Bonus chapter! I'll be honest, I had a really productive week this past week when it comes to writing. I finished four chapters back-to-back. The first four chapters of Part Three, if you're curious. It's going to be a while yet before we get to them, but I'm excited to eventually share them with my readers. In the meantime, because of that and because we passed 10,000 hits on the story, I figured I could do a quick edit on the next chapter and get it out early. I will still plan on posting a chapter on Wednesday and Saturday, like normal, no worries.

bladeofthebookworms: Regarding your question to Mipha's Grace, the answer is... yes? Kind of. While I don't have hard rules for when Link can use Mipha's Grace, it does have its limitations. It can't heal Link indefinitely, nor do I ever show it healing him immediately outside of the time Mipha used all of it at once to save him. Furthermore, it's largely instinctual at this time. He doesn't know how to actually use it intentionally. Link is, in no way, immortal with Mipha's Grace.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Hot. It had gotten very hot. Overwhelmingly so. Link had been warned, of course, that Death Mountain was very unwelcoming to outsiders, especially as of late, when the Divine Beast had mysteriously grown active again, causing the ancient volcano to begin spewing magma regularly. But though he had been warned, Link still hadn't known what to expect. He had expected something like a hot summer day, not that the very air itself felt like it was on fire.

It was hot enough that Link was in serious danger of dehydration, especially as he had to leave his horse back at the Foothill Stable, found within the center of the Eldin trading outpost. Without his horse, Link would have had no way to carry large amounts of water for the three-day hike up to Goron City.

Thankfully, he had found some help.

"I don't understand those treasure hunters at all," Boldon, the Goron, said as he and Link made their way along the path. "I mean, I'm sure the castle has plenty of secrets and valuable treasure, but it's dangerous, too! I hear it's inhabited by all sorts of monsters. They're just crazy."

The large, brown-skinned Goron had his yellow hair tied up above his head and wore a large pack on his back. In one of his massive hands—it was easily large enough to wrap around Link's entire head with room to spare—he held a metal chain that was linked to a huge lizard that lumbered along behind them.

Boldon was what he called the ambassador of tourism to Goron City. The giant lizard, which had an iron muzzle around its maw, was something called a dodongo. Boldon assured Link that it was perfectly safe, as long as they kept the muzzle on it and Link didn't get too close to its mouth, lest it try to breathe fire through the muzzle anyway. "Once saw a Hylian catch on fire that way, I did," Boldon had told him. Link gave the dodongo a wide berth ever since.

He met Boldon at the Foothill Stable, where he'd found out about the mountain's recent increase in activity. When Link told him of his hopes to visit Goron City, Boldon had been excited, offering to help Link make his way up. It would seem that Boldon's job had become very uneventful lately. Boldon had offered to help Link by carrying a large barrel of water for him in what looked like an old minecart strapped to the dodongo's back. At least that way, Link would not be at risk of dehydration.

Unfortunately, the heat of the mountain was not so easily beaten. While at the stable, Link had purchased several disgusting-looking elixirs that Boldon had assured him would help with the extreme heat. Fireproof elixirs, they were called. He hadn't tried one yet, as Boldon warned him that it would get far hotter the closer they got to the volcano, and they would only last for about six to eight hours apiece. He would be able to get more at Goron City.

"So, people actually still venture into Hyrule Castle?" Link asked after taking a long pull on his water skin. The water from the barrel had gotten very warm by now and had a strange, earthy aftertaste. Link tried to ignore the gritty texture that he felt on his teeth after drinking the water.

"That's what I hear, anyway," Boldon said, looking down at Link. "Some claim to have found a great big library in it with books that reach the ceiling."

"Do you know the way they use to get in?"

Boldon shrugged his great big shoulders, the chain in his hand jingling softly. "No clue. It's just things that I've heard from other travelers."

"Do you get travelers up here a lot?" Link asked, taking another swig of his water. The tunic he wore—the Champion's tunic, as it was the lightest of his tunics—stuck to his sweat-drenched body. His feet felt as they were smoldering in his boots, but he had already learned the hard way that he couldn't safely remove his boots here. The ground was far too hot. Thankfully, he had been able to purchase a special pair of new boots from the outpost that had soles that would not melt from the extreme heat as he had been assured his old boots would.

"Not anymore," Boldon said, frowning and looking up towards Death Mountain. The volcano perpetually spewed smoke and ash into the sky now, and Link could see far more clearly the magma trails that ran down its sides. It certainly seemed to live up to its name.

Their first day of walking had taken them by several bodies of water that Boldon had explained were natural hot springs, though they were not the famous Goron hot springs that were found up on the mountain. They had stopped there to wade into the pools of steamy water—an experience that Link had found incredibly refreshing and oddly nostalgic for something he couldn't remember. The hot water had done much to sooth the aches of the last several days.

