No one really likes thieves. They’re a nuisance to store owners, they make people check their pockets one more time in crowded places, and they generally makes one’s day worse. But even though thieves are unpopular, they make pretty good characters in video games, and we’ve come across them in the Zelda series several times. The troublemaking bandit Sakon spreads chaos in Majora’s Mask, Ganondorf is given the nickname “Gerudo Thief” in Ocarina of Time, and even Link can become a thief for the rest of his stay at Koholint Island in Link’s Awakening! In the end, both Sakon and Link get caught, so maybe one can say they’re not very good at being thieves. There is, however, one thief who is very good at their profession.
In Breath of the Wild, there’s a thief so good that you never get to see them, making it impossible for anyone who might be interested in catching them. Furthermore, the chances that anyone would even be interested enough to give it a try seem small, and I don’t say that because Hyrule’s map is huge in this game, making it nearly impossible to find a person who’s never standing still. Rather, it seems that Misko specializes in true rarities and never steals from travelers or villagers, so if they’re not disturbing everyday life, it kind of makes sense why no one would want to catch them.
Although Misko isn’t causing any trouble, that doesn’t mean that people don’t think of them. Two Hylian brothers named Prissen and Domidak, who dream of finding Misko’s hidden treasures, can be found at the Dueling Peaks Stable. Neither of them have actually seen Misko and they still haven’t found any treasures yet, but the rumors they whisper about this famed bandit are wild. Apparently, Misko is the former leader of a bandit gang, and they leave riddles as taunting hints of where to find the hidden treasures. No one knows whether the first rumor is true or not, but the latter definitely seems to be true; in the Champion’s Ballad DLC Pack, Misko leaves behind two journals as proof, hidden somewhere in Hyrule for Link (or brave treasure hunters) to read.
For being such a great, mysterious bandit, Misko doesn’t seem too worried that someone else can find their hidden treasures. The journal books are filled with riddles, but they’re not too difficult for a well-traveled explorer like Link to solve. Perhaps Misko wrote these riddles for themself, as a reminder where they hid all the invaluable rarities. I don’t blame them because the things they’ve stolen come from Hyrule Castle and belonged to the Royal Family, and I can only imagine how difficult it must’ve been to obtain those priceless relics. If I were to forget where I had hidden something as important as items from Hyrule Castle’s treasury, I would never forgive myself. Misko didn’t just take one or two treasures, but fourteen of them, making it even more difficult to remember what lies where. Perhaps it’s a good thing that Link manages to solve the riddles and find the hidden treasure chests so that they can one day be returned to the Royal Family of Hyrule.
All in all, not much is known about Misko, but perhaps that’s what makes them so great (besides the fact that they managed to sneak into Hyrule Castle). Why did they risk their life to steal rarities just to leave them hidden in the wild? Are the rumors about the Great Bandit Misko the reason why Link meets so many treasure-hunting travelers who hope to be as successful as them? I suppose we’ll never know, but what I do know is that the notorious Misko got my attention and a bit of my respect, even though we never have and never will meet.
