Categories > Games > Zelda > The Switch of Fate
A Switch of Fate
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.
Chapter 6
"Wow, it's all one large cavern," Link said in awe as he looked around Goron's city. There were several caves entrances everywhere, a Goron coming out or going in here and there.
"So this is how the Goron's live," Sheik said as he too looked around. "I wonder where that stone you're looking for is."
"We could ask that Goron over there on that platform," Link said, pointing to the wooden platform being held up by three strong ropes and was suspended over the lower levels of the caverns.
"I guess I can us teleport us over there," Sheik said, turning around to look at Link only to see the boy wasn't there. Link was already crossing over the rope to the platform. "Link what are you doing?!?" Link stopped and turned around, balancing on the ropes easily and giving Sheik a curious look.
"I'm going to speak to the Goron over there," he said, pointing to the Goron on the platform before turning again and continuing his trek. Sheik bit his lip, gulping as he looked down over the edge to the lower levels of the platform.
'If he falls, he could kill himself!' Sheik thought in a panic as his red eyes snapped back to Link who was now on the platform and was speaking to the Goron. He watched as the Goron pointed to the lowest level of the cavern and as Link gave the creature a brilliant smile before doing a tightrope routine back over to Sheik. "Please don't do that again Link, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Link said with a blush as he saw the concerned look on Sheik's face. "I've walked tree limbs that are not much wider than that rope so it was easy."
"Alright I didn't mean to yell at you, I was just worried for you. If you had fallen...." Sheik shuttered slightly as he thought of what could have happen to his new friend. "Anyway, what did that Goron tell you? I saw him pointing to the lower levels."
"Oh, he said usually the spiritual stone of fire, or as he called it the Goron Ruby, is on that platform but their 'big brother' took it and is waiting in his room for the messenger of the Royal family," Link said, tilting his head a bit. "What does he mean by 'big brother'?"
"Goron's call each other 'brother' and the 'big brother' is the leader of them," Sheik said. "So do you want me to teleport us down to the bottom?"
"No, I think we should walk," Link said with a shake of his head. He wanted to see more of the Goron city.
******
Sheik gave curious looks at the boy beside him; Link was humming a song under his breath as they passed one of the tunnels on the lower levels of the Goron City.
"What are you humming?" he finally asked, making Link stop and turned to give him a confused look.
"What?" He asked as he placed a hand on his hip while the other one hanged down beside his leg, it was a strange stance that Sheik noticed Link took up whenever he was speaking to someone.
"You were humming, what song was it?" Sheik asked again. Link blinked his eyes, a clueless look on his face; he hadn't even realized he was humming anything. He was about to answer the other boy, telling him he didn't know that he had been humming, but snapped his mouth shut and tilted his head to the side listing to something. "What is it?" Sheik questioned as he saw Link's actions.
"Shh," Link said, waving a hand in Sheik direction as he followed the faint sounds he heard.
"I hear music," Navi said, flying back the way they came to find the source. Sheik, curious, followed after, now faintly hearing the notes now too, which got louder as they neared a close by tunnel. He quickly realized it was the same song that Link had been humming.
Once the two Elvin boys and one fairy reached the tunnel, the notes of Saria’s Song surrounded them fully. The tunnel was dark, a large wall of cracked boulders in front of them surrounded by strange bomb looking flowers and a lone Goron curled up in front of the wall. He uncurled himself and stood up as the boys approached.
"Where does this tunnel lead?" Link asked the rock man.
"I don't know, but that tune that's playing is really catchy, very relaxing goro," the Goron said, snapping his fingers a bit to the beat. "Everyone in the city loves it, even Big Brother."
Link gazed at the boulders in front of him, a thoughtful look on his face. He grinned and snapped his fingers before turning to Sheik.
"I bet I know where the tunnel ends," He chirped happily.
"Where?" Sheik asked, curious as a cat.
"The Lost Woods, I pass by stone a archway every time I go to the Scared Meadow, I went in once but the tunnel inside was blocked off by a bunch of rocks," Link said, quite happy to have solve this mystery once and for all, wait until he told Saria where it ended.
"Well that makes sense, the music Saria always plays always seems to fill the woods, so it must travel down the tunnel too," Navi said, agreeing with Link. Link giggled as he realized Saria had a bunch of Goron groupies.
******
"So, how do I open the door?" Link asked, pushing a bit at the large stone door, which had a strange symbol on it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Well there's no leavers or switches on this side of the door, so it must open from the inside," Sheik commented as he studied the door. "The Goron said that their 'Big Brother' was waiting for the messenger of the royal family, which is you, so you have to be able to get inside somehow."
"As much as I hate to say it, I don't think a grown Goron will think a child is the messenger just because they say so," Navi said from her place above Link's shoulder. "Hey! What about that song the Sheikah woman taught you? Didn't she say it proved that you’re the Royal Family Messenger?"
"But do you think it will reach him behind these thick walls," Sheik asked, finally giving up on finding a way into the room behind the door.
"We'll never know until we try," Link said as he dug thought his pockets and removed his light green ocarina. He softly blew into the instrument and played out the song, Zelda's Lullaby, which Impa had taught him. Almost as soon as the notes died away, there was a click and the stone door slid to the side with a grinding noise. Both blonds looked at each other before heading to the short tunnel to the room on the other side. Standing in the middle of the room was a very large Goron, much larger than the Gorons outside, who had a spiky rock 'hair' style.
The large Goron looked down at the pair of children in front of him, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.
"What's this? When I heard the song, I thought the messenger from the Royal Family of the Hylains had finally arrived, but all I seen is a Kokiri and a Sheikah child. Go away, I do not have time for children," the Goron said in a deep, angry voice. Link gulped slightly before stepping up slightly.
"I... I'm the messenger from the Royal Family," Link said, jumping back as the large Goron quickly turned toward him.
