Chapter Ten: Conquered Cavern

Evening was falling on the mountain, and the Gorons began their evening routines. Some began to prepare their children for bed, others putting together sparse meals. The local shop was closed by its vendor, and the guard was changed. Darunia paced his room all the while, worry creasing his face. As if all his people's troubles weren't enough, he had to top it off by sending a child into the cavern. He silently cursed himself for his lack of reason. Had he done it in desperation? Had his stress and impatience gotten the better of him? Who in their right mind sent a child to do a man's task?

He cursed himself again for his foolery. Now he had to make amends.

"Brother!" He called, stepping out from his room and into the city's lowest level. "Where are you brother?!"

Other Gorons paused to watch him, curious what this unexpected event was. He did not mind them. In fact, as a thought passed by, it may be better for them to watch and hear anyway. He had not kept his position as chief simply from tradition, but by action as well.

His brother Roddrin finally came into sight, descending a flight of stairs on the far end. He made his way to him, even as he walked, so that they met halfway.

"You called brother, goro?"

"How long ago did that boy leave?" He asked.

"Goro? Is something the matter brother?"

"Answer the question, quickly! This is urgent."

"Yes yes, I can tell, goro. Let's see, perhaps only an hour, maybe only a little longer?"

"And no word from the cavern watch?"

"None brother, goro."

Goddesses, let that boy be safe. "Then come with me to the cavern. If he's not back by the sun's setting, I will personally enter that cursed cave!" He clasped him by the shoulder briefly before passing him by, making his way through the city. His people watched him pass with wide eyes, clearly in awe of his claim. That was good; his people's trust in him came from claims like these that he had made good on. And thus far he had made good on every single one.

As he neared the entrance, He felt his hot blood run cold: The earth trembled beneath him, and, so faint it could have been missed from the trembling, he heard the roar. He had heard that roar before, when he had himself slain a Dodongo in his boyhood, and thus had become a man. But this roar was different, it was….stronger. Deeper. And that meant bigger. Much bigger.

"Goddesses, let that boy be safe," he breathed. "Let's go, quickly!"

~0~

Link stood with his back to the wall, clutching the rock more tightly than necessary for keeping balance. He was stunned by what he had just heard, and fear gripped him. That enormous roar, that had shaken the very rock he was standing on, had belonged to a beast he was charged to end the life of, a Dodongo.

And a big one. Big enough to be called a king.

A second roar ripped through the tunnel, this one even louder than the first. Debris fell from above, loose rocks and dirt shaken from their place from the trembling. Cracks could be heard as rock split. With a sharp crack, he felt the rock below him give way, and with a fearful scream plummeted down.

"LINK!" Navi cried, bolting down after him, begging for the goddesses' intervention.

Link, still on the rock, frantically looked for a way to stop himself. His only hope he concluded was to jump to the wall. But he was running out of time. He looked down, gauging how much time he had. The tunnel suddenly opened up, revealing a huge room. A blast of hot air hit him, and he could have sworn the hot air slowed his descent, if only slightly. He had no time to observe his surroundings now though, it was now or never; there was still a blackened wall next to him. He jumped, crashing into the wall only seconds before the rock he had been on shattered on the floor. The wall was oddly smooth, and Link found himself sliding down, though definitely not as fast as before. Navi arrived by his side as he jumped from the wall to the floor. He looked at her, and shook his head.

"I don't ever want to do that again."

"Good, neither do I! Thank the Goddesses you're safe."

"Yeah," he answered in agreement. Brushing himself off, he stood up and looked out in front of him. His eyes went wide at the sight of a lake of lava, the surface bubbling and sizzling in some places. It definitely explained the heat. Only the very edges of the room seemed to be safe from the burning liquid.

"Um…Link…I think you should turn around and see this." Navi whimpered, slipping into his hat. Link quickly did as she asked, wanting to know what scared her so. His eyes went even wider.

"Ohh, Shi-"

The mighty King Dodongo's thunderous roar drowned out all sound but its own. The beast was massive, far larger than Link had imagined. The only live thing he had ever seen bigger was perhaps the Great Deku Tree—but the Deku Tree had never tried to kill him.

"There's no way my sword or slingshot will work on him! What am I gonna' do?"

"I don't know but you'd better think fast!" Navi replied from under his hat. "I want to get out of here alive!"

"Easy for you, you can fly!" Link retorted, not appreciating her attitude. Her words did haunt him though. He wanted to get out alive too, but, would he?

