Link and Samba went through another underground tunnel. There was a section where Samba could have used his jumping skills to get across, as well as a strange, straight line of notches that neither could use as holds, but the lizalfos said that wasn't the way across. They climbed across tricky terrain, but Link was able to handle it without hiding in his ring.
Finally, the duo exited the mountain's interior to its exterior, bright daylight washing over them. They were in a canyon with randomly-placed gigantic natural stone pillars sticking up and around, a relatively flat pathway reaching up and around. Niches dotted the walls and, to Link's dismay, bokoblins with flaming arrows filled a number of them. Fearing for his sheild's safety, the hylian said, "Sorry," and hid in his ring.
Samba frowned a bit at him, but understood and went on. He used his sheild to block the arrows as he used his own ammo to retaliate. It only took one pebble to the skull to make them fall down, screaming, from their sniper points. Then, Samba faced a dilema. "What on...?" he muttered when he saw a huge, spikey, bone-and-metal gate had been erected before the exit of the canyon. "When'd THIS get here?" Examining it further, he saw a locked door on it. "...I need a key. I doubt I could destroy this, even with Link, despite how hastily-built this looks..." He turned around as he heard a somewhat deeper bokoblin warcry and saw a bigger arrow clang against the gate's wall to his left.
Up high, inhabiting the top of one of the pillars, was a slightly bigger bokoblin. The difference here was that it was covered, head to toe, in studded leather armor. Even its face was hidden behind a full helmet. Samba's eyes saw a glint at its side, and as it moved a bit, he could make out a key. The bokoblin pumped its gauntlet in jeer as it saw Samba's grimace before it nocked and pulled back a great, flaming arrow.
Samba grunted and growled as he dodged the projectile. Link, in his ball of light, flew out and hung around the bokoblin, as he did whenever he wanted to know what the monster was. "What's with this one, Samba?" he called. "It looks different!"
"It is," Samba answered, holding up his much-punished buckler and blocking an arrow. "That's what's called, simply, an Armored Bokoblin. They're a bit tougher than other bokoblins, able to last more sword attacks, and their studded leather is reinforced against minor missiles."
"Missiles? You mean arrows and such?" Link asked.
"Yeah. That means my pebbles are no good against it," Samba growled. "Link, you'll have to be careful with your wooden shield--dodge the bigger, more painful arrows instead of blocking them. When you see it fire, jump aside or hide behind me; I'll use my buckler. Regardless, we'll need your arrows, since they can puncture leather armor!"
After his teammate had shouted up the instructions, Link gulped. "Oh, boy..." he muttered. After whispering a quick prayer, he told Samba to let him out. Samba took off his ring and held it, ready to toss it aside. Telling Link to get his bow out NOW once the next arrow came, Samba threw it. Link came out and drew his bow as fast as he could. He nocked an arrow, aimed, and--jumped aside as soon as he heard the snap of the bowstring. He re-aimed and fired his arrow.
The sharp-tipped stick lodged itself through the leather-covered helm, causing the armored bokoblin stop, sway, and let out a defeated cry as it fell down to the ground before them. Link checked the sheild on his back before sighing in relief. His life-saving piece of work was intact.
While Link put his bow away, Samba walked over and picked up the key the armored bokoblin had dropped. "Well, that was a waste of time," he muttered, coming back. "Good job, Link."
"Thank you," Link said, nodding. "I'll unlock the gate." He recieved the key, jogged over to the door, and opened it. The key he threw away, since there wouldn't be any good reason to keep it if they weren't going to lock it again. After that, they continued on, Samba leading again.
At last, after a bit more running along and fighting foes (no more bokoblins, to Link's relief), they reached the end of the trail. Below the point in the main path's wall their shortcut ended, they could see the gateway of Goron City, guarded by a pair of gorons (unarmored and unclothed (like that ever mattered), of course). After they made their way down the wall (which was so simple, even Link had no trouble), they went over to the gateway.
The two gorons, unsurprisingly, stopped them, crossing their burly arms and stepping together to form a living wall. "Halt!" said one on the right. "Who seeks entry into Goron City?"
Samba stepped over and nodded. "I'm Samba, from Jgk'hry, and this is my companion, Link," he introduced. He used Hylian, of course, since gorons don't understand Lizalfos.
At this, their hard expressions softened a little. "Ah, one of the friendly lizalfos?" went the goron who had spoken. "Here for business, are you?"
"I thought the next one wasn't due here for some time, though," went the other. "The last was a female who spoke fluent Hylian."
"That'd be my mother," murmured Samba proudly.
"We're here to see your leader," Link said, stepping up. "It's important."
The gorons tensed a little bit. "Erm..." went the first.
"...Well, if you really need to, sure," said the second. "I warn you, though, we're not in the greatest of moods right now."
"Something about your chief, right?" Samba checked.
They nodded. "We don't really like how our chief has been acting lately," the first goron went, scowling over his broad shoulder. "Rumors and doubts have sprung up about him...We don't know what's going to happen."
"Not only that," added the second, "but there's been some major economic loss now that we've been unable to access the Clamor Plant."
"Clamor Plant?" repeated both Link and Samba, looking at each other.
"Just ask around--we gorons would be glad to complain about it at this point," the first grumbled bitterly. They then stepped away from each other. "Oh..."
"Welcome to Goron City!" both greeted, giving their best smiles despite the situation.
Link and Samba nodded and went through the gateway. Before them was a two-tier cave city, much like Zora's Domain except that both levels were easily accessable, and that there were much fewer caves on the upper level. As well, a giant hole opened in the center of the wall on the ground area, containing stairs that decended underground. "The Gorons are closely tied to rock," Samba explained when Link asked about the hole. "Most of them live underground. The ones that live aboveground are there for curiosity of the outside or to easily get to their jobs, such as those who work outside the city or work to guard the gates."