"What! Does the King, my Sworn Brother, see fit to mock me, Darunia the leader of the Gorons by sending a child?!" Darunia yelled, enraged by the very thought. Both Link and Sheik looked up at him with wide eyes, Link's back to Sheik's chest as the smaller blond backed up against the other. Even Navi had been shocked, flying back behind the two boys.
"Why... why are you so angry?" Link finally asked.
"Why! Someone had sealed Dodongo Cavern. My people are starving! There is a monster in the cavern as well. Why do you think I'm angry?!" Darunia raged, hitting his fist into the ground, causing it to shake. Link realized the large rock man needed to calm down and fast. The Kokiri boy quickly thought of a way to calm Darunia down, remembering that the Goron at the mouth of the tunnel that lead to the Lost Woods had claimed the music from there was very relaxing and that their 'big brother' enjoyed it as well.
Link quickly took out his ocarina and played Saria's Song. As he continued to play, Darunia stopped his raging and listened to the music. Suddenly a large grin crossed his face before be broke out into a dance.
"Yeah! Oh yeah! Yes! Yahooo!" Darunia yelled as he danced wildly, causing Link and Sheik to back up against the wall to avoid getting hit. After a moment or two of wildly swinging his arms around in a mockery of dancing, Darunia finally stopped a large smile on a face and his black eyes bright. "Ohhhh, I feel much better. Who are you again?" the Goron said, now much calmer since he danced out his anger.
"Oh, I'm Link. And this is Navi and Sheik," Link said, tucking away his ocarina and waving a hand in the direction of his two companions.
"Well then, what is it that you wanted Link," Darunia asked, large arms crossed over his chest again as he looked down at the two boys and fairy in front of him, once again looking tough and imposing.
"ummm.... I want the Spiritual Stone of Fire." Link said, a bit nervously. Darunia's eyes widened and outside of the Gorons leader room, several Gorons could hear their Big Brother yell
"WHAT!?!"
******
"Alright, explain to me again how this is going to work?" Link asked, peering over the edge of cliff he and Sheik was standing on, hands wrapped around the small wooden fence on the edge.
"All you have to do is pick up that bomb flower there," Sheik pointed at the explosive plant no less than a couple of feet away "and throw it over the fence you’re leaning against. Hopefully, it will land by the boulder down there and blow it up. It's perfect." Link had doubts of that, reaching down to twist the new gold arm band wrapped around his left forearm. The trinket was a gift from Darunia after the Goron and the Kokiri had come to an agreement on the Spiritual Stone of Fire.
Darunia agreed to give up the Goron treasure, commonly known as the Goron Ruby, if Link could not only figured out how to reopen the cave that housed the Goron's choice of food, a special type of rock, but he was also to defeat the monster that was housed inside. Darunia advised Link that both the monster and the blockage of the cave was done by a pair of witches who had also requested the stone. When the Goron leader did not turn over the stone to the witches, they cursed Dodongo cave to starve the Gorons until Darunia gave up the Spiritual stone.
In the end, Link had to agree to the Goron leader request. After all, he couldn't let the poor Gorons starve, so he would be doing this even if it wasn't for the Goron Ruby. The Kokiri just wondered if he was going to have through a task like this for when he visited the Zora's and asked for their stone. It was become a common theme after all, Link had to break the curse inside the Great Deku Tree, though the tree still died anyway, and now he was going into a likely very dangerous cave.
'What in the name of Farore am I going to face when I go to retrieve the Spiritual Stone of Water?' Link wondered to himself as he picked up the bomb flower. He gulped as he saw that the bomb flower's top started to flare, quickly racing over to the edge of the cliff and lobbing the explosive plant over the edge. Navi quickly flew over the edge, looking down to watch it's decent.
"It landed right next to the boulder! Are you sure that one bomb flower is going to be enough to destroy it?" Navi asked, turning her small body to face the two boys still on the cliff.
Ka-Boom!!
Down below, the bomb flower reached the end of its fuse stalk, exploding and blowing the giant boulder up to pieces. The Goron standing nearby gave a yell of shocked surprise while Navi gave a shriek as the small shock-wave from the bomb flower was enough to send the small fairy tumbling through the air from where she had been floating. Link caught his fairy partner before she hit the ground.
"Never mind, one bomb flower is more than enough," Navi said in a dizzy voice, sitting up in Link's hands. She swayed side-to-side, little swirl's in her eyes, dizzy from her tumble in the air.
******
"Oh Farore, it's so hot in here," Link panted, leaning against a wall. The Kokiri boy was sweating heavily, his strawberry blond hair sticking to his face and neck. His tunic was sticking to his skin, not made for this hot environment. "And if one more Dodongo larva jumps up and blows up on me one more time, I'm going to scream," he added with a hiss as he pushed off the wall, pulling at his injuries. The boy was covered in burns and cuts, thanks to several Dodongos, at all stages of growth, and strange statues called Beamos that shots a beam of light out of its 'eye'.
After Link had opened the Dodongo Cave, thanks to Sheik's plan, the two boys had quickly gone down the path to the cave. Sheik had been more than ready to join Link in saving the place only to have Navi put a stopper in his plans. The fairy had made it quite clear that this part of Link's quest was to be done alone without the young shadow elf's help. Sheik had pouted before sadly saying goodbye to his new friend and making Link promise to come back to his home once Link was done with Darunia's task and had the ruby spiritual stone.
From there it was one hardship after another, with the result of Link not liking Dodongos. As stated before, the boy had several burns on his hands and legs, his tunic sporting a few burn spots as well. He was just glad that there weren’t any of the fire breathing lizards that were as big as the one whose skull rested in the main chamber of the cave.
