Chapter 14: Link of the Gorons

Navi decided it would be wise to wait for morning before setting off for Death Mountain, talking over her ward's protests that the Gorons were in danger and Impa had implored him to get there as quickly as possible. Eventually, it was Link's own fatigue that convinced him to take his fairy's advice, realizing that he hadn't slept since he had learned that Saria was in danger the night before. Navi turned to the bean peddler and insisted that he offer his bed to Link as "compensation" for holding the ocarina on loan for seven years. He agreed with little resistance, seemingly wary of her and her threats.

He was gone the next morning though whether it was because he was running despite Navi's warning or simply attending to business was unclear. Much of the furnishings had been removed save for the bed Link had been using. He checked his belongings on a suspicion but after counting everything thrice was relieved to find everything was untouched. A simple meal of bread and cheese had been left behind "as a peace offering, I imagine," as Navi mused. Link ate this offering hastily and then climbed out of the hole, summoned Epona, and with all due speed galloped for Death Mountain.

...

Before heading up the Death Mountain trail, Link felt he should stop by Mena's place to apprise her of the events he was facing. He and his fairy were stopped short upon entering Kakariko when they found a gathered crowd around the square.

"What's going on?" he wondered aloud. It didn't take them long to find out. In pushing through the throng, they came upon a group of Gorons seated in a circle.

"Ubaro!" Link cried, recognizing Darunia's right-hand Goron. "What are you all doing here?"

Ubaro sighed, but before he had the chance to speak, another Goron leaped to his feet and cried, "It's Volvagia! That dark sorcerer revived him!" He was almost immediately pulled back down by the Goron next to him and shushed quite sternly. This gave Link the impression the outspoken rock-man was young - even child-like.

Navi gasped. "Is this true?"

Ubaro nodded grimly. "It is. And worse, many of us had been captured and taken into the temple to feed him. We had been holding against the Moblins for a good five years before that accursed sorcerer revived him. That was when the tide turned and we were overrun. A few of us managed to escape, thanks to Lady Impa, including young Link here." He gestured to the Goron who had spoken out earlier.

Surprise made Link turn to the young Goron. "Wait, did you just call him 'Link'?"

The young Goron bobbed his head eagerly. "Yeah. Dad named me after you, the legendary Dodongo Buster. He said that you just went into an infestation of dodongos all by yourself and beat King Dodongo! He said you're the strongest and bravest human he had ever met! More than any Goron!"

"I don't know about that," Link replied, his cheeks burning.

"Dad's been captured by the Moblins and taken to the temple. But now that you're here, you can rescue him and all the other Gorons, too, right? You can beat a whole army of Moblins by yourself!"

"That's enough, Link," Ubaro scolded him. He paused for a moment as though something had occurred to him and then turned to Link and spoke, "Though I may very well be asking you to do just that. You see, Lady Impa asked me to pass a message to you."

Link and Navi both looked up. "Where is she? Is she all right?" the young man asked.

Ubaro shook his head. "She has gone to help my captured brothers though I fear the task is beyond her. We would like to help her, but we have been weakened and I have a duty to my brothers here." He gestured, indicating the Gorons who Link had just noticed were wounded and weary. "So though it pains me to ask, I must. Link, will you aid Lady Impa in my stead?"

"Of course," Link answered immediately. "What do I need to do?"

Ubaro nodded. "I thought you might say that. And Lady Impa asked me to tell you this: do not go to Goron City. It is overrun with Moblins and they will grant you no quarter. Instead, climb to the top of the mountain where you will find a secret entrance into the temple. My brothers are imprisoned there. Free them and they will lend you their strength against the Moblin invaders."

Link nodded. "Right. Thanks for the advice, Ubaro." He started toward the trail.

Ubaro stopped him. "Ah! One last thing. I have it on the word of the Lady Impa that the Great Fairy awaits to aid you at the peak of Death Mountain."