They found a few gorons walking about on the surface. Link went over to one. "Hello, could you tell me where your leader is?" he asked kindly.
The goron frowned. "Him? I don't think you'd want to see Big Brother, but he lives at the bottom of the city," he answered. "You'd better not be one of those shady folks he's rumored to be speaking to, or else..." He left the sentence as such, crossing his arms before he walked off.
Link grimaced unsettledly at this. "I see what the guards meant," he muttered. Samba nodded.
Another goron was less threatening. "Oh, hello, to you, too!" he said brightly after being greeted by Link. He spread his arms animatedly. "It's not common to see hylians all the way up here! Your friend's kind is a lot more common. Are you here to see our underground home?"
Link and Samba merely chuckled and said they were in a way before moving on. Link raised his eyebrows upon seeing one shorter than them--a child. "Oh, hello," Link greeted going past.
The child, energetic as all good children should be, smiled and bounced his body a little bit. "Wow! A hylian AND a lizalfos!! This is exciting!" he said, voice a little deep for a youth but still too light for a full adult goron. "Whatcha here for? You come to buy some bombs?" They shook their heads. The child calmed down a bit as he continued, "No? Well, good, since bombs are a bit rare lately. Big Brother's steaming mad about it, too, since he wants us to make more of them for some reason. You'd need a bomb bag to hold them, though, and it doesn't look like you've got one. Hey, if we make more bombs, why not come back again, Brother?" he suggested, bouncing again.
Samba shrugged, but Link, interested in bombs, said he might before they went onwards again. After they reached the hole in the wall and went down a staircase, Link stopped in awe at the city around him.
Illuminated quite well by torches, the city was made of concentric circular paths, again like Zora's Domain, but instead of having lots of caves in the walls, a few big ones were there. Below, a gigantic, very old-looking, half-broken pot with a smiling goron face on it stood, roped off. A plaque could be seen below. They saw a goron standing there and Link went over to ask about the city.
"Hm? Oh," the goron went, turning around. He had been looking down below at the city. "Hello, there. You impressed by our city?" he asked, holding an arm out proudly to it. "It's built in levels, but in a different way than what the zoras did. What you see is our square, and the caves you see aroud us lead to pathways that lead to our homes. They also connect to other levels. We also have a shop on the lowest floor," he added, pointing to one of the caves on the level the broken pot was. He smiled back at the two and wished them to enjoy the city. "I never get tired of looking at it!"
They went on from there. They COULD have just jumped down from level to level, but Link didn't want to push his body's luck. They went through the pathways, which were a little confusing. Thankfully, wooden posts with bands of paint guided them to the next level, which they realized after running into a room with tons of boulders and another room with, to their surprise, lava. "Link, be careful here," Samba advised as they approached the room (which they had felt before they got there). "The rock around that lava is super-hot. You won't last very long without being hurt if you stood there. There isn't anything insulating against the heat on there. Us lizalfos wouldn't be hurt by it all that much, though, actually, since we're more resiliant to heat, but I wouldn't want to push MY body's luck."
"How come?" Link asked as they decided not to venture within. "I mean, about the rock being hot. I thought it'd be fine, being rock..."
Samba shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "Ko says it's the same thing that explains why a boiling pot's handles sometimes get hot, even though they're not the things getting cooked or made of metal."
Link tugged at his collar a bit. "Ugh, I don't think I could handle it even if my feet could," he groaned. "Let's hurry up and go."
They eventually made it down to the next level, then the next. In the middle of the pathway, they met another goron. Link courteously greeted him, and was about to go on when the goron let out an amazed cry.
"WWOOOAH!! Are you insane, Brother?!" he asked, waving his arms at his sides as he leaned down to look at him. "This is Death Mountain, a live volcano! Why are you relying on a fragile wooden shield!?"
Link frowned, a little hurt. "It's actually quite sturdy, as its maker knows from experience," he defended (n.p.i.). "Besides, it's the only one I've got."
"You know what I me--oh, you made it?" the goron went, stopping the arm-waving. He blushed and put an arm behind his head. "Sorry, Brother. It's quite well-made, really! But the truth is, you'd better get a better shield--one that won't burn up. The shop here still has some Hylian Shields from when Clamor Plant was open to our use, still. Tell the owner that you made that shield and he might think higher of you...maybe give you a discount. You should stop by there, anyway, Brother!" he said, animating his arms a little bit.
Link smiled and thanked him for the tip before they continued downwards. Eventually, they made it to the bottom. Samba went over to the pot's plaque, interested in the vessel. "'-Goron Pot- This aged pot has existed since before the days of the great Dodongo Buster, Link. It has been Goron City's landmark from then and now, ever since gorons found it one day by chance during a mining operation.'," he read aloud to Link. He smirked as he looked at his companion. "'Dodongo Buster'?"
Link shrugged helplessly, blushing a little bit. "How should I know what all my ancestor did?" he asked, chuckling a bit.
They went over to the shop and found a stone counter, stone shelves, and a stone-eating shopkeep were inside. There were some product examples on the shelves. "Oh, welcome to the Goron General Store, Brothers!" he greeted, smiling and nodding. "We don't have everything, and we have some things you can find nowhere else! Take a look around, Brothers."
They saw they sold a few items, indeed. Of note were bundles of arrows for Link ("Top-quality and universally-used in most all bows!"), recovery hearts (single, 10 rupees), red potion (single-dosage, 40 rupees), and even bags of pebbles for Samba ("Good-sized pebbles that could be lethal with a good arm and eye."). Of extra note were two other items.
"Those bombs? They're useful for blowing up enemies, walls, and other things. You got a proper bag to hold them, Brother?" the shopkeeper asked. "But don't worry if you don't; we're very low on them and cannot sell them. I'm sorry, Brother!"