The giant lizard advanced, each slow step felt like an earthquake had hit. It stopped several dozen feet away, and took an audible, deep breath. Link felt a chill down his spine.

"Fire breather," he whispered. Knowing nothing else to do, he bolted, sprinting down the length of the edge of the wall. "It's a fire breather Navi!" he cried, panicking as he heard the creature bellow, and heard the sound of fire rushing towards him. Link never slowed as he pelted around the corner, and only stopped when he heard the sound of fire recede. When he looked back, he was surprised to have noted how far he had run. And how slow the creature was; it had resumed its snail's pace to catch up to him. He let out a nervous laugh.

"Heh heh, he can't move very fast, can he?"

"Link…Dodongos can roll like Gorons."

"What?!"

Right on cue, the beast roared, and promptly tucked itself into a ball, throwing itself forward with its hind legs before folding them in. The earth rumbled as it steamrolled towards the corner of the room, Link watching with fear, praying that it wouldn't be smart enough to turn.

The earth shook as the Dodongo crashed into the wall, debris falling from the roof…but the giant lizard only shrugged it off, and proceeded rolling, directly towards Link.

"Craaap!" Link screamed, running full speed again. It was no use though; he could hear the beast gaining on him with frightful speed, though he dared not look back.

A sharp pain shot up his foot, and Link tumbled to the ground, losing his balance from his speed. Thinking faster than he even thought possible, he rolled himself to the edge, laying himself flat, and shut his eyes, praying it would work.

The Dodongo didn't even slow down as he thundered past. Link opened his eyes, releasing his pent-up breath as he watched the giant lizard crash into the wall again, and finally unraveling himself.

He's huge, but, not very smart is he? He wondered to himself. Was that something he could use to his advantage? Calm down Link, think. What did he know? The thing was huge, and slow-moving on all fours. It was able to roll, like the Gorons, so it was fast in that sense. And it could spit out fire. It wasn't very smart, given it rolled right past him, his perceived prey. His slingshot was useless, and so was his sword; that skin was far too tough. What was he missing?

He was startled back into reality when he heard a blast, followed by a roar. The Dodongo had landed in a patch of bomb flowers, and one of them had been uprooted, and had exploded. The tough skin had been burned, leaving it charred, and in one spot even, pink flesh could be seen.

Bombs! He smiled. He had found a weakness. Now he needed to exploit it. How to best do that?

"Navi, bombs work on him! But his skin is so tough; I would use mine all up before I could do any real harm to him. Any ideas?"

He stood up, brushing himself off. His toe still hurt, throbbing from the hit it had received. He found the source one a few feet away; a chunk of rock, probably from the roof of the cavern. Paying no mind to it—he had been dealt worse—he started walking backwards, away from the Dodongo, trying to give himself time.

He was forced to ignore the heat though, which he was starting to find annoying. He felt like it was sapping his strength, and the running he had done had not helped in the slightest. He glanced over at the lava lake, perhaps only a couple of yards away. If he stepped in that, he was finished. He doubted if even, just maybe, this King Dodongo could stand it.

Navi finally spoke up, excited by the discovery her partner had made. Knowing that, she had an idea. Dondongos, she had learned, were notorious for eating, well, anything. Their stomachs were extremely tough, and their saliva was able to neutralize most toxins, a trait that made it very desirable, and also extremely expensive; it was a rare opportunity indeed to secure any.

She found it hard to believe a Dodongo's stomach, even a king, could handle a bomb though. It would be risky though, something she found very concerning, but she had to trust her partner. He had made it this far and was still fine, something most grown men would only dream of.

"I have one, but it's going to be dangerous."

"Of course it will be, I'm supposedly fighting a dragon."

"Ok then," she said, taking the reply as a yes, "You need to get him to eat a bomb. Think you can do it?"

A pause followed, then—

"Yeah, I think I can manage that. Thanks Navi."

Link looked at the Dodongo, Feeling his fear dying. He knew its weakness now. He could do it; he could defeat Kind Dodongo!

The beast roared, turning towards him. Link held his ground, unfazed by the display of power. After all, power wasn't everything, was it?

"All right, here we go," he breathed, and took a step towards the Dodongo. And another, and another. He broke into a run, thrusting his hand into his bomb bag and pulling one out. Running to the lava's edge, he ducked into a crouching run, letting the bomb's fuse lick the molten surface. It quickly caught fire, and he brought himself back up, sprinting now. The Dodongo opened wide its jaws, as again it audibly breathed in. Link smiled. The beast had done exactly as he had expected it to do.

