions on a few of the projects. She wondered if there would be a parking study done for the Theater Block housing project but the project does intend to provide parking on site. With a possible 100 units, there is a possibility of getting grant funding to build a parking garage next to the property for resident and public use as well. Main Street by City Hall to the Upper Common is lacking in public parking. The Theater Block project is in the early stages and hasn’t gone to the Planning Board yet. Councilor Fleming’s next question was whether the funds for the murals were going to come out of budget. There was a little TDI funding left over from the Main Street project and those funds were transferred for them to be repaired. Councilor Fleming’s third question concerned 80 Lunenburg Street. Even though the site is being cleaned with removal of toxic soil, is anything being planned or something being built there? There isn’t a specific plan for a specific project. The first need is to finish cleaning the site and then putting it back out to gain interest from developers. Councilor Walsh had questions as well with the first being what was going on at the former Carol’s Dairy Bar at the corner of John Fitch and Summer Street. There is a proposed gas station and convenience store going there. Director Liz Murphy confirmed that it wasn’t a Cumberland Farms. The development is in front of the Planning Board which has asked for a traffic study before continuing the hearing. The Planning Board is aware of the traffic concerns of that intersection and the Fire Station across the street. Councilor Walsh’s second question regarded the Amazon facility and the issue with the railroad bridge over Intervale Road/Poplar Street. Amazon has not committed to making physical improvements to the bridge. They are proposing and paying for new engineering of that road. Councilor Walsh continued and asked what was going on with the Iver Johnson Mills on River Street. A little work is being done in one of the buildings to stabilize the roof. The developers were in a process to purchase a piece of property that was part of the Valley West Plaza that had been demolished but the sale has not gone through. According to Director Liz Murphy, her understanding was that the sale didn’t go through due to the discovery of old oil tanks that ballooned the cost. The Iver Johnson Mills project needs to find more parking but the developer is actively looking. Councilor Walsh’s last question was about the TDI program on Water Street and whether the department would look at Lunenburg Street in the future for revitalization. Director Liz Murphy replied that the Councilor wasn’t the first to mention Lunenburg Street but that they needed to expand their focus on all of the gateways that come into the city. Lunenburg Street has had some new development lately. Committee Chair and Councilor Cruz chimed in that Lunenburg Street was part of Ward 6 which was the highest revenue generator of all of the Wards. Ward 6 is the most economically successful but sometimes gets overlooked. Councilor Beauchemin was up and asked about the Kmart plaza and what was going there. When he suggested BJs, Director Liz Murphy didn’t deny it but wasn’t sure if she wanted to be the one to publicly say it for the first time. Councilor Beauchemin’s follow-up question concerned Amazon and the possible traffic caused by the facility, particularly on Bemis Road. The Planning Board is conscious of the challenges caused by Amazon coming in. One of their conditions is for Amazon vehicles to not be coming and going during rush hours and work off-hours, such as starting at 10 AM. One of the options could be demolishing 173 Bemis Road and using it as an opportunity to make improvements to the road. Another stoplight at that intersection might not work being so close to the Airport Road light but maybe a rotary could work. Councilor Beauchemin’s third question was about specifics of the Sandpit site on Crawford Street. There is going to be a 114,000 sq. foot warehouse/distribution center built. It was going to be bigger but once they started doing soil testing they found there was a bunch of paper sludge as well as PFAS that went deep in the soil, causing expensive building challenges. Councilor Beauchemin then circled back to 80 Lunenburg Street asking why that location could be used for commercial space instead of housing. From Director Liz Murphy’s perspective, that spot isn’t where commercial business is looking to build since there are vacant spaces available elsewhere. The property might be more ideal for home ownership, perhaps even a location for starter homes. Councilor Beauchemin continued saying he drives around the city and sees vacant apartments and the city keeps emphasizing that it needs more housing. He wants to see jobs in the area instead of people going to work outside of Fitchburg. He was worried that creating more housing would create more traffic. Chairman Cruz asked Councilor Beauchemin to reign in his questions to the budget outlook for the Community Planning department. Director Murphy said that housing is still a strong need in the city with the vacancy rate being pretty low. Councilor Walsh had one last question, concerning the demolition of the former Dunkins on John Fitch Highway and whether it would lead to an interchange in the intersection. Director Murphy confirmed that was the intention. The timeline would be in multiple phases. After demolition, the DPW and the state would be looking for opportunities for funding and designing. If the state is getting more involved, the timeline could be 4 to 5 years. Chairman Cruz asked how often the Economic Development Task Force meets. They meet once a month and Chairman Cruz wondered if the meeting could be something that was advertised to attract and help more developers. Councilor Beauchemin called a point of order on Chairman Cruz with Council President Zarrella addressing the point of order that Chairman Cruz’s question of advertising the task force was relevant. Chairman Cruz wanted to know if there was an update on 44 Wanoosnoc Road. There is no update at this time but Director Murphy thinks there needs to be a walk through the building done. The School Department has been using part of the lower level as a workshop. A lot of the land around the property is wetlands or wetlands adjacent which limits development. There is a lot of pull between departments of what the building could be used for but requires funding(training center , warming shelter, etc).