The other item was a red tunic. "Oh, that? That's a Goron Tunic, Brother. Adult-sized only, it'll let you go around areas that are too hot for you without a sweat--even nearby pools of lava!" advertized the goron. "You'll be hurt by cold attacks more, though, so be careful, Brother. Only 120 rupees a tunic; you want one?"
Link, curious, nodded. Samba hissed at him, indicating he can't. "We've only GOT 120 rupees," he told him. "We need to get you a Hylian Shield, don't we?" he asked.
Link sighed and nodded disappointedly. "Alright." He turned and spoke to the shopkeeper. "Say, you sell Hylian Shields, right?" he asked.
"Hylian Shields? Yeah, we've got some, still. They're 80 rupees and will withstand burning. Very useful up here!" the goron replied.
Link showed him his wooden shield. "I'd like to get one, since mine would burn," he said.
The goron raised his thick eyebrows and inspected it. "Wow, that's a very high-quality shield, there, Brother!" he complimented. "It'd be a shame to let it burn."
"Yeah, especially since I was the one who made it," Link agreed, chuckling.
The goron gasped. "YOU made it?! Oh, then why am I possibly putting you off with such a cost? I don't want to intimidate you and force you to end up with your handiwork destroyed! There's little worse than seeing your hard work ruined, Brother, as many of us gorons know," he sympathised. "How's about this: I'll cut the cost of the Hylian Shield for you, Brother!"
Link gasped and smiled. "Really?! Thank you very much, sir!" he bowed.
And so it was. Link purchased himself a hylian shield for 40 rupees. "This way, we'll be able to get that tunic in no time," he said excitedly, replacing shields and putting his old one away in his bag. (The goron blinked and rubbed his eyes when he saw such a large thing disappear from sight as if it were nothing.)
Samba half-eyed his teammate, raising an eyeridge and putting his wrists on his hips. "What is it with you and that tunic?" he asked.
"I was raised in a shop," Link explained. He winked and warned friendilly, "Don't think I don't know great value when I see it!"
After they got out of the shop, they saw another cave entrance to their left. A carpet bearing a pattern of the symbol of the gorons lay as a doormat, and braziers flanked it. "This might be where...erm, what's-his-face is," Samba commented.
"Daigorno?" supplied Link.
"Yeah."
"Well, this is pretty low," Link said, looking about. "And I don't see any other specially-decorated places. This must be it." He noted the fact they were alone, "Strange there're no guards around, though."
"What did King Zora want us to say?" asked Samba, looking up in remembrance. "To ask if he still believes in what he said the last time they spoke or something?"
Link nodded. "That sounds about right," he agreed. "Let's see if he's in."
They went into the cave entrance. Walking down a short hallway, they eventually made it into a large room. It was semi-cicular at one end and box-like for the rest. Decorative elements, such as goron emblem-bearing banners, torches, rugs, and do-dads filled the chamber, but almost not as much as the great goron sitting on a stone for a chair, staring at the opposite wall. (He sat at the end with the curved wall.) He had obviously amazing physical strength all over him. The markings covering the bodies of the other gorons were present on him, but were yellow and more intricate. Between the black, not pale grey, rock-like protrusions on his head and back that gave all gorons the resemblance of massive, tough-as-nails hedgehogs (normal hedgies, not THE hedgie) was red, making him look like a ball of molten rock if he were to curl up. He wore an ornate, mostly-white loincloth that was more like a kilt, seeing as it went all around his waist instead of just covering the front, with the goron's emblem on the front in black. His eyes were not brown, but an unusual shade of bright green. All in all, he was quite the unique goron.
Link and Samba fought gulping. They weren't scared, but they were anxious that he might not react well to them. Link stepped forth and cleared his throat. "Uhm...Excuse me, Chief Daigorno?"
The goron grunted and raised his head, looking at them with his eyes. "A lizalfos...and a hylian?? Hmph!" He stood up and stretched his arms, cracking his knuckles. His height was at least eight feet tall, if not nine. His weight, seeing as gorons are all naturally as heavy as, well, stone, had to be immeasurable. He beckoned to the two. "Come before me."
Link and Samba came forth and stood before him. Samba began to bow, but the goron shouted, "No! Nobody bows before me. That tells me you don't wish to listen to me, and would rather go to sleep."
Samba raised his eyeridges at this as he stood straight. "Erm...sorry," he said in surprise. "I never thought about that before."
The goron crossed his arms and nodded, frowning a bit. "I am, indeed, Daigorno, chief of the gorons who call me Big Brother," he introduced. "And I am currently busy. I cannot simply send away anyone who is brave enough to meet me, especially a mere human." He raised an eyebrow as he added, "A human and a monster traveling together is an interesting sight in itself, as well."
Link nodded. "I'm sorry you're busy, but we've come with a simple question," he said. 'I'd better start with just the question King Zora asked us to ask. I have a feeling that asking him about some rumors would be out of order until we have his trust,' he reasoned.
Daigorno tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "Hmmmmm? What question?" he asked.
"Do you still believe what you said to King Zora a little more than a week ago?" answered Link.
Daigorno's face instantly looked like it was about to erupt, and the swordsmen tensed to evade a blow. Just when it seemed he was going to strike them, however, Daigorno instead turned his head away with a "HMPH!". "I see. My answer is yes, I do," he replied. "That feeble fish is being a fool for not seeing the obvious way. His people's economy is doing no better than mine! Lizalfos," he addressed, looking at Samba, "you're from Jgk'hry, are you not?" His face looked painedly, yet in a way smilingly, frustrated, like someone who knows an obviously right answer who is dealing with someone who refuses to believe it stubbornly.
Samba, caught by a bit of surprise, nodded, and Daigorno continued with a nod. "Your chief is very wise, indeed. He knows that the only way to finally rescue you and the rest of his people is to..." Daigorno's eye strayed to Link, and he cleared his throat into his fist. "...*Ahem*. Well. That's enough of that, I suppose. Apologies for rambling." He stood with crossed arms once more. "Now, is that it? Then leave."