Shortly after commencing with the second day of travel, they had come near the Sheikah Tower, where Link had requested they pause. Boldon had watched him with fascination as he climbed up the tower's lattice, which was surprisingly cool, considering most everything else that he touched around here was at the very least warm to the touch, if not hot. Once having activated the tower, Link used the paraglider to sail down to where Boldon watched with wide eyes.

They had slept that night in the southern mine. Link had found the somewhat cooler caves where the Gorons worked to mine various ore and precious metals to be a relief when compared to the outside trail, where at any given point in time, they could have been walking past a bubbling pool of molten rock.

On the third day, they encountered the strange creatures known as pebblits.

"Oh, they're not so bad," Boldon said as Link backed away, alarmed at the strange formation of stone that had suddenly risen up and walked towards him on stubby rock legs.

It had a large central body made of a large rock, with two arms and two legs, also made of formations of stone. Link had been walking along the path beside Boldon, who had just been explaining the joys of mine cart racing to him, when a rock they were passing just started moving.

Boldon bent down, wrapping his massive hand around the central stone, and picked it up. Somehow, the various stones that made up the pebblit's body all stayed together, even though it appeared to Link to be made up of about a dozen individual rocks, all of different sizes and shapes. The Goron held the pebblit upside down, looking at it with a grin. The strange creature's little arms and legs still pumped, as if it thought it was still on the ground.

"They taste terrible," Boldon said, looking over at Link. "If they didn't, we probably would have eaten them all ages ago!" He tossed the pebblit into the pool of magma they were next to. Link watched as the pebblit hit the lava with an oddly subdued splash and sank beneath the yellow and orange surface.

"Don't worry," Boldon said. "It'll be okay. It'll reform on the bank after a while."

Link hadn't been that particularly concerned about the pebblit's safety, as much as he was alarmed with the new creatures he'd seen since arriving at Death Mountain. Walking rocks and giant, fire-breathing lizards were hardly comforting to him.

"Now, if you ever come across a Talus, I'd run."

"What's a Talus?" Link asked, looking back up at Boldon.

"It's like a pebblit, but about that size." Boldon pointed to a massive rock outcrop. It was easily at least twice as tall as the Goron, if not even taller. "Mean piles of rock, those are. Sometimes, Gorons go out in hunting parties to try to destroy them when they get to close to the city."

Link thought of all the rocks and boulders they had passed on the way up the mountain, feeling a chill run down his spine. What was this place? He suddenly found himself missing the bokoblins and lizalfos of Hyrule Field and Zora's Domain.

"Oh, we have lizalfos too, brother," Boldon said after Link mentioned this, grinning widely. "Fire lizalfos."

"Why are they—oh, let me guess: they breathe fire," Link said, the pit in his stomach growing ever more insistent.

"Yep."

"Fantastic."

It was mid-afternoon when Link and Boldon, along with the muzzled dodongo, passed underneath a giant arch made from what looked to be pieces of scrap metal, and Link got his first look at the great Goron city, appropriately titled Goron City.

Goron City seemed to take every concept and idea that went into the creation of the capital of Zora's Domain and invert it. Where Zora's Domain had been carefully created with order and aesthetics in mind, Goron City was laid out seemingly haphazardly. The city seemed to be located in a giant bowl or crater, with pathways of rock or metal crisscrossing throughout with no discernible pattern. Buildings were made from combinations of rock and sheets of metal and were, likewise, seemingly random in their location and size. Some buildings were side-by-side while others had been built nearly on top of each other, with ramps leading up to the upper levels. Shockingly, Link even saw a few pools of magma interspersed throughout the city, often with bridges made of iron crossing over them.

Everywhere he looked, there were Gorons of varying shapes and sizes. He saw young Gorons that were shorter than him, with much softer and rounder looking bodies, as well as very old Gorons with drooping skin and bowed rocky backs. Some Gorons were bald while others had massive amounts of hair and beards. Some wore clothes while others worn nothing but a small wrap to cover their waists.

"Do all Gorons live here?" Link asked, eyes taking in the full sight before him. While Goron City was sprawling, to be sure, it was not as large as he would have expected. He saw dozens of Gorons—maybe even hundreds—but that couldn't have been all of them.

"Oh no, brother," Boldon said, chuckling. "Most of us live underground. Lots of us are in Gortram Mountain." He thumbed a finger over his shoulder, pointing back to the large ridgeline that the path up to Goron City had circled around. He also pointed at another massive outcrop of rock on the other side of Goron City. "And under Monument Rock."