So after [a decent theory](https://www.reddit.com/r/reddeadmysteries/comments/1q75xqv/the_moving_sun_spot_is_this_what_is_actually/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) and[ a bonkers one](https://www.reddit.com/r/reddeadmysteries/comments/1qeaf3q/shining_a_light_on_the_horned_serpent_my_ongoing/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). I decided I needed to take a break from the Spider Dream hunt and I feel like the community could use a break from it as well. So I researched some older mysteries to see if I couldn’t solve any, and I think I may have figured one out. So allow me to present to you a possible solution for the Ammolite and Fluorite in the eagles’ nest above O’Creagh’s Run. These theories will hopefully show us what these stones might represent and what they might potentially be for.  **WARNING:** What you’re about to read is long, I’m including a TLDR after this paragraph. Also, I don’t fully believe any of the theories I’m putting forth, mainly because the evidence for these theories is circumstantial and coincidental at best. However, I think there will be enough evidence to infer that there is probably a Zelda influence/reference going on in the area around O’Creagh’s Run and maybe the Grizzlies East region as a whole. Whether or not it is intentional or put there subconsciously I cannot say. I did my best to avoid confirmation bias but I’m sure it’s crept in here in some places.  **TLDR:** * **First Theory: The Eagle’s Nest where we find Ammolite and Flourite is a Skyward Sword reference. The nest is Skyloft, the Gemstones are Link and Zelda, and the Eagles represent loftwings.** * **Second Theory: Hamish Sinclair is the Hero of Time from Ocarina of Time.** * **Other Potential ties to the Zelda series: The Three Sisters Mountain range is a reference to the Three Golden Goddesses. O’Creagh’s Run is a partial reconstruction of the original LoZ map. The strange statues in the cave represent the seven sages and Link, with the human headed chicken statue being a depiction of the Oocoa race from Twilight Princess. The Witches Cauldron might be a reference to the witches Syrup and Maple.**  * **Third Theory/Hypothesis: We might be able to travel through time using Ammolite, Flourite, and a third unused gemstone, the emerald.** * **Conclusions. Why such an elaborate easter egg? A tribute to John O’Creagh, and a homage to arguably the greatest open world game.** **The First Theory: The Eagle’s Nest is Skyloft:** Picture it, the year 2011. RDR2 enters into the early planning stage and a little game known as The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword releases in November. In Skyward Sword (SS) we see Link and Zelda living in the floating town of Skyloft, high above the evils of the land below. Flying overhead are the majestic giant birds known as Loftwings. Loftwings have a special bond with the people of Skyloft and serve as the mounts of Skyward Sword. Link is able to ride his loftwing all throughout the sky islands.  While playing the game and gazing at its wonderful visual style, I think one of RDR2’s writers couldn’t help but be inspired by Skyward Sword and wanted to throw in a very subtle visual Easter Egg about it into the game. So they put in the nest with the Ammolite and Flourite as that Easter Egg.The nest itself is the town of Skyloft. The Ammolite is Link and the Fluorite is Zelda, and finally, the several eagles around the nest represent the Loftwings.  [Wonderful Art of Zelda and Link flying over Skyloft by u\/Vigamox](https://preview.redd.it/vvlpwq5876tg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=e74a834c2bed947d2e5d3fa5b2ca5ac01b326a24) If you know nothing about the Zelda franchise here’s some context for how I came up with this interpretation. In the Zelda games Link is represented by the color green and Zelda is represented by the color blue. The same colors of the gemstones found in the eagles’ nest. If you look closely at the Ammolite you’ll notice that it contains two colors, green and a bit of red/pink. Perhaps this stone is supposed to represent Link riding his Loftwing because his Loftwing is red in color. Or, maybe since it’s just the tip of the Ammolite that pink is a subtle reference to A Link to the Past, the game in which Link’s in-game character has pink hair. I’m more inclined to go with the Link and his Loftwing interpretation because it makes the Flourite easier to interpret as Zelda’s because not only is she represented by the color blue her Loftwing is blue as well.  Now I think this is a solid little hypothesis about what the Ammolite and Fluorite could represent. However, I wasn’t satisfied with it, because if you know anything about the Zelda series and gemstones found in the games then you know they come in a set of three. The specific gemstones I’m referring to are the Spiritual Stones found in Ocarina of Time (OoT). The Kokiri Emerald, the Goron Ruby, and the Zora Sapphire. Possessing these three stones unlocks the door to the Sacred Realm in the Temple of Time which leads to the Master Sword, the Ultimate weapon in Zelda Lore. But before diving into wild speculation about things, let’s just think of the three Spiritual Stones from OoT as the green gemstone, the red gemstone, and the blue gemstone. We already have the green and blue gemstones, now we just need to find the red gemstone. **The Hunt for the Red Gemstone:** So if Link is represented by the color green and Zelda by the color blue, and we need a red gemstone, who is represented by the color red in the Zelda series? Why none other than the series Big Bad himself, Ganon/Ganondorf. So using the environmental clues of the nest being Skyloft and the gemstones being Link and Zelda it made sense to search the valley below for a potential red gemstone; because Skyloft soars above the evil of the world below.  Now I haven’t had any luck in the valley towards O’Creagh’s Run and I didn’t think searching in the valley west of the nest made a lot of sense because the nest is below a peak. So in my mind if there was going to be a red gemstone, it would be located in the O’Creagh Run’s valley. I tried searching the RDR2 wiki to see if there was a ruby or another red gemstone. I could only find mention of a ruby known as the Ember of the East which was added to RDO in 2021. If the Ammolite and Flourite do anything and a third gemstone is to be found I don’t think it would be from an online only item added to the game three years later. My next line of thought was inspired by a post which I can’t find right now, but, anyway the main detail of the post was that the OP had found a strange red glow in the “Greed is Now a Virtue,” cave between Cotorra Springs and Bacchus Station. I can’t find the post so I’m guessing it was either deleted, a fever dream, or I’m just not putting in the right thing to search. But reading about the red glow made me wonder if it was potentially the red gemstone I was after. I searched the cave but didn’t have any luck. Exhausting my ideas on finding a red gemstone I was ready to call it quits and say that the nest being Skyloft was a solid enough theory for sharing and was good enough for my head cannon. But still something was bugging me. It was probably the fact that I was using gemstones as stand-ins for two of the three main characters of the Zelda franchise and really wanted there to be another stand-in for Ganon. So I pondered, what else represents Ganon? Looking at him he’s a giant boar…. He’s a giant boar. Are there any big boars in RDR2? **Hunting the Giant Boar** So when the thought of a giant boar popped into my head, I immediately thought of the Legendary Boar and went to look up where it was located. The Legendary Boar can be found in Bluewater