Link reluctantly nodded and was about to leave when Samba, intrigued with the mention of Kargaro, said, "Wait! You met with my chief?"
Daigorno exhaled an annoyed sigh, lowering and shaking his head. "Lizalfos, hylian, listen," he said quietly. "I am under a lot of stress at the moment. I'm very busy. I don't have time--nor do I have any obligation--to answer any more questions. Leave!" He whipped up his head at this, barking it out.
Samba grimaced, but he turned and left. "Thank you, Chief Daigorno," Link bade before he left, as well. Daigorno simply sauntered back to his seat and sat again, resuming his staring at the wall.
Once outside the chamber, Samba growled and crossed his arms, drumming his claws on his left bicep. "Grrrrrrrrr...He spoke with my chief. He knows I'm suspicious, so he wouldn't answer," he grumbled, his growling tinting his voice.
Link nodded. "I think it's safe to assume he's under the same spell Kargaro was," he said quietly. "We can't fight HIM, though, or we'd have to deal with severe consequences. No offence, but I doubt the rest of Hyrule would care if your chief was accidentially killed during your confrontation," he pointed out, smiling sheepishly.
Samba closed his eyes and nodded. "I understand. Besides, if the same thing happens and Daigorno grows to the size of a mountain," he added, "we can kiss our tails goodbye. You saw the arms on that guy, didn't you?"
Link shuddered at the thought of a giant goron of that size already. "And I soon won't forget, thanks," he muttered.
Samba turned, opening his eyes, and looked at Link. "Well, what do we do now?" he asked.
Link thought for a second. "I'm curious as to what it is that Clamor Plant place is," he stated. "From what everyone else is saying, it appears there's a problem with it. It looks like one of the things Daigorno is busy with, or at least peeved about."
Samba put a fist in his palm. "Then we should find out what the place is, where it is, what's going on, and see if we can solve it?" he guessed.
"Bullzeye," Link replied, pointing at Samba. "That way, we have the chance of getting on his good side."
Samba nodded. "Then let's go," he said. "We should talk to the other gorons about it." They turned and walked towards the way up and out.
On the way, Link said, "Hey, now that I have a shield that won't burn, it's safe for me to be leader again. You can keep the Master Sword for a bit more if you'd like, but I'd like to carry it a bit."
Samba looked at his side for a moment, drawing the Master Sword partway. He sighed and sheathed it again, smiling sadly. "Well, it's only fair," he said, and he teleported Nayru's Ring to Link, the Master Sword following suit. His normal sword replaced it once more.
Link nodded and thanked him as Betta's sword was switched with the Master Sword. "If we ever need you to be the leader, I'll give it back, don't worry," he assured him.
Samba smiled in gratitude before turning and getting back to walking. They made their way back up to the top and talked to the goron there still.
"Oh, hey, there!" the goron greeted. "You came from Big Brother's room...I'm sorry I didn't warn you about him." He looked a bit somber at this. "Did he say anything strange?"
Link shrugged. "Questionable, perhaps, but nothing we should worry about," he answered.
"Alright...Oh," the goron sighed, looking wistful, "I wish he could be nice again...He's been really uptight and too businesslike, and he's practically enemies with King Zora. He won't let us go out and help him, either, and I hear he's not doing all that well..."
Link and Samba frowned a bit at this, but Link asked, anyway, "What's the Clamor Plant?"
"The Clamor Plant?" the goron repeated, looking back at them. "I don't know much more about it than the fact we can't access it and it's important to us. I just care about our wonderful city!" He smiled again and turned to gaze at it once more after they said goodbye.
Back on the surface, they questioned some more gorons.
"Clamor Plant? You've never heard of it? It's where we gorons go to make use of our skills. You may not know it, but we have quite nimble fingers despite our size."
"Huh? Oh, Clamor Plant's an awful place. I'm almost glad we can't go there again; I worked there. The din is so bad sometimes that it would annoy Din!"
"Clamor Plant? I don't know much, Brother, but I know that we gorons have a lot of technology we won't share with the rest of Hyrule being used there. That, and it's really dangerous for non-gorons, even normally. Oh, and we also make things there! Not bombs, though--that place is a seeeecreeet!!"
Nobody else apart from two adults and the child from before gave them new information on the ground level. They saw a different-looking goron standing on the second level, then, though, and decided to ask. The goron in question wore what appeared to be a set of goggles on his head and a tough, brown cloth loincloth with pockets holding some tools. He looked a little skinnier than the other gorons, as well as a bit shorter. He was grumbling outside one of the caves. "...Can't believe it..." he was saying when Link and Samba approached.
"Excuse me, sir?" Link asked.
The goron started and looked to his side, and the two felt good that they didn't have to be looked down on so much. "Oh! Sorry, I was mumbling...What is it?" he asked.
"What do you know about Clamor Plant?" Link inquired.
The goron fumed and crossed his arms. "That I can't get there and Big Brother won't let us send anyone over," he answered. He looked at them and frowned a little. "...That's not the answer you're looking for, is it?" he asked guiltily, and they nodded. He sighed and put a big hand behind his spiky head. "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit angry right now. I can't get to Clamor Plant, where I work, and I miss my job."
"What exactly IS Clamor Plant, by the way?" Samba asked.
The goron smiled and held up an arm while he explained, "Well, it's a factory. But it's, in truth, a smithery. Actually, to be perfectly honest, it's a foundry."
Samba blinked in confusion, but Link raised an eyebrow and asked, "So, it's a place where you make metal, metal objects, and...whatever a factory does, right?"
The goron chuckled impressedly and nodded. "That's right, Brother," he answered. "It's all three: It's a place where things are created with the help of machines--a factory--a place where we create weapons and armor--a smithery--and a place to create metal in different shapes--a foundry."