"Well at lease according to the map we found, there isn't too much more to explore here," Navi said, seemingly not bothered by the heat, though she too was disturbed by the monsters inside the cave network. This place was much more dangerous than the challenges that had been in the Deku Tree. Still, the old tree had said that this was the young boy's destiny so Link had to be able to handle everything thrown at him. "Come on, you rested long enough, time to head into the next chamber."
Link groaned but did as she said, heading to the exit out of the room. The next chamber was one he had been in before but in a different part. Across from him was a chest, making the boy wonder what was in this one. So far he had found a map and compass in the large chests in the cave, much like he had found in the Great Deku tree. Opening the chest, Link grinned as he reached in and grabbed a bag that was filled with bombs.
"Thank Din, I don't have to use those Bomb Flowers anymore," Link said as he slipped the bomb bag into the pouch Sheik gave him.
"You have had too many close calls with those things," Navi agreed as they moved on. "It's a very useful item you found really." Link just nodded his head in agreement, reaching up to whip the sweat off of his forehead again. He heard a digging sound as he reached the next room, groaning as he saw more baby Dodongos dig their way out of the ground.
******
"I never want to see another Dodongo as long as I live," Link said as he leaned against the cavern wall, hissing as he pulled away as the rocky surface was a little too hot. He was finally finished with saving the Dodongo cavern, killing off the giant lizard in the very last chamber in the caves. That one had been huge! Almost as big as the skull in the first large cavern. The bombs had been useful at least, the dumb Dodongo had swallowed every single bomb the boy had tossed into its mouth as it drew in air to breath out a jet stream of fire.
"But you did good Link. You rid the caves of the Dodongos, just like you agreed to do. So that means Darunia must give you the Spiritual Stone of Fire! That only leaves the Stone of Water, we're closer to putting a halt to Ganondorf's plans," Navi said, nodding her head. They were so much closer to saving Hyrule, the Great Deku Tree would have been so proud of them.
"Oh Navi, don't start that again," Link sighed as he walked toward the finally cooled off lava pit in the middle of the room. In the middle, a circle of blue light had appeared, much like it had when he finished off Queen Goma in the Deku Tree, to take him and Navi back out. "I still don't believe that Ganondorf is going to take over Hyrule, there just something about Zelda's story that doesn't seem right to me. Besides, that girl creeps me out, like there's something wrong with her."
"Link, she's the princess of Hyrule. She's just trying to protect her people, much like her father did at the end of the Great Hyrule Wars," Navi said, shaking her head sadly, when would her charge give up this silly notion that the Gerudo King wasn't evil.
"Just because she's a princess does not make her a good person," Link insisted as he stepped into the warp circle. "I'm telling you, something doesn't sit right with me on her." Navi groaned and shook her head again as she joined the Kokiri boy in the light, dropping the subject for now. The light brightened, swirling around the pair, Link looking up as the warp took him outside. The magic gently lowered Link to the ground one outside the mouth of the Dodongo Cavern, the child sighing with relief as a cool wind blew past cooling him off.
Link stood there for a few minutes, letting himself cool down after the trial he had just went through before getting ready to hike back up the mountain side to the Goron City. He had only taken a couple of steps before stopping suddenly. There was a strange whistling noise that was getting louder by the second. He look up into the sky, giving a startled yelp as he dove out of the way to avoid being hit by a falling boulder. Only to find out it wasn't a boulder but in fact the Goron leader Darunia who stood up proudly once he had landed.
"Good job kid!" Darunia said a large smile on his face. "I can't believe none of us thought to blow up the boulder," he added, looking over his shoulder at the cave entrance. It was embarrassing that he didn't think of it, he was suppose to protect his Brothers, make sure they were in good health and fed. But he had failed in that, letting his anger of the situation go to his head. Darunia was very grateful to Link for not only reopening the Dodongo Cavern but also killing the monster inside.
"Well it's over now, but I never want to see another Dodongo as long as I live," Link said, lifting up a hand to rub at one of the burns on his arm.
"You know, I'm going to make you my Sworn Brother," Darunia said, patting Link on the back. The blond yelped as the hand hit his back and he was pushed forward, making him stumble forward. Navi made a pleased noise from where she floated above, her change being named a Sworn Brother to the leader of the Gorons was a great honor. Only the King of Hyrule had been given such an honor within the last 100 years. "And I will hold up my end of the deal, the Spiritual Stone of Fire is yours," Darunia said as he held up his hand. The Goron Ruby appeared high in the air before slowly floating down to his hand, he then handed it to Link. "Keep it with pride, Brother."
"Thank you Darunia," Link said with a smile as he took the stone, gazing at the beautiful ruby stone and gold frame work before placing it in his pocket beside the Kokiri Emerald.
"Another thing Brother," Darunia turned and pointed a large finger toward the smoky top of Death Mountain. "There is a Great Fairy that lives near the top of the mountain. It might be worth your wild to pay her a visit, she can at least heal those Dodongo burns, there's nothing like a fairy's healing magic."
"I think it would be a good idea to pay her a visit then," Navi said before Link could say anything. The boy frowned a bit, he wasn't against visiting the fairy but he was tried, sore and hurt. All he wanted to do is take a bath to wash off the ashy grime that clung to him then sleep. He did not want to climb up the side of an active volcano right now. But, Navi was going to bug him until he agreed to do what she said.
"Alright everyone, let’s send our Brother off," Darunia called out, hand cupped over his mouth. Several whistling noises came from above, same as when Darunia came sailing from the city above, before a small group of Gorons fell around Link and Navi.
"Good work brother."
"Let’s have a large group hug," Link gave a yell before running off through a opening in the group of advancing Gorons that lead up the path to the mountain. Navi quickly followed after, agreeing with the boy quick exit before the affectionate Gorons could hug him, avoiding being crushed.