Marsh, which I thought was too far away to be the “evil” below “Skyloft.” So needless to say I was a little discouraged by this. But reading through the Legendary Boar’s wiki page I discovered that there was another big boar in the game, the Giant Boar. It could be found near O’Creagh’s Run in the valley below the eagles’ nest. While researching the Giant Boar more, I came across a character and a quest line I never knew about, The Veteran. **The Veteran** Full disclosure: I originally beat RDR2 back in 2018 on my Xbox One. I didn’t really do any of the side missions I just plowed through the story because it was so compelling. Since then I’ve started a couple new playthroughs on my PC but have only made it as far as Chapter 3. So I still personally haven’t met The Veteran in any of my playthroughs. So if I get things wrong I apologize. So for those who don’t know. The Veteran is a man by the name of Hamish Sinclair, and he has four stranger missions tied to him. The fourth mission of his quest line entitled, The Veteran IV, is where we can find the Giant Boar. **SPOILER WARNING: for the Veteran missions I-IV** **The Veteran IV Mission:** The mission starts out with either Arthur or John meeting up with Hamish at his cabin. During their conversation Hamish spots the Giant Boar outside a window and the two of you give chase. Eventually you’re separated and Hamish is gored to death by the Boar. Arthur or John is then able to kill the Boar as it charges them. Here’s a link to a playthrough of the mission: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHO7GGu6zKU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHO7GGu6zKU) During Hamish’s death an interesting and somber piece of music can be heard. It starts at the 5 minute and 10 second mark of that video. Or, if you just want to hear the tune here’s a link to just the song: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrRjjdn00RA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrRjjdn00RA) Now I’m pointing out this piece of music because when I heard it. It reminded me of a tune from the Zelda series and it got my mind racing.  If you’ve made it this far I appreciate you and I hope you’re enjoying it. I want to warn you though that I’m about to make the boldest claim of this post. I believe that Hamish Sinclair is supposed to represent a Link from the Zelda series, not just any Link, but the one from Ocarina of Time. I also believe that Hamish’s stranger missions are a direct reference to the Zelda formula that started with A Link to the Past and ended with Skyward Sword. **The Second Theory: Hamish Sinclair, the Hero of Time** So, why do I think this? Well it has to do with the song that played during Hamish’s death. When I first watched The Veteran IV I was watching it at either 1.5x speed or 2.0x speed, Anyways I heard the song faster than what was intended. However hearing it that way it made my mind think of the song *The Legendary Hero* from The Legend of Zelda: the WInd Waker. Mainly the part starting at the 10 second mark until around the 50 second mark. Now while it’s not an exact match I think the similarities of the two tunes are enough to imply that The Legendary Hero possibly had some influence on Hamish’s Death Song. Song: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7AGlW-XxKk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7AGlW-XxKk) Cut scene version of The Legendary Hero song and tale: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDQLQpEAP3w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDQLQpEAP3w) Now I know that similarities in songs hardly proves that Hamish is the Hero of Time. I brought it up to show what sparked the idea, however, the idea needs more evidence, so let’s take a look at the missions we are given by Hamish Sinclair. I’ll give a brief description of what we’re tasked to do in each mission before providing context of why I think the missions represent the Zelda formula. The Veteran I: We first meet Hamish while riding through a forest. His horse, Buell, has bucked him off and taken his wooden leg with him. Hamish asks us to retrieve his horse and his leg. Upon doing so he offers to take you fishing. The Veteran II: We take Hamish up on his offer and go fishing for the Legendary Northern Pike that he’s nicknamed, “The Tyrant.” After you catch “The Tyrant,” and you make it back to shore, Hamish offers to take you hunting. The Veteran III: You go on a hunt with Hamish for a she-wolf. She eventually leads you into an ambush with a wolf pack and after killing the pack a large Alpha Male shows up and tries to kill Arthur or John, but they are able to kill it before being injured. The Veteran IV: Already discussed, the Giant Boar. So looking at these four missions, the common element they all share is that your task involves something to do with a special animal. The animals used during these missions begin to take on a new light if you view them through a Zelda lens. Here’s a small list of the animals we encounter during this quest line. V1: Buell, the Cremello Gold Horse, almost white V2: The Tyrant,  Legendary Northern Pike Olive Green Scales with Red Fins V3: The Alpha Wolf, A really big black wolf, Possibly referencing the Grim or the Shade from folklore V4: The Giant Boar Animal symbolism is a common thing in the Zelda series and perhaps symbolism isn’t the right word when characters like Link and Ganondorf can transform into an animal depending on the game. Anyways, I believe that the animals found in the four Veteran missions represent the three/four main characters from the Zelda series. Let’s start with the easy ones.  To me the most obvious one is the Alpha Wolf, which represents ~~Link from Twilight Princess. The main reason I believe this to be the case is because in Twilight Princess, Link is granted the ability to turn into a wolf. I hope that’s convincing enough.~~ Upon further examination I’m slightly altering my original take on the Alpha Wolf, which is detailed in a paragraph further down.  ***Side Note:*** Speaking of wolves, let’s take a look at the Legendary Emerald Wolf in Read Dead Online. It can be found at O’Creagh’s Run and  it bears a striking resemblance to Wolf Link from Twilight Princess.  https://preview.redd.it/37yxi56876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=2aac7eb982f5a80e67177e06fcf742f2b55f34e0 Now back to the animal analysis. The Giant Boar to me is just Ganon. Ganon is a Giant Boar. He’s the beast form of Ganondorf. I don’t know what else to add.  https://preview.redd.it/34apn16876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=8d9b8f5ca92c3d08fc5ce7201598ef163b542c24 With the obvious two out of the way let’s figure out who Buell represents. If you buy into this theory it should be obvious that Buell represents Zelda. Zelda has long been associated with White Horses, Gold Horses, or White Horses with Gold Manes. The main scene that pops into my head involving Zelda and a White Horse is the one from Ocarina of Time where a young Zelda and her caretaker, Impa, flee from Ganondorf on top of a white horse. If you’re not convinced by the association with white horses let’s take a look at the Veteran I mission Itself. It is the only mission Hamish gives us where we don’t kill an animal, in fact he wants us to rescue one. So if Buell is a stand-in for Zelda, Hamsih just asked us to go save Princess Zelda.  