Hearing mention of the Great Fairy was heartening to Link and he stood a little straighter. Navi, however, sounded dubious as she said, "And what sort of help would she provide?"

"That I cannot say," Ubaro answered with a shake of his head. "That is simply the message given to me by the Lady Impa. You will have to discover the nature of her aid for yourself."

"All right then," said Link and hurried to the mountain trail. He called over his shoulder, "Thanks, Ubaro."

Then he was gone. Ubaro grunted and murmured, "It is we who should be thanking you." He glanced at the young Goron who got up and started to run. "Where do you think you're going, Link?"

"He's going to fight the Moblins!" said Link of the Gorons with the raw excitement granted only to the young and naive. "I want to see those bullies pay for what they did!"

"You will stay here," said Ubaro sternly. "Likely as not you will only get in the way or worse, and Big Brother Darunia would never forgive me if something happened to you."

Link slumped and pouted. "But..."

"No, Link. We'll let the Dodongo Buster you were named after take care of this. You can ask him about it when he returns..." He bowed his head and muttered softly to himself, "if he returns..."

...

Ubaro's message proved to be sound. The moment Link stepped off the broken trail at the bend where Dodongo's Cavern sat, he found Moblins - swarms of them. The biggest and ugliest of them was shouting orders and swinging his arms.

"Search every nook and cranny! Look for anything suspicious that might be a hidden door! Spare nothing and no one! I want the Goron race to be nothing but a memory when this day is done!"

Link shuddered at such a cruel thought. He crouched behind a niche in the mountain wall and assessed the situation. He whispered to Navi, "Do you think we should go back and warn them?"

For a minute, she made no reply. Then she said, "It may not be necessary. A thought has occurred to me. Did you notice how broken and perilous the trail was as we made our way up?"

Link thought back. "Actually it seemed wider in spots like the Gorons made a path as they retreated down to Kakariko."

"Yes, in spots, but there were those ledges that forced you to shuffle past them with your back to the wall. How do you suppose the Gorons got past those?"

Link hesitated. "They jumped?"

"And how do you suppose the Moblins got up Death Mountain to begin with? Had they passed through Kakariko, I doubt the village would still be standing."

Link pondered this and then it hit him. "Are you saying there's another path up the mountain?"

Navi nodded. "It seems a likely possibility. Kakariko Village was once a Sheikah village, remember, and the Sheikah are famed for their secrecy. A path requiring a light foot would only be fitting for such a race. In other words, I believe the Gorons are safe in Kakariko. These brutes are much too heavy and large to make use of this trail. Impa must have known this, which is why she sent us this way even seven years ago."

Link prayed she was right. He watched the Moblins pour into the Goron's cavern, noting how many there were. He would love to make them pay for the misery they had caused - destroying Hyrule Castle Town and forcing the Gorons out of their home - but there were too many of them. He would need an army to face these monsters. And if Ubaro was right, he would have an army of Gorons waiting for him in the temple. He turned his gaze up the mountain to its peak where the Great Fairy lived. He just needed to sneak past the Moblins and climb all the way to the top. He wondered what sort of help the Great Fairy would give him.

"No time to waste, Link," Navi urged him. "The longer we wait, the more Gorons that will be eaten by the dragon."

"Right," said Link and immediately set to work performing the invisibility spell. Once the spell was complete, he made a straight line for the mountain leading up to the Great Fairy's domain.

The Moblins were swarmed all over the mountain along the trail, overturning boulders almost twice their size, no doubt looking for hidden doors and passages. They were all too focused on this task to notice an "enchanted breeze," Link hoped, and he did his best to tiptoe around them while hurrying as fast as he could. He could feel the spell wearing him down though not as quickly as it had before. His repeated use of it was giving him a tolerance for its draining effects, it seemed.