Samba grumbled, unamused, "Then why didn't you just answer me straight?"
The goron thumbed himself. "I'm Boroy, and my job is to keep an eye on the machines we use there to make sure they don't break and cause a mess," he introduced. "In other words, I'm a mechanic. I also work with the machines to create things that need both machine and goron help."
Link nodded, interested. "I'm Link, and this is my friend, Samba," he introduced. "We're just wondering what's going on with this Clamor Plant place you work at."
Boroy (BORE-oy) furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. They noticed his forearms were large compared to the rest of his arms. "Oh, were to begin, Brother? Well, let's see...Let me give you a little background." He held a hand again. "Clamor Plant, officially called the Death Canyon Foundry and Smithery, is often called that because of the fact that stepping onto the main factory floor and in many other rooms assaults your ears with what someone once described as 'a symphony made up only of metal precussion hit with metal'. We use it to produce a great deal of the metal objects, weapons, and armor in Hyrule. That hylian shield I see you have, Link, was made at Clamor Plant," he examplified.
"That explains why you were selling it here," the green-wearing human commented, looking at the famous traditional design on the ornate protector.
"When we discovered how to utilize lightning as a power source and how to harness the earth's heat to generate lightning, it wasn't soon afterwards that advancements in foundry work came in leaps and bounds," Boroy continued. "We created machines that run on their own, using electricity, which is what we consider lightning when it's not coming from the clouds, to power them. With those, we upgraded the place in Death Canyon where our little foundry and smithery was into the behemoth it is today. It's quite amazing how far we've come with our technology, isn't it, Brother?" he asked, smiling proudly. "I bet you've never seen electrically-powered machines, have you?"
"The only machines that I've ever seen run on their own are waterwheels," Link admitted.
"The most technology I've ever seen is when I saw a bunch of gears made out of stone open a huge door," Samba recollected.
Boroy crossed his arms and furrowed his brow again. "We've been happy with our successful form of income to purchase things like wood for our torches and cloth to make clothing for those who want it--food's no issue with all of the tasty rocks we know where to find--until a couple of weeks ago," he went on. "I was just coming back from fixing one of the buckets that pour molten metal into molds made of compressed sand when I heard a rumbling and a roaring. Ironclad creatures, more mechanical than living, came from the halls and attacked, led by giant pieces of something greater. It was all me and the others could do to corral these larger pieces into a room that we never entered, even before we upgraded the foundry. We heard not crunching, but clanging, as if metal came up against metal and fastened. We had no time to see what else happened, since we had to run for fear of our lives. Strong as we are, those creatures' metal exteriors are too tough for our bodies to destroy in time without withstanding injuries."
Link and Samba looked at each other, both suspicious. "Why was the room sealed?" Link wondered aloud, looking back.
Boroy chuckled. "You wouldn't believe me, but I'll tell you anyway: There's a giant monster like nobody has ever seen there."
Link and Samba nodded at each other. "It must be," Samba said.
Link said to Boroy, "We want to go there."
Boroy raised his eyebrows and uncrossed his arms in surprise. "Are you serious, Brother?" he asked. "That place is dangerous! What could a human and a lizalfos do there that we couldn't? And why? The treasures we created have been sealed away inside, deep in places that must by now be heavily guarded by mechanical monsters, so you'd never be able to get to them!"
Samba chuckled. "Well, we just want to see what we can do," he told him. "We might be able to help you."
At this, Boroy put a hand to his chin. "Hmmmm...You have a hard bargin, Brother, but..." He studied them for a few seconds. Finally, he drew his hand away from his chin, revealing a smile. "Alright, Brothers, I'll take you there. The fastest way is down the ore tunnel between there and our mines at Death Mountain Crater, which isn't too far from here. You'll need to get a Goron Tunic, however, Link," he said. "There are a number of rooms in Clamor Plant that are very hot from molten metal, and Death Mountain Crater is the center of the volcano. The rock all around will be red-hot, and the tunic will stop you from getting burned. Samba, I doubt you'll be affected much, will you?" he asked.
Samba shrugged. "I doubt it, but I might want some footwear, seeing as I'm in bare footpaws," he said.
"Really? I don't think you'll be hurt, Brother, to be honest," the mechanic stated, smiling. "You look more hardy than other lizalfos. I don't know what it is, but...I just know."
Samba blushed a bit. "Rer, thanks," he muttered.
"I'd love to give you one, but I don't have any goron tunics," Boroy told Link. "Come back here when you've got one. You can buy them in the store, but they're a bit expensive--120 rupees. I'm sorry, but you'll have to scrounge up some money, Brother!" Boroy nodded and leaned against the wall, arms crossed, to wait.
Link and Samba nodded and left. Link smirked at Samba, who looked a little confused and went, "What?"
"Told you."
"Told me wh--oh. Value." He pouted. "In our line of work, it actually was pretty obvious it'd be useful, you know," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but who knew we'd be going somewhere hot?" Link asked.
"Weren't we going to see that one gerudo woman, Aradia?" asked Samba. "That's a pretty hot place."
"I doubt it'd be too hot for me to handle normally if other humans can..."
So, they left the city and returned to the rest of the mountain, where they began to scrounge around. They fought against monsters, destroyed rocks, and, after a suggestion from Link, explored a cave.
Inside, they found it was very small. Water pooled in places, and the entrance granted little light. It gave enough light to show a wall of stone at the other end. Keese came and flew at them once disturbed.
While fighting them, Link's Master Sword hit the wall on accident. When it did, it let out an odd sound, much different from normal. Link noted this and walked over to a different wall after the fight.
"What're you doing?" Samba asked. "There's nothing in here. The only thing that might be interesting is that there're a few large red rocks that I'm sure I can blow up with my Fire Pebble; there'd be no use, though."