"Eat this, King!" he shouted, and with all his might he could muster, threw the bomb. He did not wait to see where it went; as soon as he threw it he did a one-eighty, nearly tripping as he bolted to a crevice in the wall he spotted. He turned around just in time to see the bomb get sucked into the giant creature's mouth.

"Checkmate."

~0~

"What in the name of the goddesses is going on in there?!"

Darunia stood at the entrance to the cavern, several Gorons mulling around behind him. Each time the earth shook and the roar was heard, they watched the entrance to the cave with frightful eyes. Darunia was not afraid for the same reason they were. He was afraid for the boy. Something was going on in there, that was for sure.

There was a low, deep boom that sounded, and again another roar, but this one sounded different. It sounded strained, like a cry, before it was suddenly cut short. And then all was silent, and the rumbles and tremors ceased.

"Chief, is it over, goro?"

Darunia shook his head. "I do not know. Let us hope the boy lives. If we see him, we shall know the answer."

"Goro, and if we don't?"

The chief looked up to the sky. Night had fallen some time ago, and the moon was already in the sky, its pale half-light casting the landscape in greys and silvers. He sighed, weighted by those words. He truly wished to see that boy, Link, alive and well. He did not want the blood of a child on his hands!

"If he does not come up with the sun, then we shall assume he has failed. In the meantime, let us wait."

Link, you had better hold your word, or I swear I will find a shaman to summon you and you will get a lecture from me!

~0~

The dawn was fast approaching on the mountain, the dark sky beginning to adopt lighter shades even as the stars still clung to the sky. Darunia still stood at the entrance to the cavern, arms crossed with a hardened expression, doing his best not to show concern or anxiety. As non-feeling as he looked though, it was clear to the other Gorons he was. Why else would he be standing there so forcefully?

A Goron came rolling down the mountain trail, signaling to the others the dawn had come. No one needed to hear the message the Goron had, even as he said it anyway. The sun had risen.

Darunia sighed. The boy had not come. He had failed. And he, Darunia, Chief of the Gorons, had failed, both to his people and to himself. He had been desperate enough to listen to a child and had sent him to do a man's job, and now he had paid the price. Somewhere inside him, he felt disgust grip him, knowing blood was on his hands. But as chief, he could not wallow in such negativity. He would do the only thing he as chief could do. Without even turning, he spoke.

"Prepare a feast, in celebration of his life. We did not know him, and he did not know us, but he was the only one who came to us with the good will that only a child can offer, and helped us when no one would. He deserves our thanks. I, on the other hand, while you prepare, will go and fetch the boy, and see with my own eyes what has happened here."

Just as he finished speaking though, the whole group fell into gasps, one even cried out. From out of the mouth of the cave came the fairy, Navi. She flew over to Darunia, bowing her head in respect.

"Where is the boy?" Darunia asked, this time unable to hide his concern. Navi smiled.

"He is on his way, he sent me ahead to tell you that he's OK—"

"And the Dodongos?!" He asked excitedly. To know the boy was safe was good news indeed! Blood was not on his hands! Even if the Dodongos were still present, the boy being safe was enough to ask for. But he still had to know.

"Link did his very best, better than I ever could have expected. The Dodongos are gone, and he even slayed a King Dodongo."

"A King?! That boy?!" Darunia cried, unable to contain his amazement. The others were equally amazed, and suddenly noise filled the mountain trail. Darunia shook his head, hardly able to believe his own ears. A King Dodongo, one of the most fearsome of natural creatures in Hyrule, defeated by a Kokirian child. He smiled; that boy would certainly have a tale to tell when he arrived.

"Your partner, Link was it? I thought he was somehow special, but I couldn't quite place why I thought so. He's a gifted one, blessed by the goddesses no doubt. You have a good partner."

"Thank you, Darunia, and I quite agree, he is certainly special, just as the Great Deku Tree said. I've seen him do wonders, and he's still only a child."

"Chief, goro! He's here!" A Goron cried, pointing at the entrance. Several other Gorons began to cheer, as they all watched Link finally step out from the cavern's entrance. His once-green tunic was now stained by dirt and torn in several places, and he clearly was exhausted, yet as he stepped out, he still smiled and attempted a wave. Darunia laughed, and turned to his people.

"Prepare a feast, my brethren, the likes of which we have never had! We shall feast until our stomachs burst! Goro!"