Link ran up the side of the mountain until he turned a bend and was out of sight of the group of Gorons, who was already heading into the cavern to get their food. The small boy stopped running, panting softly as he leaned over to catch his breath, hands resting on bent knees. Navi flew on ahead, looking for the path that would take her and Link up to the Great Fairy that lived at the top.
"Come on Link, I found the way to the Great Fairy!" Navi called loudly, turning to face Link who was groaning softly as he straightened himself up and slowly walked to where the fairy was floating. "Hurry up!"
"Navi, would you hold your horse-flies," Link groaned as he stopped under the fairy. "I'm tired, I'm sore and hurt. I just want a soft bed and some food right now."
"Well, you'll get a chance to rest up and heal after we visit the Great Fairy," Navi said as she flew down and started to prod Link in the back to get him moving. The blond groaned softly but started moving again, climbing up the really steep hill until he reached the top and looked down the path that lead to the volcano itself. His violet eyes widened as it started to rain boulders and fire.
"You want me to go in there!?!" Link screeched as he turned his head to look up at Navi, pointing at the dangerous path.
"Well... yes. Look, it's stopping," Navi said, making her charge turn his attention back to the path. The rocks and fire tapered off, leaving behind crushed rocks. Link stayed where he was for several minutes, making Navi frown slightly. "What are you..." the fairy's little eyes widen as the rumbling started again, making her turn around and watch as the rocks and fire started to fall again.
"I knew it, it comes and goes," Link said turning to look up at Navi. "How do you suggest I go down there without being killed?"
"Use that shield of yours, like when the giant Dodongo tried to roll over you. That should protect you from the rocks. Or you could just run through and try to dive out of the way as they fall," Navi suggested, making Link think that she was completely nuts.
"Navi, I am beginning to hate you," Link said under his breath as he adjusted his large Hylain solider shield on his back before running down the dangerous path.
***
Sheik knelt down, parting the bushes as he looked down the ground. He was worried about Link; the boy had been inside the Goron's Dodongo cavern since the day before. The Sheikah boy was greatly worried about the other boy, the first true friend he had in a long time. There weren’t that many children in the village other than himself and Kain. What little children there was in the village, they were afraid to approach the older child of the village leader. Link was a breath of fresh air for Sheik and he didn't want the other boy hurt or killed. He was worried about the fact that Link would have to rejoin his fellow Kokiri in the woods soon but Sheik was sure his mother would allow him to visit Link there.
To distract him from his worries about Link, Sheik was looking for the Minish. He hadn't seen any others since the one that Link had spoken to after nearly landing on its house but the other blond had told him the little people were everywhere. Sheik wanted to see the little blue robed people again, he had never seen anything like them.
"Sheik, what are you doing?" Kain asked, leaning forward with his hands braced on his knees. He had watched his big brother crawl and poke around in different places all around the village, looking behind bushes and even gave a long intense stare at a mushroom on the ground.
"I'm looking for the Minish," Sheik said, not looking up from his search until he was completely sure there were no Minish there.
"Oh.... What's a Minish?" Kain asked, tilting his head to the side, his hair that was tied off in a braid that day falling over his shoulder.
"It's a little creature that's about this big," Sheik sat back on his heels, holding his hand up with his fingers closed near together to show how big a Minish was, " wearing a little blue robe and hat and has a big feathered tail. They're suppose to be everywhere but only kids like us can see them."
"Like a Picori?" Kain asked again, squatting down beside his brother, arms wrapped around his knees. Sheik frowned at the foreign term then shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, I've never heard of a Picori. Where did you hear that?" Sheik asked as he stood up, brushing off his legs then holding out a hand to help his little brother up.
"The kids that moved from Hyrule Castle Town, they said that. They told me that they have this festival in the town around the castle that called the Picori Festival and it's about this little race of people that go around helping people but only kids are suppose to be able to see them," Kain said in an excited chatter as he grabbed Sheik's hand and allowed the older boy to pull him up.
"I guess they are the same thing, but the Kokiri called them Minish while the Hylains call them call them Picori," Sheik decided, as he turned to head back home. It was getting late and he knew Impa would be calling for them to come home soon. As the two Sheikah boys neared the home they shared with their mother, the sound of great beating wings came from above them as a large shadow passed over the ground. Sheik and Kain looked up as a very large owl flew over them, heading toward the roof top of their house. Sheik's red eyes widen as he noticed something, or to be more exact someone, in the talons of the large owl. "Link!"
Sheik wasted no time in teleporting to the roof of the house just as the owl, Kaepora Gaebora, dropped Link gently onto the roof. Link waved as Kaepora flew away then turned around in time to grabbed up in a hug from Sheik. Link was very glad that the Great Fairy of Power had healed all of his burns, cuts, and burses after she had gifted him with the knowledge of how to perform a powered up spin attack, otherwise he would be in pain with the way Sheik pounced on him.
"Hylia Link, I was worried. Did you do it? Did you get that stone from the Gorons?" Sheik asked as he let Link down then held him at arm length so he could look the other boy over.
"Yeah, I got the Goron Ruby and I destroyed the monster inside of the cave so the Gorons won't starve anymore," Link said tiredly. The fairy may have healed his hurts but he was still bone tired.
"Come on, you look like you’re about to fall over" Sheik said as he held Link close and teleported them into the house. Impa made a surprise noise as her son appeared in the middle of the room, before frowning.
"Sheik, do not teleport into the house," Impa sternly told the boy before taking in the state of the other boy in her offspring’s arms. "And let the poor boy sit down." Sheik blushed but helped Link to sit at the table. Almost at once, Link's head fell forward to rest on the table top. As tired as he was he didn't hear Kain enter the house with an annoyed Navi following him or notice as Impa lifted him from the table to lay him in a bed, falling completely asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
****
Edit 7-20-14: Didn’t change much, just changed a couple of things to the correct and currently used names in some places.