https://preview.redd.it/t7a92b5876tg1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=c5bb0dfe4c83a17bc5c97e51ef17b7e0746aa516 That leaves us with the Tyrant. I believe the Tyrant represents Ganondorf. I originally thought this was going to be hard to provide evidence for but honestly when I started looking into Northern Pike the evidence provided itself. Clearly the biggest piece of evidence is the name of the fish, The Tyrant. Ganondorf is the Evil King of the Gerudo Tribe. The series has given him many titles over the years, some include the Demon King, or Evil King. An Evil King to me is a pretty good definition of a tyrant. And as far as I can tell the series never flat out calls him a tyrant. I looked through many text dumps of various Zelda games looking for the word, “Tyrant.” But I didn’t have any luck. Google’s automatic AI (which I don’t trust) stated that Ganondorf is called or referred to as a tyrant in Ocarina of Time. I couldn’t find evidence for this so if anyone wants to look for it I’d appreciate it. I did see a wiki page about villains referring to him as a, “cold blooded Tyrant,” which is the closest I got.  Speaking of cold blooded, let's take a look at the description of a Northern Pike. I pulled this from the wikipedia page: *Northern pikes are most often olive green, shading from yellow to white along the belly. The* [*flank*](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flank) *is marked with short, light bar-like spots and a few to many dark spots on the fins. Sometimes, the fins are reddish.*   https://preview.redd.it/9f7v916876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=05becd941a0f1a58a813ce5fd4deb6869f142e3e Now let’s take a look at Ganondorf. Wow, his skin is Olive green and he has red hair that is shaped a bit like fins, especially in his OoT appearance. So now that we know who represents the animals, let’s see how the missions form a complete Zelda narrative. If we look at the overarching plots of many of the Zelda games we can see there’s four distinct plot elements. Following a basic plot outline or plot pyramid we have the start of the game and the rising action, the next is the tip of the pyramid, a battle with the perceived evil threat only for a bigger threat to be revealed. The third element is the falling action or the back half of the game and is the heroes last test to prove themselves. And finally we have the conclusion where the hero does battle with the ultimate evil. Let’s use A Link to the Past as an example. In the opening of ALttP Zelda contacts us telepathically and we go save her from the Hyrule Castle dungeon and then she sends us on our quest to stop the evil wizard and Ganon’s second in command, Agahnim. After retrieving the Master Sword, we are able to do battle with Agahnim, the Tyrant of ALttP. After Agahnim’s defeat Link is thrown into the Dark World where we face off against our toughest trials. After collecting the seven crystals/maidens we are able to face off against Ganon and finish the final battle. Let’s look at The Veteran Missions. In the Veteran I Hamish contacts us by shouting his lungs off. (It could be telepathically, do we see his mouth move?) He asks us to rescue Buell and retrieve his leg. (The Master Leg?) Following this mission is, The Veteran II, where we do battle with RDR2’s Tyrant. After defeating the Tyrant we return to shore and are tasked with a hunt. In the Veteran III we face our toughest trial yet, the battle with the Alpha Wolf. This fight proves that Arthur or John are strong enough to take on the ultimate challenge, the Giant Boar. The Veteran IV is the final battle of our quest and where our hero finishes off the Giant Boar.  Now I think this is a pretty solid theory regarding the subjects of Hamish’s missions. But does this prove Hamish is the Hero of Time? Not yet, to finally convince you we need to introduce a character from Twilight Princess, the Hero’s Shade. The Hero’s Shade is a skeletal swordsman who throughout Twilight Princess teaches the Hero of Twilight various sword techniques to improve his combat skills. Like Link, the Hero’s Shade can also transform into a wolf. Now during the events of Twilight Princess the Hero’s Shade is alluded to being the Legendary Hero of Time. But we don’t get direct confirmation that he is. It wasn’t until the release of the Hyrule Historia, Nintendo’s Ultimate Guide to the Legend of Zelda, that gave the Zelda community confirmation that the Hero’s Shade was in fact the Hero of Time.    Knowing now that there are two Link's in Twilight Princess I’d like to amend my earlier statement  where I said it was obvious that the Alpha Wolf was Link from Twilight Princess. What I should have said was, the Alpha Wolf represents the essence of Link, or the spirit of the hero, in the Zelda series.(Think of it like the Holy Spirit in the Catholic Trinity) Originally, I was going to say the Alpha Wolf is the Hero’s Shade’s wolf form, but in doing further research it didn’t fit because the Hero’s Shade’s animal form is a white wolf. This is why I've changed it to the essence and not just a specific Link. So, why do I think this? Well let’s look at the scene where the Alpha Wolf attacks Arthur or John. During the Veteran III mission after the player and Hamish slaughter the wolf pack the Alpha Wolf appears and charges the player, bypassing Hamish who was not only a closer target but a weaker one too. It’s almost as if Hamish isn’t there, almost like he’s a ghost. Perhaps Hamish has already passed this test himself and wanted to see if Arthur or John were worthy enough to carry the spirit of the hero. Perhaps Hamish is looking for a successor and he’s using his missions as a test to see if we’re worthy to carry the spirit of the hero. Once we pass his tests he deems us worthy. After being satisfied with everything he’s taught us, he’s willing to pass on to the other side. https://preview.redd.it/awjqij5876tg1.jpg?width=686&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b6d3ca00cf3ff0e3b2ec648c1c6eadd65b703bdb Now the Hero’s Shade’s wolf form might not appear in The Veteran III but he does make an appearance during the Veteran IV mission. Half way through the mission we can find a gored white wolf and a short time later we find a gored Hamish, bleeding out on the ground. We’re then attacked by the Giant Boar (Ganon) and are able to slay the beast and afterwards we gain Buell as a mount.  