Link ignored him and hit the wall with the Master Sword a few times. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. Samba stood and looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed brow. "Are you feeling alright, Link?" he asked, coming over carefully.
Link stopped and thought for a moment, then went over to the other wall and hit it. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. K-TUNG. He then went back to the wall he had hit while fighting and repeated the process. KL-TANG. KL-TANG. KL-TANG.
Samba raised an eyeridge at this. "Huh?" he muttered. "Wait...you were seeing if that wall made different sounds?"
"Doesn't that sound...conspicuous to you, Samba?" Link asked, turning to his friend. "Never heard any rock make that sort of noise when I hit it with my sword."
"I've accidentially hit a few walls with mine, too, but never something sounding so..." Samba searched for the word. Link hit it again. KL-TANG. Samba raised his eyeridges. "...so hollow..." He looked around and found the largish red stones. There were about three of them. "I think I'm thinking what you're thinking," Samba said.
"Good," Link said, sheathing the Master Sword and running to get a stone. "One?"
"All, just in case."
"Right. C'mon, help."
Together, they placed all three stones against the wall, making sure each one touched. Then, Samba told Link to stand back before he Fire Pebbled them. They glowed and burst, taking out the wall of stone with it. Behind it lay, to their surprise, a chest.
And a vile scritching sound.
"What's THAT?" Link asked.
Samba narrowed his gaze as he cautiously stepped forth into the room. "Sounds like a skulltula, but...different. More...vicious." He looked around after entering the small chamber with the chest and found the source above the doorway. "Woah!"
Link ran in and found it, too. Together, they shot it with a pebble and an arrow. It let out a deathcry from the overkill and curled against the wall before exploding in defeat. There, hanging in its place, was a rotating piece of gold shaped like a skull surrounded by blue flame.
"That," Samba said, "must have been a legendary Gold Skulltula. The first Hero found them and destroyed them during his quest. In return for obtaining certain amounts of that thing, a Skulltula Token, he assisted a family that had been cursed for its greed and, in turn, was rewarded. And I mean in the sense people think of."
Link brought down the token with his trusty boomerang and looked at it. It looked interesting, to say the least, and was about the size of a medal. It continued to float over his palm in the place the boomerang left it before he grabbed it. The blue flame extinguished and he felt the item obey gravity. It was made of pure gold, he saw. Link smiled and put it away. "I don't know why, but I have the feeling we should keep it," he told Samba.
Turning to the matter of the chest, they found inside of it...a red rupee. Samba pouted in disappointment, but Link was happy to have gotten it easily. "Only 17 more rupees to go," he said happily before leading the way out.
After defeating more enemies and destroying more rocks and gathering the spoils of war and the gifts of the minish, respectively, they had pooled enough money to get Link his tunic. Were this an anime, Samba would have been sweatdropping as he jogged after a beaming Link. (He wasn't supposed to sweatdrop last chapter; that was a goof-up brought on by force of habit.) "I swear, you're a girl in disguise," he muttered, half-eyeing.
"I was raised in a shop," Link repeated over his shoulder as they went down the passages of Goron City. "It's only even more natural to feel the desire to obtain things with value."
"What kind of logic is that?!" Samba asked, raising an eyeridge.
"I respect the value of things, both monetary and otherwise, so I feel excited whenever I get the opportunity to find out the value for myself," he explained. "I was so excited when my grandfather gave me one of our bows, since I'd always wanted one for its worth, which you've seen in action. It's...a bit complicated."
Samba shrugged. "Well, your logic is, but I guess I get the gist of it," he said.
They reached the shop and Link went to the shopkeep. "Hello again," he greeted. "I'd like to get a Goron Tunic, please."
The shopkeeper smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, Brother! Just pay me 120 rupees and it's yours."
"Samba?" Link asked, turning around. His face said he was obviously eager to get the new clothes.
Samba sighed, holding his paws up. "Link, you look like a hatchling about to get a new toy," he told him, shaking his head.
"Well..." Link tried to give an alibi, but for once couldn't think of one using his reason.
Samba forked over his red rupee anyway, and Link used it with his 100 rupees to buy the clothes. "Aaaaand here you go, Brother!" chirped the shopkeep, bringing over an armful of folded clothes. "I could even dig up a cap like yours so that you don't clash! I hope they're all the right size, Brother, and take good care of them!"
Link smiled and thanked him graciously while he took the pile. He then turned and stood, holding the clothes up in victory for a moment before he put them into his inventory.
Samba made no comment about that and joked, "Alright, you done clothes shopping, sweetie?" This earned him a playful bop on the helmet, which made him laugh. They said good-bye to the shopkeeper and exited. Once they got outside, Link looked around.
"Where's a good place to change, you think?" he asked.
"I dunno. Do you have to take off your undergarmets?" Samba asked.
"I shouldn't, unless they supplied me with fireproof underwear." (*Wonders how many people know what point-and-click game I'm referencing to*)
"Then you could change in a cave or something, since I don't mind watching men take off their clothes. I mean, for one, we're of different races," he hastilly added when Link looked at him strangely.
That wasn't necessary, however, since, after Link went back to inquire, the shop had a dressing room. Within an amazingly short amount of time, Link came out. Instead of being dressed in green, he wore red. The goron emblem was sewn onto his left brest, and was hidden partly underneath the strap holding his sword and shield. He also wore smoke grey, thin-looking gloves and tights that the shopkeeper explained were to protect his hands and feet from the heat, as well. (Tights DO have feet, right?) The material those parts were made of was the most difficult to make, apparantly.
Now fully prepared, the duo trotted off out of the most part of Goron City and up to the very top of it. There, they saw Boroy, standing like he was when they left. He smiled as the hylian came up to him. "Oh, hey, looking great, Brother!" complimented the mechanic, looking Link up and down. "Those colors look nice on you. With that, I'd say you're set! But what do YOU say, Brother? Ready?"