By: USA Tiger
Disclaimer: The characters of The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time belong to Nintendo and the guy who made these characters, I'm just borrowing them for the time being.
Chapter 6
"Wow, it's all one large cavern," Link said in awe as he looked around Goron's city. There were several caves entrances everywhere, a Goron coming out or going in here and there.
"So this is how the Goron's live," Sheik said as he too looked around. "I wonder where that stone you're looking for is."
"We could ask that Goron over there on that platform," Link said, pointing to the wooden platform being held up by three strong ropes and was suspended over the lower levels of the caverns.
"I guess I can us teleport us over there," Sheik said, turning around to look at Link only to see the boy wasn't there. Link was already crossing over the rope to the platform. "Link what are you doing?!?" Link stopped and turned around, balancing on the ropes easily and giving Sheik a curious look.
"I'm going to speak to the Goron over there," he said, pointing to the Goron on the platform before turning again and continuing his trek. Sheik bit his lip, gulping as he looked down over the edge to the lower levels of the platform.
'If he falls, he could kill himself!' Sheik thought in a panic as his red eyes snapped back to Link who was now on the platform and was speaking to the Goron. He watched as the Goron pointed to the lowest level of the cavern and as Link gave the creature a brilliant smile before doing a tightrope routine back over to Sheik. "Please don't do that again Link, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Link said with a blush as he saw the concerned look on Sheik's face. "I've walked tree limbs that are not much wider than that rope so it was easy."
"Alright I didn't mean to yell at you, I was just worried for you. If you had fallen...." Sheik shuttered slightly as he thought of what could have happen to his new friend. "Anyway, what did that Goron tell you? I saw him pointing to the lower levels."
"Oh, he said usually the spiritual stone of fire, or as he called it the Goron Ruby, is on that platform but their 'big brother' took it and is waiting in his room for the messenger of the Royal family," Link said, tilting his head a bit. "What does he mean by 'big brother'?"
"Goron's call each other 'brother' and the 'big brother' is the leader of them," Sheik said. "So do you want me to teleport us down to the bottom?"
"No, I think we should walk," Link said with a shake of his head. He wanted to see more of the Goron city.
******
Sheik gave curious looks at the boy beside him; Link was humming a song under his breath as they passed one of the tunnels on the lower levels of the Goron City.
"What are you humming?" he finally asked, making Link stop and turned to give him a confused look.
"What?" He asked as he placed a hand on his hip while the other one hanged down beside his leg, it was a strange stance that Sheik noticed Link took up whenever he was speaking to someone.
"You were humming, what song was it?" Sheik asked again. Link blinked his eyes, a clueless look on his face; he hadn't even realized he was humming anything. He was about to answer the other boy, telling him he didn't know that he had been humming, but snapped his mouth shut and tilted his head to the side listing to something. "What is it?" Sheik questioned as he saw Link's actions.
"Shh," Link said, waving a hand in Sheik direction as he followed the faint sounds he heard.
"I hear music," Navi said, flying back the way they came to find the source. Sheik, curious, followed after, now faintly hearing the notes now too, which got louder as they neared a close by tunnel. He quickly realized it was the same song that Link had been humming.
Once the two Elvin boys and one fairy reached the tunnel, the notes of Saria’s Song surrounded them fully. The tunnel was dark, a large wall of cracked boulders in front of them surrounded by strange bomb looking flowers and a lone Goron curled up in front of the wall. He uncurled himself and stood up as the boys approached.
"Where does this tunnel lead?" Link asked the rock man.
"I don't know, but that tune that's playing is really catchy, very relaxing goro," the Goron said, snapping his fingers a bit to the beat. "Everyone in the city loves it, even Big Brother."
Link gazed at the boulders in front of him, a thoughtful look on his face. He grinned and snapped his fingers before turning to Sheik.
"I bet I know where the tunnel ends," He chirped happily.
"Where?" Sheik asked, curious as a cat.
"The Lost Woods, I pass by stone a archway every time I go to the Scared Meadow, I went in once but the tunnel inside was blocked off by a bunch of rocks," Link said, quite happy to have solve this mystery once and for all, wait until he told Saria where it ended.
"Well that makes sense, the music Saria always plays always seems to fill the woods, so it must travel down the tunnel too," Navi said, agreeing with Link. Link giggled as he realized Saria had a bunch of Goron groupies.
******
"So, how do I open the door?" Link asked, pushing a bit at the large stone door, which had a strange symbol on it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Well there's no leavers or switches on this side of the door, so it must open from the inside," Sheik commented as he studied the door. "The Goron said that their 'Big Brother' was waiting for the messenger of the royal family, which is you, so you have to be able to get inside somehow."
"As much as I hate to say it, I don't think a grown Goron will think a child is the messenger just because they say so," Navi said from her place above Link's shoulder. "Hey! What about that song the Sheikah woman taught you? Didn't she say it proved that you’re the Royal Family Messenger?"
"But do you think it will reach him behind these thick walls," Sheik asked, finally giving up on finding a way into the room behind the door.
"We'll never know until we try," Link said as he dug thought his pockets and removed his light green ocarina. He softly blew into the instrument and played out the song, Zelda's Lullaby, which Impa had taught him. Almost as soon as the notes died away, there was a click and the stone door slid to the side with a grinding noise. Both blonds looked at each other before heading to the short tunnel to the room on the other side. Standing in the middle of the room was a very large Goron, much larger than the Gorons outside, who had a spiky rock 'hair' style.
The large Goron looked down at the pair of children in front of him, his dark eyes narrowing slightly.
"What's this? When I heard the song, I thought the messenger from the Royal Family of the Hylains had finally arrived, but all I seen is a Kokiri and a Sheikah child. Go away, I do not have time for children," the Goron said in a deep, angry voice. Link gulped slightly before stepping up slightly.
"I... I'm the messenger from the Royal Family," Link said, jumping back as the large Goron quickly turned toward him.