So by viewing Hamish as the Hero’s Shade, along with everything else I think it makes a pretty compelling case for Hamish to be the Hero of Time. ***Side Note:*** I didn’t know where to put this tid bit regarding Hamish, but, another similarity I noticed between him and Link are their outfits. Specifically the Link from Breath of the Wild’s outfit. Now I know some of you are probably going, those games only came out a year apart. Rockstar wouldn’t have enough time to incorporate such a detail. Well BotW original reveal happened in 2014 and that game was met with a few delays as well. I think maybe to help hide this potential Easter Egg, Rockstar decided to give Hamish his blue tunic instead of a green one otherwise the Easter Egg might have been easier to solve. Looking at the RDR2 wiki there appears to be another piece of clothing (a vest I think) for Hamish to wear but I haven’t found it. And I wasn’t 100% sure if there wasn’t another character named Hamish in the game. So if someone with file navigation proficiency wants to try and find that I’d appreciate it Also while looking for a good full body shot of Hamish’s model this was the first time I noticed his jacket has the hourglass shaped back markings of a black widow spider. [A very similar outfit. The two belts and the shoulder strap really sell me on it.](https://preview.redd.it/c6l6o26876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=a28b5461112a61ddbccc9bc0a0671749c113a731) **Additional examples of possible Zelda references found in the region:** While the Veteran’s missions are quite compelling when it comes to a Zelda connection. Is it possible we can find even more references to Zelda around the O’Creigh’s run region? **The Three Sisters:** Just south of the lake we can find a mountain chain known as The Three Sisters. While this is most likely a reference to the various real life Three Sisters mountain ranges and also a reference to a Native American growing practice, I believe it could add more credence to the Zelda connection. You see in Zelda there are three Golden sister goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore. They were the creators of the world/land of Hyrule, and the most powerful object in the Zelda universe, the Triforce. The Triforce is a set of three golden triangles that make up a larger triangle. There are the Triforces of Wisdom, Power, and Courage. Each of these virtues corresponds to one of goddesses as well as one of the main characters in the Zelda series. Din and Ganon are represented by Power, Nayru and Zelda are represented by Wisdom, and Farore and Link are represented by Courage. **Hypothesis**: Using the three sisters mountain range I believe we can see the Triforce in the ridges itself. Because if you look at the Three Sisters in RDR2 compared to its real life counterparts, the formations look completely different. The real life formation has three peaks roughly the same height, whereas the one in RDR2 has one taller peak and two smaller ones. This unique arrangement could make it so we see a shadow or an outline of the Triforce if looking at the three sisters under the proper conditions, time of day, weather, location, etc. **Found?:** I believe I found the Triforce at the base of the three sisters when looking at them from the panoramic viewing spot just below the eagle’s nest. Take a look: [Wait for it.](https://preview.redd.it/nzvfvj5876tg1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=111a03288089537ad5f8bff2c3df2652996bf72f) [It's not perfect, and it doesn't feel like pareidolia. ](https://preview.redd.it/5cx4jm5876tg1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9df7e6b3dccecfd57d13f0eb62050a66a8abe40) Now it’s not perfect but I think it’s wild that such a close match could potentially be found. I think what we’re looking at here is that the bottom three triangles are nearly perfect and the top is missing. I think there’s an environmental reason for this. Looking at the mountain side it appears that the mountain was quarried a bit to make room for the road, but, if you gaze past the road and the trees and into the wall above there’s still a triangle shape there just ever so faintly. If you want to see this shadow yourself. It shows up around 1 p.m.  However, given the names other mountain ranges like Tempest Rime and Caliban’s Seat are references to Shakespeare, it’s more than likely the name of the Three Sisters is a reference to the three witches in Macbeth. **Is O’Creagh’s Run a recreation of the original NES LoZ map?:** While hunting for the triforce I kept coming across features in the region that reminded me of something and I couldn’t quite place it. Finally I recalled this image of Artwork from the original Legend of Zelda game: https://preview.redd.it/3y83nz5876tg1.png?width=1291&format=png&auto=webp&s=4ba1e2dab9898d253f5323458149df92391db7f3 Looking at it, I couldn’t help but feel like the ridgeline where we find the eagle’s nest was directly inspired by this piece of art. Knowing that three of the peaks in the artwork are actually present in the original LoZ, I pulled up a map of the original game to see if I could spot any other features in the region. Now this could be confirmation bias but I feel like I spotted some surprising similarities.  [Not a perfect match. But almost the same amount of peaks. I wonder if a different angle would give a better result.](https://preview.redd.it/a72xhj5876tg1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be0ab078d1300c612f6f0063781268c7537cd8a0) There’s two possible ways to align the Death Mountain ridgeline. We can either align it with the west mountains where the eagles nest is or we can align it with the Three Sisters formation to the south. Now we can see some of the same similarities in both angles but I think the correct one is the Three Sisters alignment. Looking at the Three Sisters it looks like the bigger of the three could be the equivalent of Death Mountain while the smaller two are possibly Spectacle Rock. https://preview.redd.it/ey42bw5876tg1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4da1a2794adb7f72fdc9409be0457e378d394b9 Looking at the lake at O’Creagh’s run we see that the shape roughly matches that of the lake in the middle of the LoZ map. We even see two islands in the middle of each lake with one of the islands being connected by a small bridge (land bridge in RDR2). These pairs of islands are almost a match. The only difference is that the tree dungeon on the right island is located on the left island and the rock on the left island is located on the right island. The last detail I feel like pointing out is that if you’re standing north of the lake looking south Hamish cabin is roughly in the same general location as the shop or perhaps the old man’s cave where you obtain the sword in LoZ. But instead of getting a sword from Hamish we end up with Buell, arguably the best horse in the game. Hamish understood that it was dangerous to go alone, and that we needed to take Buell. https://preview.redd.it/3rfdo26876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=9fe8e755cec06e6e39c891386363259d3fb61746 I feel like there’s possibly other matches I just haven’t found them all yet. I don’t know the RDR2 map well enough to contribute more to this idea. The main thing I’m looking for now in regards to a map comparison are graveyards in RDR2 located east of O’Creagh’s run.   **The Strange Statues Cave:**  This one is more of a stretch than everything else but I found it compelling nonetheless. In the Strange Statues Cave we find eight statues standing in a circle surrounding the central figure of a human headed chicken. In the Zelda series there exists a group of characters known as the seven sages, Zelda herself is one of the sages. This group along with Link are the eight characters responsible for sealing away Ganondorf in the Sacred Realm to stop his spread of evil. And if you look at the statues in the cave you’ll notice that one of them is missing their left hand and forearm. Curiously, Link is left handed. Is this a potential nod to the hero from the Zelda series? Also looking at Twilight Princess we meet a human headed chicken race known as the Oocca. And what do we find at the center of the eight strange statues? That’s right, a statue of a human headed chicken. Checkmate Atheist! (/s) https://preview.redd.it/ii0fa86876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=07113908c98f9a886e52c9784cb3770e10b719e5 Now I think these examples can be easily dismissed, after all the Seven Sages and Human headed birds are commonplace when looking at various mythologies of the world. However, I do find their inclusion quite an interesting coincidence when looking at the region with a Zelda lens. **Witches Cauldron:** The Witches Cauldron is something we still know very little about in RDR2 but it is located in the same region, so I figured I’d look into it as a possible Zelda reference as well. You see in Zelda there’s a witch named Syrup who we can find constantly stirring a giant cauldron outside. The cauldron is next to a small hut. The hut is a shop run by Syrup’s granddaughter and apprentice witch, Maple. In the game, Link’s Awakening, Syrup asks us to get her the Sleepy Toadstool in the Mysterious Woods in order to get magic powder. Now what do we find in the cauldron in RDR2? The mysterious liquid. What does it do? It makes us fall asleep. Eh eh eh. Yeah this one is pretty weak but I find it odd that another similarity exists. I also find it odd that they named it Witches Cauldron and not Witch’s Cauldron. Implying that there is more than one witch working with this cauldron. I know a lot of stuff can be found in that area. Does anyone know if a bottle of Maple Syrup can be found there? I feel like that would be a good indicator of whether or not this is a potential Zelda easter egg. **The Quest for the Third Gemstone:** So I was about ready to call it quits and present what I had so far but I had the nagging feeling that there was still a third gemstone out there to make the Zelda trifecta. So I poured through the list of valuables in RDR2 once again and one stuck out to me more than the others, the Emerald. You get the Emerald for completing the He’s British, of Course, stranger mission. In those missions you’re tasked with retrieving circus animals for a ring master. In the last mission you have to kill a lion in order to complete it. Now let me state that in another way. In order to get the Emerald you have to kill a lion. A lion, the animal that primarily represents courage. In Zelda the Kokiri Emerald is literally the Gemstone of Courage. So in RDR2 in order to get the Emerald you have to kill the embodiment of courage, how more on the nose can you get. So, now I have a problem. I have three gemstones but two of them are green. So let’s examine these stones closer. The Fluorite is solid blue, the Emerald is solid green, and looking at the Ammolite we see that the in-game rock is actually two tones. It’s primarily a green-tone but the tip of it is bright pink and maybe slightly red. So I looked up a real life image of Ammolite to compare it to and it is an iridescent stone but the Google images imply that red is the predominant color of Ammolite.  Now I know some of you are probably already thinking well if Ammolite is the Red Gemstone then doesn’t that negate the Skyward Sword interpretation. And to that I say no. I think this could be a dual easter egg fairly easy. The Skyward Sword easter egg, and an easter egg to the original LoZ. In the first Zelda game Ganon steals the Triforce of Power and Link is sent on a quest to retrieve the eight pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom to aid in defeating Ganon and returning the Triforce of Power to the hands of good. So if we look at Ammolite as the Triforce of Power and the Fluorite as the Triforce of Wisdom and the nest this time as Hyrule I think we got another solid easter egg there. (Probably confirmation bias but it seemed to fit the overall theory pretty well so I threw it in here.) So now we have a red, a green, and a blue gemstone, which means I can share with you my most outlandish hypothesis.  **The Third Theory: The Time Travel Hypothesis**  In The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Link is able to open up a sealed door to the sacred realm by placing the three spiritual stones into an altar and playing the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time. Behind the door he finds the Master Sword. Upon pulling it he is transported and aged seven years into the future. By putting the sword back he is then able to travel and de-age seven years into the past. By using the three Gemstones that currently have no purpose I’m wondering if John can’t do something similar.  Perhaps there’s an altar somewhere, say at the Cathedral in St. Denis (which I don’t think can be entered), or the Abandoned Church in Bolger Glade, or maybe the buffalo mural at the Elysian Pool. A place that could be RDR2’s Temple of Time. At one of these theoretical altars we can place these three stones and maybe it’ll unlock a door to a hidden chamber that lets us travel back in time seven years.  https://preview.redd.it/2q7puz5876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=5822f962d5bdb1719a86fbee2d05d139c8869362 Now I said seven years and I know Chapters 1-6 take place in 1899 and the epilogue takes place in 1907. It appears that the beginning of the game and epilogue start in May of their respective years, so that would be an eight year gap. However, Chapters 1-6 take place over a period of around five to seven months. So there’s roughly a seven years and six months gap between the beginning of the game and epilogue. I think it can then be successfully argued that there’s only a seven year gap between the beginning and the epilogue. Which coincidently is the same gap of time the Hero of Time has control over.  Also some food for thought, in Twilight Princess the boss of the Temple of Time is a giant spider…. Has there been a group of people looking for a giant spider recently? https://preview.redd.it/nwv0zn5876tg1.png?width=820&format=png&auto=webp&s=ac2e7e27684e771467b8ebe5dde70e8dcef34b3c **Conclusions:** Now, I know this was a lot to read and take in but I wanted to provide as much evidence as possible no matter how circumstantial and coincidental it may be. I don’t believe everything I wrote in this to be true, however, I will fully stand by the Skyward Sword theory and the Hamish, Hero of Time theory. I think the Skyward Sword theory is the most compelling and least resistant theory put forth to explain the two gemstones in the Eagles nest. I feel like the evidence provided for the Hamish theory is also pretty on the nose of him being one of the many Links.  