It depends on every individual’s playthrough of Breath of the Wild, but it’s rare that people head out to the upper corners of the map right out the gate. By the time the average player reaches the autumn-swathed Akkala province, they’ve likely completed numerous shrines, side quests, boss fights, and/or freed a Divine Beast (maybe even two or three). So, when one gives in to their curiosity and hikes all the way to Robbie’s laboratory, located at the north-eastern edge of Hyrule, only for him to send Link away on a quest to retrieve the Ancient Furnace’s Blue Flame, one may think: Sure, whatever. No problem.
Or even: Oh, an Ancient Furnace. I did that for Purah for her lab in Hateno — should be a piece of cake.
Again, we circle back to how each person chooses to play the game. Because — while there may be ways to make this an easy task — if you want to do it the way the story intends, you’ll have to bring a torch. And some spears…perhaps a LOT of arrows. And plenty of patience.
To aid Robbie’s production of ancient weapons, and to reactivate his precious robot Cherry, Link must make his way through the uneven terrain of Tumlea Heights to retrieve the Blue Flame from what’s known as an Ancient Furnace. There are two of these in the game: one in Hateno Village, and one here, near Robbie’s lab. According to both Robbie and Purah, they are ancient (go figure) sources of immense energy that the Sheikah harnessed 10,000 years ago to power their technology. Bringing the flames to both laboratories will activate their respective fast-travel points, and allow both Robbie and Purah to provide Link with Sheikah-tech power-ups.
Compared to Purah’s Blue Flame quest, which had Link carrying a torch through the peaceful winding roads of Hateno Village, Robbie’s Blue Flame quest is much harder to complete. The path through Tumlea Heights is obstructed by stray Moblins and Bokoblins, as well as two monster camps containing both. It runs along Bloodleaf Lake, with multiple Octoroks that keep an obnoxiously close eye out for you.
The path eventually spirals up to the top of a hill, where Link can light a torch with the Ancient Furnace’s Blue Flame. If the player decides to take a shortcut, skirting in a straight line up the edge of the rocky hill, they will still have to sneak past some monsters without slipping backwards on the steep surface.
Either way, the route back to Robbie’s lab is long, and with Akkala being a rainy region, the chances of your fire being put out are high. Reading Robbie’s memoirs in his lab reveals that his son, Granté, used to retrieve the flame regularly from Tumlea Heights as an adventurous exercise. The guy must have great legs.
To make the trek easier, the road through Tumlea Heights is adorned with unlit lanterns, the same as those found in Hateno Village. Link can light these as a means of saving his progress on the way back to the lab — it’s a lifesaver if it does happen to rain. It’s also a useful trick to set your arrows aflame, lighting torches from several yards away.
Using these torches is my favorite way to complete this quest. There’s a landing near Robbie’s lab where Link can look out over the twists and turns of Tumlea Heights and see the hills dotted with blue, and not only is it beautiful, it’s satisfying! However you got the Blue Flame — whether you cleared the path ahead of reaching the Ancient Furnace or fought your way back as you went — it’s a breath of fresh air to witness your progress atop the cliff overlooking the hills.
Viewing the Blue Flames feels like a sigh of relief, as if the Sheikah’s symbolic presence releases the lands of Hyrule from an evil that has plagued it for a century. It’s a similar feeling to observing the freed Divine Beasts on the horizon, posed and protective, ready for a final fight with Calamity Ganon.