"What! Does the King, my Sworn Brother, see fit to mock me, Darunia the leader of the Gorons by sending a child?!" Darunia yelled, enraged by the very thought. Both Link and Sheik looked up at him with wide eyes, Link's back to Sheik's chest as the smaller blond backed up against the other. Even Navi had been shocked, flying back behind the two boys.
"Why... why are you so angry?" Link finally asked.
"Why! Someone had sealed Dodongo Cavern. My people are starving! There is a monster in the cavern as well. Why do you think I'm angry?!" Darunia raged, hitting his fist into the ground, causing it to shake. Link realized the large rock man needed to calm down and fast. The Kokiri boy quickly thought of a way to calm Darunia down, remembering that the Goron at the mouth of the tunnel that lead to the Lost Woods had claimed the music from there was very relaxing and that their 'big brother' enjoyed it as well.
Link quickly took out his ocarina and played Saria's Song. As he continued to play, Darunia stopped his raging and listened to the music. Suddenly a large grin crossed his face before be broke out into a dance.
"Yeah! Oh yeah! Yes! Yahooo!" Darunia yelled as he danced wildly, causing Link and Sheik to back up against the wall to avoid getting hit. After a moment or two of wildly swinging his arms around in a mockery of dancing, Darunia finally stopped a large smile on a face and his black eyes bright. "Ohhhh, I feel much better. Who are you again?" the Goron said, now much calmer since he danced out his anger.
"Oh, I'm Link. And this is Navi and Sheik," Link said, tucking away his ocarina and waving a hand in the direction of his two companions.
"Well then, what is it that you wanted Link," Darunia asked, large arms crossed over his chest again as he looked down at the two boys and fairy in front of him, once again looking tough and imposing.
"ummm.... I want the Spiritual Stone of Fire." Link said, a bit nervously. Darunia's eyes widened and outside of the Gorons leader room, several Gorons could hear their Big Brother yell
"WHAT!?!"
******
"Alright, explain to me again how this is going to work?" Link asked, peering over the edge of cliff he and Sheik was standing on, hands wrapped around the small wooden fence on the edge.
"All you have to do is pick up that bomb flower there," Sheik pointed at the explosive plant no less than a couple of feet away "and throw it over the fence you’re leaning against. Hopefully, it will land by the boulder down there and blow it up. It's perfect." Link had doubts of that, reaching down to twist the new gold arm band wrapped around his left forearm. The trinket was a gift from Darunia after the Goron and the Kokiri had come to an agreement on the Spiritual Stone of Fire.
Darunia agreed to give up the Goron treasure, commonly known as the Goron Ruby, if Link could not only figured out how to reopen the cave that housed the Goron's choice of food, a special type of rock, but he was also to defeat the monster that was housed inside. Darunia advised Link that both the monster and the blockage of the cave was done by a pair of witches who had also requested the stone. When the Goron leader did not turn over the stone to the witches, they cursed Dodongo cave to starve the Gorons until Darunia gave up the Spiritual stone.
In the end, Link had to agree to the Goron leader request. After all, he couldn't let the poor Gorons starve, so he would be doing this even if it wasn't for the Goron Ruby. The Kokiri just wondered if he was going to have through a task like this for when he visited the Zora's and asked for their stone. It was become a common theme after all, Link had to break the curse inside the Great Deku Tree, though the tree still died anyway, and now he was going into a likely very dangerous cave.
'What in the name of Farore am I going to face when I go to retrieve the Spiritual Stone of Water?' Link wondered to himself as he picked up the bomb flower. He gulped as he saw that the bomb flower's top started to flare, quickly racing over to the edge of the cliff and lobbing the explosive plant over the edge. Navi quickly flew over the edge, looking down to watch it's decent.
"It landed right next to the boulder! Are you sure that one bomb flower is going to be enough to destroy it?" Navi asked, turning her small body to face the two boys still on the cliff.
Ka-Boom!!
Down below, the bomb flower reached the end of its fuse stalk, exploding and blowing the giant boulder up to pieces. The Goron standing nearby gave a yell of shocked surprise while Navi gave a shriek as the small shock-wave from the bomb flower was enough to send the small fairy tumbling through the air from where she had been floating. Link caught his fairy partner before she hit the ground.
"Never mind, one bomb flower is more than enough," Navi said in a dizzy voice, sitting up in Link's hands. She swayed side-to-side, little swirl's in her eyes, dizzy from her tumble in the air.
******
"Oh Farore, it's so hot in here," Link panted, leaning against a wall. The Kokiri boy was sweating heavily, his strawberry blond hair sticking to his face and neck. His tunic was sticking to his skin, not made for this hot environment. "And if one more Dodongo larva jumps up and blows up on me one more time, I'm going to scream," he added with a hiss as he pushed off the wall, pulling at his injuries. The boy was covered in burns and cuts, thanks to several Dodongos, at all stages of growth, and strange statues called Beamos that shots a beam of light out of its 'eye'.
After Link had opened the Dodongo Cave, thanks to Sheik's plan, the two boys had quickly gone down the path to the cave. Sheik had been more than ready to join Link in saving the place only to have Navi put a stopper in his plans. The fairy had made it quite clear that this part of Link's quest was to be done alone without the young shadow elf's help. Sheik had pouted before sadly saying goodbye to his new friend and making Link promise to come back to his home once Link was done with Darunia's task and had the ruby spiritual stone.
From there it was one hardship after another, with the result of Link not liking Dodongos. As stated before, the boy had several burns on his hands and legs, his tunic sporting a few burn spots as well. He was just glad that there weren’t any of the fire breathing lizards that were as big as the one whose skull rested in the main chamber of the cave.