However, I feel a lot of stuff in the last section can easily be waived away as references to other media, confirmation bias, or, whatever comes along to help discredit it.  The main question I have regarding my theories(if they are accurate) is why would Rockstar include such an elaborate Zelda easter egg? And my best guess to that question is maybe it’s a bigger tribute to John O’Creagh. Perhaps the Zelda series was John’s favorite video game series and they wanted to make a bigger tribute than just naming the area after him. So they made the character Hamish as a stand in for John, so he could get to go on his own classic Zelda adventure. They called his missions The Veteran and we’re led to believe that’s because Hamish is a veteran of the civil war, but, perhaps the missions were named that to give a hint towards John being the veteran voice actor of Uncle.  Another possible reason is that the Legend of Zelda is arguably the most influential open world video game of all time and maybe the developers at Rockstar wanted to pay tribute to the series for all the inspiration it provided them over the years..  Well that’s about the end of the evidence. If you’ve made it this far I want to thank you again for reading my ramblings, hopefully they didn’t come off as too schizophrenic. I know most probably won’t agree with me on these theories and that’s okay. I’m just throwing them out there. Maybe somebody will get some use out of them. And even if we don’t all agree with everything I’ve shared I think the biggest takeaway we can all agree on is that Ganondorf is a gay fish. (/s) https://preview.redd.it/jyus2p5876tg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=8241912862b8a417c4c956c4ee589c58c40e24bc

Hello fellow travelers of Pywel, We all know that eventhough the game is great, the story (especially at the beginning) simply is not. So I tried to come up with a better story and solve some of the problems that make the game really hard to get into. I want to share my take on the story and would like some feedback if I am up to something or if I missed the mark completely. Please keep in mind that some of the parts of the story will not be closed in chapter one and will be resumed in a later on. And now have fun reading my draft for the beginning of the story. \------------------------------------------------ **Prologue: Ambush** Following the death of the leader who unified the clans, a power vacuum has emerged in the north between the Black Bears and the Greymanes. Up to this point conflict has been avoided but you can feel the tensions rising While riding home from a mission in the south, you and a band of your Clan (Greymanes) discover a massacred caravan. Your group investigates the scene which has been set up as an ambush for them by the Black Bears. Kliff is shoot with and arrow, which leads to a desperate sequence where you attempt to save your comrades but are eventually overwhelmed due to your injuries. In the ensuing cut scene, Myurdin, Chief of the Black Bears (your former close friend or brother), reveals himself as the culprit behind the attack. He intends to rise to power in the north and make people shake in fear when they with about the northern people. And his first objective is to eradicate the Greymanes. (Important his motive is hunger for power – Keep that in mind for later). He kills another Greymane right in front of you and then mortally stabs you and throws you into a river. However, a mysterious energy revives you as you sink beneath the water. **Chapter 1: Battle of Hernand** Sebastian, a cartographer, rescues you and nurses you back to health in his cabin. **Quest 1: A fresh start** After helping Sebastian with daily chores (Stacking boxes, fishing/foraging, cooking), he is attacked by bandits who try to extort him for money. When Kliff comes to his aid they immediately identify Kliff as a Greymane and try to kill both of you. During the fight, you touch an "Abyss Artifact" that Sebastian uses as a paperweight. The sight of Kliff absorbing the artifact and then performing a Force punch onto one of the Bandits makes them flee. Sebastian is also surprised because no one has been able to decipher what these Artifacts were used for, but Kliff seems to be quiet in touch with them. Among the bandits' belongings, you find a key to a house in Hernand and orders from Myurdin to the bandits: Hunt down all remaining Greymanes in the Hernand region and kill them on sight. You decide to set out for Hernand to seek shelter from the bandits and to find other survivors of the Ambush Sebastian accompanies you and gives you a quick rundown of the current situation: * The bandit attacks started right when the Greymanes where attacked (you ride by a burned down village) * They have increased in numbers and are far better equipped and organized than before In Hernand, you establish a base in the house of the bandit house (including a shop for Sebastian and a room for yourself). **Quest 2: Beginning of a Plan** Since Sebastian’s contacts find no trace of the Greymanes, you visit the local tavern to gather some rumors. Due to the chaos in the region, there is no information on Greymanes, but you get several offers to join mercenary parties.  The nobles are search for sell swords, because the townguard is unable to protect their assets outside the boarders of the village You meet up with Sebastian, who advises Kliff to seek help from the nobles and other influential factions He tells him that there are 5 he must get to his side: * House Serkis – The marquis himself * House Roberts – The Traders * House Celeste – The townguard * House Felix – The builders * The Beggar’s Alliance Sebastian explains the situation: the bandits are systematically ruining Hernand's most influential factions and no one knows the reason why. Kliff decides to start with the lower houses to get an audition with the marquis, if they cannot help. **Quest 3: Backing of the Houses** The following quest are all given at the same time and can be resolved parallel to each other. To progress in the story you must finish at least 2, but you can also do all 4 (this may help you later – *hind hind*) **Quest 3.1: Securing the Trade - House Roberts** This quest revolves around securing the trade routes towards the town and production assets to the south-west. Here are your tasks that you get during this questline: * Protect a trade convoy from ambushes after several have been attacked by bandits before * Driving bandits from productions sides of House Roberts (brewery, textile mill, cooper) * Retake a watchtower to the southwest to stop the bandits from attacking from there \[Boss fight against a Bandit that uses ambush tactics and quick attacks\] At the watch tower you find a letter from Myurdin that orders the bandits to strangle Hernand economically. After returning to Lord Roberts he pledges support for the search for the Greymanes **Quest 3.2: The Shields of Hernand – House Celeste** The townguard is overwhelmed and need to build up numbers and experience to fight back the Bandits. It takes place on the north side of the town. Here are your tasks that you get during this quest