Horse Flute
| Horse Flute | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Collection |
| Location | Qi's Walnut Room for 50 |
The Horse Flute calls a horse across the whole map, which solves one of the quiet annoyances of the late game. A horse cannot be led onto the boat to Ginger Island or into the bus to Calico Desert, and it is left standing wherever it was when a Warp Totem goes off. Playing the flute brings it to the farmer instead, so a ride is available on the island paths and the desert sands for the first time. Mr Qi sells it in the Walnut Room for Qi Gems, which means it arrives long after the stable has been built. It only works under the open sky, so there is no summoning a horse into the farmhouse kitchen.
Overview
The flute is on Mr Qi's shelf in the Walnut Room, the small shop hidden on the west side of Ginger Island, and he asks fifty Qi Gems for it. The room itself opens for a farmer who has tracked down a hundred Golden Walnuts, so the flute sits behind a good deal of island exploring. Gems come from Mr Qi's own quest board, from trading surplus walnuts at two gems a nut, and from the occasional monster that drops them, so a single run of his challenges usually covers the price.
A horse is the other requirement, and that means Robin's stable standing on the farm with an animal in it. The flute will stay silent until the horse has been given a name, which catches out anyone who skipped the naming box when the stable was finished.
Using it is one button. Holding the flute and playing it brings the horse trotting in from wherever it was left, and the sound it makes is picked at random from a short set of tunes, so the same summons does not always sound the same. The one firm restriction is that it has to be played outdoors; nothing happens inside a building, a mine or a cave. In a shared farm the flute also waits its turn, since a horse already being ridden by another farmer stays where it is.
Where that matters most is away from the valley. The island paths are long and the desert is worse, and a horse cuts both down considerably. The flute also saves the walk back to the stable after a Warp Totem or an obelisk has dropped the farmer somewhere far from home.
Notes
Nothing wears the flute out and no shop will buy it back, so once bought it simply stays in the bag as a permanent convenience. Keeping it on the toolbar costs one slot and saves a great many minutes.
Of everything on Mr Qi's shelf, this is one of the cheaper purchases and the one most likely to be used every single day. Anyone weighing it against a stack of gems for crops or forge work usually finds the walking time saved pays for itself within a season.
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