Link looked at Samba, who nodded. He smiled, looked back, and nodded. Boroy smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, then, Brothers, let's get going! Follow me up the mountain!" He turned and trotted off down to the first floor, and Link and Samba followed.
They exited Goron City and went down the main path a ways until they turned a sharp left and up a steeper incline. They followed Boroy a ways before the mountain began to rumble. "Look out!" Boroy called over his shoulder. "Death Mountain's raining!!"
It was true. To both swordsmen's surprise, great, flaming boulders were raining down onto them. They kept running, Samba grabbing his tail before it got crushed. They outpaced Boroy, who would stop and tuck into a ball a second before getting hit (he knew he could never outrun them). They made it to a cliff face with a long, tricky climb between ledges and wall-climbing. When they got there, Link and Samba were safe from the eruption if they hid beneath one of the ledges. The stones that didn't hit someone either broke on the mountainside or bounced and began rolling down the path. "THAT explains the boulders from before," Samba realized. "I thought it was someone pushing them at us."
"Yes," Boroy said as he approached them, the eruption ending a little before he got there. "Sometimes, when Death Mountain erupts like that, boulders survive the fall and roll down the path. More have been doing it lately, but it's just a phase the mountain is going through." He went over and looked at the cliff before them. "Oh, I wish we could use the elevator in Goron City...We can't because we'd get caught and in trouble," he explained before Samba could complain. He sighed and went over to a spot with holds too big for the swordsmen to use easilly and began to climb. "Well, start climbing, Brothers," he said.
Link and Samba started. They had to hop across stone shelves, which once required Link to hide in his ring, do freeform climbing, or edge across ledges. Samba finally found a hindrance in his large footpaws in that he couldn't stand on the ledges, so he had to drop down and go paw-over-paw along behind Link while the human went carefully along (secretly grinning for being able to do something physical his friend couldn't, for once). (Link also found he was a bit faster climber than Samba was.) Once, Samba had to hide in HIS ring when they were sidling in front of rough rocks that would hurt the lizalfos if he hung down and went across.
Eventually, they made it up. Both of them sat back and panted. Boroy was standing there, waiting with crossed arms. "What, tired from that little crawl, Brothers?" he joked, and he chuckled at the whithering looks he was given. "Once you've got your wind back, follow me again." He waited, and a few minutes later, they were ready again. He beckoned them into a wide-mouthed cave.
Once they entered, Link and Samba felt a heatwave hit them. Samba smiled at it. It felt good to him, and he liked it. He knew he COULD overheat, however, and was glad he wasn't overweight. 'Drejsk would DIE here,' he mused.
Link, on the other hand, felt a little uncomfortable. The clothing he wore, however, blocked the heat like tight-woven normal clothing would repel wind. 'Interesting,' he thought.
Boroy looked unfazed by the heat, and when they finally got out of the tunnel and into Death Mountain Crater, he treated it as nothing when they saw a pool of bright, molten lava beneath them. Link and Samba stopped and gaped as they saw it, but not for long from the hot air. Boroy called to them, and they followed him bravely across wooden bridges that, in Link's opinion, should be burnt to a crisp (or at least charcoal) from the ambient heat alone.
After making their way across half of the crater, watching lava beneath them through the slats, Link and Samba found themselves in front of a wide cavemouth. "This is the ore tunnel, which we use to carry ore obtained from the mines over there," explained Boroy, pointing to a slightly narrower opening that led down. Track was visible, and an empty cart stood unattended. "I could bore you with the details of our business's inner workings, but I won't," Boroy relented, lowering his arm again. He beckoned, and they followed him inside the tunnel.
They saw a few mine carts and a lot of tracks. Some of them were different--they were circular instead of boxlike. "These are the ones we're going in," Boroy said, getting into one near them. "They're operated by these levers in the middle, which tell when to brake--" he pointed to one with a red handle, "--and when to go forwards or backwards with an electrically-powered motor, which is what that third rail is for," he explained, now pointing to a lever with a white handle. "They're meant for two gorons, but you two probably make up for the missing second goron, Brothers," he went on, smiling. "Come on and take a seat."
Link went in first, then Samba. They sat down on the seats in the cart. "Hold on to these bars very tightly," instructed Boroy, indicating thick metal bars around the inside of the cart. "We're too big to put in restraints, so these have to do. Hold on tight, or you're going to die, alright, Brothers?" They nervously nodded and clutched them with their lives. Samba could wrap his tail around one a little, acutually, so he did. "Okay, here we go!" Boroy announced, and he pushed the brakes handle.
The cart made a grinding sound and shook, then began to roll down the slope, going slow at first before it accelerated faster and faster. Link and Samba felt as if their hearts were clenching in their chests as they suddenly dipped down and began spiraling. The torches had vanished as soon as they had left the "station", so they were careening through the dark, rattling along tracks at wild speeds.
"ISN'T THIS FUN, BROTHERS??" asked Boroy.
"IF YOU SAY SO," Link called back, wondering why his hat hadn't flown off yet since he couldn't grab it.
"WHY IS IT SPIRALING AROUND AND GOING ALL OVER THE PLACE?" asked Samba.
"IT'S THE WAY THEY BUILT THE TRACK," answered Boroy. "THEY COULDN'T DO A STRAIGHT LINE, OR ELSE IT WOULD BE TOO STEEP FOR THE ORE TO STAY INSIDE THE CARTS."
"Of course, he didn't say 'too steep for us to push it up,'" mused Samba aloud. Downwind from Link, he was heard by his friend, who chuckled despite the thrill in his chest.