line: * Drive the Bandits away from fighting pits the townguard has used to hone the strength of new recruits * Rebuild the archery Range at Lioncrest Manor * Clear a part of the forest for a training ground and drive of the bandits from a cave there * Train the troops by competing in archery, fistfight and melee combat tournaments In the cave you find Black Bear weapons, suggesting even further involvement with the Bandits. House Celeste is in your dept and agrees to help you **Quest 3.3: The Master Builders – House Felix** Next up are the mast builders of Hernand. They are under distress in the north-east of the village. Here are Kliff’s tasks: * Clear a bandit roadblock over the vital bridge near “Three Saint Fall” * Reclaim the lumberyard of House Felix * Rebuild a burned down village by clearing a bandit camp and providing wood and stone * Reclaim Quarry Karin from the Bandits \[Boss fight against a Bandit in a drilling suit\] (Yes, it is basically the Quest “Stolen Quarry” form the game, but it makes more sense in this story line) A letter on the boss again proves Black Bear involvement with the goal to weaken the towns infrastructure and defense assets. **Quest 3.4: The Masters of Rumors and Chatter – Beggar’s Alliance** This quest is structured like a cat and mouse espionage game between the Beggars (with your help) and the bandits. Here are the sub tasks: * The Beggars are going to steal food supplies from the bandits and need to distract the bandits by attacking their front gate * You are tasked with sneaking into a bandit camp in a disguise and plant false evidence to frame other bandits for stealing the food to sow distrust and chaos * Reclaim the Lioncrest Tower because the Alliance wants to use it to document certain movements in and outside the town * Based on the information from spying on the villagers you are tasked with kidnapping 2 potential Bandits spies in the night out of their beds. * One of these turns out to be a spy and tells you where the bandit’s hideout in the village is. You are tasked to clear it and bring the Beggars Alliance all documents in the hideout \[Boss fight against the Bandit Spymaster who uses gadgets to attack you\] In the hideout there is a note from the Black Beards with the order to carry out acts of sabotage to undermine the towns defense capability and moral. The Beggars Alliance gives Kliff access to their network that even reaches up to the castle \-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **Quest 8: War Council** After helping the factions you are invited into the castle to meet Marquis Serkis. He is preoccupied with the current bandit situation and cannot help you before the attacks seize. You present your evidence of the alliance between Myurdin and the bandits. Kliff also mentions that all evidence points to a bigger plan and that this was just the preparations for that The meeting is interrupted: There is an attack on the “Three Saints Fall”- Bridge and they are planting explosives to blow it up * You rush there and you must defeat the attackers. There are loads of bandits but also some Black Bear warriors in the mix * The attackers come in waves with Torchbearers. You must kill them before they are able to light the fuse * After you driven the bandits of the last wave consists of Bleak Bears \[boss fight against one of the Black Bear lieutenants from the Prologue – He uses a Bludgeon that has been set on fire\] Kliff beats him but he falls down the waterfall. While frisking one of the torchbearers you find a note that spells out the attack plan: Blow up the bridge, Move into House Felix territory, then wait for the Hernand army and ambush them. If possible, take the town. You return to the marquis and show him the order. He says that now that they know the enemies plan, they should set up a battle on their terms. He orders the townguard to prepare for a field battle **Quest 9:** The Eve of the battle The time you won the town by saving the bridge is used for the preparation of the battle You get several tasks (you must complete all of them): * Scout the battlefield (in the valley west of Reventine Winery/Monestary) * Clear Rocca Hill from bandits to build a camp for the army * Talk to the Houses to get support from them (you can only talk to the ones you have helped before) * When for battle ready, talk to Count Celeste **Quest 10: The Battle of Hernand** This is a big set piece battle and the culmination of act 1. Give us a cut scene where you see the Hernand army in formation and waiting. And then another where the attacking army of the Black Bears/Bandits meeting prepared field army at their invasion point. And give us a big battle where Kliff can slaughter 100 bandits+ I teased you that it can help you to get the support of more houses And here is the payoff you get during the battle for each house: * House Roberts: There are several carts with food and munition around the battlefield * House Celeste: You get additional foot soldiers and archers for the battle * House Felix: There are wooden palisades for cover from enemy archer fire and watchtowers with additional bowmen to harass the enemy * Beggars Alliance: The Beggars have poisoned the other army’s food (they do 10% less damage and have 20% hp less) and have stolen parts of their equipment (they have no shield or armor and hardly any bows) Your tasks are: * Fight of the enemy advance (5 waves) * Stop the enemy from flanking your position from the other side of the river (2 waves with just a few allied troops) * Charge the retreating enemy and push them back into their camp * \[Boss fight\] Kill the enemy commander in his final stand – The Black bear lieutenant from the bridge mission but now he has additional fire spears After you killed the boss the Bandits and Black Bears route and you see Myurdin at the top of the cliffs looking an Kliff on the northern side of the valley. Instead of helping his troops he shacks his head disappointingly and just turns around to leave, leading to the rest of his army to be surrounded and captured or wiped out (if you want to be a bit more brutal) The victory is yours and you have successfully repulsed the Bandits attack and denied the Black Bears plan. And even though you were not able to defeat them completely you threw them back to the North and saved Hernand. **Why do I think this is a better start to the game:** 1. Even the strangest story needs a common thread that the player can follow - The original story does not have that 2. It felt very strange that the main part of chapter 1 had nothing to do with what happens in the Prologue. So opening the story with a plot that includes fighting the Black Bears and ruining one of theirplans seems way more natural 3. The original story throws so many new concepts into your face without giving you enought time to understand them. 4. I think it is important to give the player some mysteries that they want to discover: * Why did the Black Bears want to annihilate the Greymanes? * What are these strange artifacts and why do they give you powers? \-------------------------------------------------- That's it for now. I hope for your feedback.