"Well at lease according to the map we found, there isn't too much more to explore here," Navi said, seemingly not bothered by the heat, though she too was disturbed by the monsters inside the cave network. This place was much more dangerous than the challenges that had been in the Deku Tree. Still, the old tree had said that this was the young boy's destiny so Link had to be able to handle everything thrown at him. "Come on, you rested long enough, time to head into the next chamber."
Link groaned but did as she said, heading to the exit out of the room. The next chamber was one he had been in before but in a different part. Across from him was a chest, making the boy wonder what was in this one. So far he had found a map and compass in the large chests in the cave, much like he had found in the Great Deku tree. Opening the chest, Link grinned as he reached in and grabbed a bag that was filled with bombs.
"Thank Din, I don't have to use those Bomb Flowers anymore," Link said as he slipped the bomb bag into the pouch Sheik gave him.
"You have had too many close calls with those things," Navi agreed as they moved on. "It's a very useful item you found really." Link just nodded his head in agreement, reaching up to whip the sweat off of his forehead again. He heard a digging sound as he reached the next room, groaning as he saw more baby Dodongos dig their way out of the ground.
******
"I never want to see another Dodongo as long as I live," Link said as he leaned against the cavern wall, hissing as he pulled away as the rocky surface was a little too hot. He was finally finished with saving the Dodongo cavern, killing off the giant lizard in the very last chamber in the caves. That one had been huge! Almost as big as the skull in the first large cavern. The bombs had been useful at least, the dumb Dodongo had swallowed every single bomb the boy had tossed into its mouth as it drew in air to breath out a jet stream of fire.
"But you did good Link. You rid the caves of the Dodongos, just like you agreed to do. So that means Darunia must give you the Spiritual Stone of Fire! That only leaves the Stone of Water, we're closer to putting a halt to Ganondorf's plans," Navi said, nodding her head. They were so much closer to saving Hyrule, the Great Deku Tree would have been so proud of them.
"Oh Navi, don't start that again," Link sighed as he walked toward the finally cooled off lava pit in the middle of the room. In the middle, a circle of blue light had appeared, much like it had when he finished off Queen Goma in the Deku Tree, to take him and Navi back out. "I still don't believe that Ganondorf is going to take over Hyrule, there just something about Zelda's story that doesn't seem right to me. Besides, that girl creeps me out, like there's something wrong with her."
"Link, she's the princess of Hyrule. She's just trying to protect her people, much like her father did at the end of the Great Hyrule Wars," Navi said, shaking her head sadly, when would her charge give up this silly notion that the Gerudo King wasn't evil.
"Just because she's a princess does not make her a good person," Link insisted as he stepped into the warp circle. "I'm telling you, something doesn't sit right with me on her." Navi groaned and shook her head again as she joined the Kokiri boy in the light, dropping the subject for now. The light brightened, swirling around the pair, Link looking up as the warp took him outside. The magic gently lowered Link to the ground one outside the mouth of the Dodongo Cavern, the child sighing with relief as a cool wind blew past cooling him off.
Link stood there for a few minutes, letting himself cool down after the trial he had just went through before getting ready to hike back up the mountain side to the Goron City. He had only taken a couple of steps before stopping suddenly. There was a strange whistling noise that was getting louder by the second. He look up into the sky, giving a startled yelp as he dove out of the way to avoid being hit by a falling boulder. Only to find out it wasn't a boulder but in fact the Goron leader Darunia who stood up proudly once he had landed.
"Good job kid!" Darunia said a large smile on his face. "I can't believe none of us thought to blow up the boulder," he added, looking over his shoulder at the cave entrance. It was embarrassing that he didn't think of it, he was suppose to protect his Brothers, make sure they were in good health and fed. But he had failed in that, letting his anger of the situation go to his head. Darunia was very grateful to Link for not only reopening the Dodongo Cavern but also killing the monster inside.
"Well it's over now, but I never want to see another Dodongo as long as I live," Link said, lifting up a hand to rub at one of the burns on his arm.
"You know, I'm going to make you my Sworn Brother," Darunia said, patting Link on the back. The blond yelped as the hand hit his back and he was pushed forward, making him stumble forward. Navi made a pleased noise from where she floated above, her change being named a Sworn Brother to the leader of the Gorons was a great honor. Only the King of Hyrule had been given such an honor within the last 100 years. "And I will hold up my end of the deal, the Spiritual Stone of Fire is yours," Darunia said as he held up his hand. The Goron Ruby appeared high in the air before slowly floating down to his hand, he then handed it to Link. "Keep it with pride, Brother."
"Thank you Darunia," Link said with a smile as he took the stone, gazing at the beautiful ruby stone and gold frame work before placing it in his pocket beside the Kokiri Emerald.
"Another thing Brother," Darunia turned and pointed a large finger toward the smoky top of Death Mountain. "There is a Great Fairy that lives near the top of the mountain. It might be worth your wild to pay her a visit, she can at least heal those Dodongo burns, there's nothing like a fairy's healing magic."
"I think it would be a good idea to pay her a visit then," Navi said before Link could say anything. The boy frowned a bit, he wasn't against visiting the fairy but he was tried, sore and hurt. All he wanted to do is take a bath to wash off the ashy grime that clung to him then sleep. He did not want to climb up the side of an active volcano right now. But, Navi was going to bug him until he agreed to do what she said.
"Alright everyone, let’s send our Brother off," Darunia called out, hand cupped over his mouth. Several whistling noises came from above, same as when Darunia came sailing from the city above, before a small group of Gorons fell around Link and Navi.
"Good work brother."
"Let’s have a large group hug," Link gave a yell before running off through a opening in the group of advancing Gorons that lead up the path to the mountain. Navi quickly followed after, agreeing with the boy quick exit before the affectionate Gorons could hug him, avoiding being crushed.