After a while of this, they saw a single large cluster of bioluminescent mushrooms zip past them. "OKAY, THAT'S THE WARNING TO PUT ON THE BRAKES SOON," Boroy explained. "TWO MORE, AND WE'LL BE HITTING STRAIGHT TRACK. WE'RE JUST ABOUT THERE, DON'T WORRY!"
The second came...then the third. With a bit of a throw into their seats, Link and Samba felt the cart begin to coast on level ground. As soon as they did, they heard an awful screech and saw sparks spraying behind them as Boroy pulled the brakes. After another few minutes of deceleration, they began to see torches as they pulled into the other "station". At last, Boroy stopped the brakes and let the cart trundle to the end, where it bumped the brace and bounced back a bit before stopping.
"Alllright, Brothers!" Boroy said, grinning and pulling down the brakes to secure the cart. "We're here! We'll have to go through the outside exit, since the one connected right to the foundry's blast furnace is most likely infested. I'm just going to escort you along to the entrance, but that's as far as I'll go."
"We understand," Samba said as they followed him down another tunnel. He looked back over his shoulder at the cart tracks. "Truth be told, that was really fun, actually," he admitted.
"See?" Boroy smiled.
They exited the tunnel and found sunset light washing over them. A beautiful canyon faced them on the ledge they stood on. Below them was a deep, very, VERY far-down river, with trees across the shores. "In the spring, there's a gorgeous--pardon the pun--mist that covers the bottom and rises up," Boroy said. "I love it." He led them across the broad ledge they inhabited until they met metal flooring and a guard rail. The metal, dark and dull from traffic and erosion, was sandy from the canyon, at first, but the tiny bits of debris became nearly non-existant the higher up they went. Finally, they stopped as they faced it.
An iron building front stared out squarely at them as it stuck out from the cliffside. A large balcony spread from it and jutted out above the canyon. Two great metal doors, each with half of a goron emblem and creating a whole when closed, kept the horrors inside and them out.
Silence was all they could hear outside. Silence and wind.
"Savor this quiet, Brothers," Boroy said softly. "Once inside, you'll almost wish you were born deaf." There was a moment of silence. "Good luck, Brothers," bade the mechanic. "I'll stay out here. You go and help everyone."
"What?" Samba looked at him. "I thought everyone had evacuated, right?"
Boroy looked away. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I didn't want to worry you. Some of my friends and co-workers never came out. Goodness knows what's wrong with them. They must be starving...As tough as we are, we can't survive much longer." He looked at them pleadingly. "Please--if they're still alive, save them, Brothers," he begged, clasping his hands together.
Link and Samba looked sympathetically at each other, as well as with a bit of grim humor. "Looks like we're not alone wherever we go, eh?" Link asked.
"Looks like," Samba agreed.
They looked back at Boroy and smiled, nodding. "We'll help them if we find them," Link told him. "We promise."
Boroy sighed in relief and bowed his head. "THANK you, Brothers! Good luck, and give those ironheads what for, for all of us!" he cheered, shaking a fist encouragingly.
Link and Samba nodded and turned to face their next challenge--and their first challenge together as a team. (The Master Sword didn't count.) Then, they walked forth and each opened a door into the foundry with a squeak, stepped inside, and disappeared.
Boroy stood and watched, staring at the once-workplace, now-deathtrap that was officially the Death Canyon Foundry and Smithery. A building he and the other gorons called by a different name.
Clamor Plant.
- - - -
Whoo, boy! Would you believe that I got this all done on one snow day? Yeah, I know, I should've been catching up on college apps. I'm lazy and had to shovel while cursed with fingers that always go numb no matter HOW many gloves I layer on, so sue me. XP. I've got a good idea about what the next dungeon--obviously called Clamor Plant (I want to call it The Clamor Plant, a little, actually...I might interchange it)--is going to be like, but I'll draw it up before I completely do it. Thank you very much to all who review this, and if you think this bunch of garbage merits a game, then I thank you even more, since that IS kind of my intention, here. Too bad it could probably never come to be as I've written it, since the last traditional 3D Zelda was TP, according to Miyamoto. (Cross your fingers that they'll pop a miracle with motion controls, especially with the advent of Motion Plus, people!! They did remarkable on DS, so here's hopin'!) If someone has found or made a program (or at least the 3D Zelda uber-hack of pure pwnage) that lets people make their own 3D Zelda, tell me where I could find it, please, and I'll try to at least create the dungeons. (I doubt I'll ever be able to pull it off in Unreal Ed truly, given my skills...) Anyway, thank you for reading, and sit tight for the next dungeon. (In the meantime, why not read some of my other fics if you haven't--say, oh, I dunno, Puzzle of Truth? And NOT Chosen One? (*lets self be hit by chalkboard eraser for shameless self ad*)) See ya!!
PS: Yeah, I took pretty liberally from Ocarina of Time for Goron City--I couldn't think up much cool puzzle things for it. I guess Zora's Domain was kind of a by-chance thing. And I apologize if this chapter feels a little stale. I mean, hey, I did it all on a snow day ;P
Oh, yeah, speaking of taking from OoT, the return of equipment as a serious mechanic, as seen in the update of the Goron Tunic. I personally liked using the equipment subscreen to change tunics in OoT (but, like any other person, hated it during the Water Temple; I'm crazy (the kind that includes the fact that I like Navi), but not THAT crazy) and missed it during WW (though that's kinda moot with the fact this is set in a TP-style Hyrule). Expect to see some clothing equips for more than one (normal) dungeon!
One more quick note: I thought to myself, 'Why did I make them not go to the store after learning a metal shield would be needed for Link back in Jgk'hry?' and, 'God, I'm dumb.' So I kinda did a bit of a deus ex machina here. On the plus side, however, it helped develop Link and introduced an element absent until now: Gold Skulltulas. Yep, another steal from OoT, with a bit of a twist, which you'll see the next time they find one. (I've also got to figure out a trading game fast, or else it'd start too late...)