The trail gradually ended, growing rough and rocky, yet there were Moblins here, too. Link was feeling the fatigue from the spell, so after a Moblin pushed over a rock, he scurried behind it and blew away the spell to rest. He half expected the Moblin to come his way again but it seemed it had decided there was nothing up the mountain and was stumping back down, its beady eyes still sweeping the mountainside for anything suspicious. Link wasn't completely rested when he decided to move on, but his concern for his Goron brothers served to fuel him onward and the Great Fairy waited for him, who he remembered could cure him of his fatigue and cuts.

Regardless, he rested twice before he finally reached the peak. The mouth of the volcano was mere feet in front of him, the ring of clouds around it glowing an ominous orange color. Navi glanced around and then remarked, "I do not see the Great Fairy. Perhaps she would like to test our wisdom once more?" She said this with the delicate air of one walking on glass.

In answer, the wall to their left churned with the crunch of rock and a doorway opened. The tinkling sound of a stream burbled out to them, followed by a waft of spring rain. Link walked inside and the wall closed in behind him. The Great Fairy was waiting for them, hovering in a relaxed pose with her arms crossed in front of her. She smirked at Navi and replied, "It may be worth testing. Seven years ago, you proved to have a volatile temper. Have the years tempered that part of you, I wonder?" She laughed. It had the same empowering effect on Link that it had seven years ago.

"I see you remain a distant observer of your children's plight," Navi said coolly.

The Great Fairy frowned. "Honed it would seem your ire has become. Take care you don't lose yourself to that bitter feeling you harbor. Remember the tale of Blind the Thief."

"I have no intention of dealing with demons, have no fear of that," Navi spat.

Link was curious to hear about Blind the Thief, whom he had never heard of, but the air was getting too tense for him to try asking. Eager to head off the storm, Link cut in, "We were told you had a gift for us?"

Immediately, the Great Fairy brightened. "Indeed, I do! You intend to enter the Fire Temple to rescue the Gorons captured there, do you not? The temple is built inside a living volcano and as such it is hot, perhaps too hot for you to handle without the proper equipment. Thus it is I bestow upon you a garment that will allow you to endure the severe heat." Saying this, she blew a gold-glittered kiss at Link. The golden dust swirled about him, filling the young swordsman with a warm glow. He watched as it seemed to stitch something around his clothes, adding a color and texture to his tunic that reminded him of lizalfo skin except with a silver sheen. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Navi's expression change to astonishment.

"Dragon scales?" she burst out in surprise.

The Great Fairy laughed in delight. "Indeed, who knows better how to defend against heat than the lords of fire themselves? With this, you should be able to walk through even the fiercest flame. Take care not to overtax it, however. The enchantment that enables this draws upon the wearer's own lifeforce." Seeing Link's alarmed expression, the Great Fairy smiled. "Do not fear, boy. It only uses as much as needed to make the heat bearable - the hotter it is, the more it takes - but with your strength, it should prove as nothing to you. Just remember that the fate of Hyrule rests in your hands."

Link nodded. "I understand, and thank you."

The Great Fairy smiled. "Now then. You came up here seeking a secret way into the temple? Allow me to guide you." She pointed to the wall and, with the crunch of rock, an opening formed. Hot air that was almost scalding assaulted Link's exposed face. He suspected it was hotter but the magic of the suit which the Great Fairy had blessed him with kept the heat from scorching him to the bone. The scales of the suit shimmered almost like burning fire.

Behind him, the Great Fairy spoke, "You will arrive at the highest levels of the temple, over the heads of the Moblin force. Make good use of that hookshot and Farore's Wind to stay out of sight. If you wish to have any hope of fighting back against the Moblins, you will need to free the Gorons trapped inside. Do not let them be taken to the temple depths for that is where the dragon Volvagia resides. Rescue them before they are eaten!"

Link gave a grim nod. "Don't worry. I won't let any of them die. Not this time."

"Then go, Link! Save your brothers and stop that dragon!"

Without another word, the young Hylian charged through the opening and into the temple.