Link ran up the side of the mountain until he turned a bend and was out of sight of the group of Gorons, who was already heading into the cavern to get their food. The small boy stopped running, panting softly as he leaned over to catch his breath, hands resting on bent knees. Navi flew on ahead, looking for the path that would take her and Link up to the Great Fairy that lived at the top.
"Come on Link, I found the way to the Great Fairy!" Navi called loudly, turning to face Link who was groaning softly as he straightened himself up and slowly walked to where the fairy was floating. "Hurry up!"
"Navi, would you hold your horse-flies," Link groaned as he stopped under the fairy. "I'm tired, I'm sore and hurt. I just want a soft bed and some food right now."
"Well, you'll get a chance to rest up and heal after we visit the Great Fairy," Navi said as she flew down and started to prod Link in the back to get him moving. The blond groaned softly but started moving again, climbing up the really steep hill until he reached the top and looked down the path that lead to the volcano itself. His violet eyes widened as it started to rain boulders and fire.
"You want me to go in there!?!" Link screeched as he turned his head to look up at Navi, pointing at the dangerous path.
"Well... yes. Look, it's stopping," Navi said, making her charge turn his attention back to the path. The rocks and fire tapered off, leaving behind crushed rocks. Link stayed where he was for several minutes, making Navi frown slightly. "What are you..." the fairy's little eyes widen as the rumbling started again, making her turn around and watch as the rocks and fire started to fall again.
"I knew it, it comes and goes," Link said turning to look up at Navi. "How do you suggest I go down there without being killed?"
"Use that shield of yours, like when the giant Dodongo tried to roll over you. That should protect you from the rocks. Or you could just run through and try to dive out of the way as they fall," Navi suggested, making Link think that she was completely nuts.
"Navi, I am beginning to hate you," Link said under his breath as he adjusted his large Hylain solider shield on his back before running down the dangerous path.
***
Sheik knelt down, parting the bushes as he looked down the ground. He was worried about Link; the boy had been inside the Goron's Dodongo cavern since the day before. The Sheikah boy was greatly worried about the other boy, the first true friend he had in a long time. There weren’t that many children in the village other than himself and Kain. What little children there was in the village, they were afraid to approach the older child of the village leader. Link was a breath of fresh air for Sheik and he didn't want the other boy hurt or killed. He was worried about the fact that Link would have to rejoin his fellow Kokiri in the woods soon but Sheik was sure his mother would allow him to visit Link there.
To distract him from his worries about Link, Sheik was looking for the Minish. He hadn't seen any others since the one that Link had spoken to after nearly landing on its house but the other blond had told him the little people were everywhere. Sheik wanted to see the little blue robed people again, he had never seen anything like them.
"Sheik, what are you doing?" Kain asked, leaning forward with his hands braced on his knees. He had watched his big brother crawl and poke around in different places all around the village, looking behind bushes and even gave a long intense stare at a mushroom on the ground.
"I'm looking for the Minish," Sheik said, not looking up from his search until he was completely sure there were no Minish there.
"Oh.... What's a Minish?" Kain asked, tilting his head to the side, his hair that was tied off in a braid that day falling over his shoulder.
"It's a little creature that's about this big," Sheik sat back on his heels, holding his hand up with his fingers closed near together to show how big a Minish was, " wearing a little blue robe and hat and has a big feathered tail. They're suppose to be everywhere but only kids like us can see them."
"Like a Picori?" Kain asked again, squatting down beside his brother, arms wrapped around his knees. Sheik frowned at the foreign term then shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, I've never heard of a Picori. Where did you hear that?" Sheik asked as he stood up, brushing off his legs then holding out a hand to help his little brother up.
"The kids that moved from Hyrule Castle Town, they said that. They told me that they have this festival in the town around the castle that called the Picori Festival and it's about this little race of people that go around helping people but only kids are suppose to be able to see them," Kain said in an excited chatter as he grabbed Sheik's hand and allowed the older boy to pull him up.
"I guess they are the same thing, but the Kokiri called them Minish while the Hylains call them call them Picori," Sheik decided, as he turned to head back home. It was getting late and he knew Impa would be calling for them to come home soon. As the two Sheikah boys neared the home they shared with their mother, the sound of great beating wings came from above them as a large shadow passed over the ground. Sheik and Kain looked up as a very large owl flew over them, heading toward the roof top of their house. Sheik's red eyes widen as he noticed something, or to be more exact someone, in the talons of the large owl. "Link!"
Sheik wasted no time in teleporting to the roof of the house just as the owl, Kaepora Gaebora, dropped Link gently onto the roof. Link waved as Kaepora flew away then turned around in time to grabbed up in a hug from Sheik. Link was very glad that the Great Fairy of Power had healed all of his burns, cuts, and burses after she had gifted him with the knowledge of how to perform a powered up spin attack, otherwise he would be in pain with the way Sheik pounced on him.
"Hylia Link, I was worried. Did you do it? Did you get that stone from the Gorons?" Sheik asked as he let Link down then held him at arm length so he could look the other boy over.
"Yeah, I got the Goron Ruby and I destroyed the monster inside of the cave so the Gorons won't starve anymore," Link said tiredly. The fairy may have healed his hurts but he was still bone tired.
"Come on, you look like you’re about to fall over" Sheik said as he held Link close and teleported them into the house. Impa made a surprise noise as her son appeared in the middle of the room, before frowning.
"Sheik, do not teleport into the house," Impa sternly told the boy before taking in the state of the other boy in her offspring’s arms. "And let the poor boy sit down." Sheik blushed but helped Link to sit at the table. Almost at once, Link's head fell forward to rest on the table top. As tired as he was he didn't hear Kain enter the house with an annoyed Navi following him or notice as Impa lifted him from the table to lay him in a bed, falling completely asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
****
Edit 7-20-14: Didn’t change much, just changed a couple of things to the correct and currently used names in some places.
Sign up to rate and review this story