Link looked over at what Boldon called Monument Rock, his eyes traveling up its strangely shaped surface. Giant pieces of rock jutted off of it in different directions, none of them quite how he expected they should look… And then he saw it. The faces.

Four different Goron faces had been carved into the massive cliff. Some of their bodies had been carved into the rock as well—the strange extensions of rock that looked strange to Link, he now recognized as arms, complete with hands and fingers. One of the hands even ended up in a giant thumbs-up. Three Gorons stood level—the Goron with the thumbs-up, an older Goron with what looked like some kind of bead necklace, and a youthful Goron. Standing above those three, however, was another Goron. One that Link instantly recognized.

Daruk.

Daruk, with his white hair and bushy beard. Daruk, with his confident half-smile. Daruk, with his eyes on the distant Death Mountain, hand outstretched as if to take it. Daruk, Link's friend. Daruk. Link's brother.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

No one told Squire Link to watch out for monsters around Death Mountain. No one told him that, if he were to wander away from Goron City, where the knights were spending time coordinating with the Goron warriors in their annual training exercises, then he would be in danger of being ambushed by a group of fire-breathing lizards, along with a massive long-snouted moblin.

Of course, no one told him he could leave Goron City either.

Link had thought his little detour would just be a chance to see that strange Sheikah structure that he'd spotted while touring the area. He'd seen a few others of those in his life—there was even one near the Royal Ancient Lab that he'd seen when visiting it with his father and the king a few years back—but he never had a chance to really look at one up-close. Those Sheikah scientists had shooed him away from seeing the one at the lab, since they were having a private conference around it with the king and the princess.

What Link found out, though, is that the monsters on Death Mountain could be very territorial and didn't like it when lone Hylians showed up to poke their distinctly non-piggish noses around their home. Just fantastic.

Link whirled, moving out of the way of the gout of orange flames that the lizalfo sent his way. He swore that he could feel the hairs on his arms singe away. Great. He was already teased for having almost no hair on his chest and arms just because the hair was so light—now he really would have no hair on his arms! He brought his sword down on the back of the lizalfo's extended neck, cleaving it right off.

Behind him, he heard the moblin roar in anger, and he rolled to the side just in time to avoid being crushed by a large rock that the moblin had thrown at him. Link spun and charged at the now-weaponless moblin. The moblin swung a meaty arm at him, but Link ducked low, sliding under the arm, and thrust his sword up into the moblin's armpit. The moblin made a pained sound, backing away from Link before he could plunge the sword in any deeper.

Something large and metal spun past Link's ear from behind, and he followed its progress in the air as it flew out and then, startlingly, arced around and came right back towards him. He threw himself to the side as the bladed boomerang swept through the air where he'd been standing. He hit the ground in a roll and jumped back up just in time to see another of the lizalfos catch the boomerang and hiss dangerously at him.

These lizalfos were different than the ones he'd seen in Zora's Domain before. These were taller and brawnier than those ones, with thick snouts and longer teeth, and a set of sharp spines that began at their heads and ran all the way down to their tails. They had grey skin that helped them blend in with the rocky environment of Death Mountain, too.

They also wielded much nicer weaponry than he'd seen the river lizalfos wield. Like a three-bladed iron boomerang that actually worked.

The lizalfo winded its arm back and then threw the boomerang at Link again, who side-stepped it as it passed. He turned, watching its lazy arc and gauging its speed. When it looped back around towards him, Link held his breath, narrowing his eyes. He stepped to the side again, just out of its path, and everything seemed to slow for just a second. He could see the individual blades spinning, shimmering in the red-tinted air of Death Mountain.

Link raised his sword and brought it down on the boomerang just as it passed him again, sending it clattering to the ground. Behind him, the lizalfo released a screech of surprise as its weapon of choice hit the dirt well out of its reach. Grinning, Link spun and sprinted at the lizalfo. The lizalfo took a deep breath, preparing its fire-breath, but Link didn't give him a chance to exhale, plunging his sword right down the open maw. The lizalfo's eyes opened wide in shock and pain before Link ripped his sword free.

Link spun, eyes finding the moblin again. It had seemingly recovered from its earlier panic, as it now picked up the fallen boomerang and threw it at Link. The spinning blade flew far too wide, however, and Link stood still as it passed on one side of him and then returned on his other side. The moblin went to catch it but misjudged the angle of the boomerang terribly, crying out in pain as the boomerang struck its outstretched hand, falling to the ground, along with two of its thick fingers.

Before it could recover from its shock, Link was there, looking up at the towering pig-monster, and thrust his sword deep into its chest, finding the moblin's heart. The monster shuddered, and Link pulled his sword free, stepping to the side and letting the moblin fall forward to the ground.

Link breathed heavily as he surveyed the carnage around him, sword held to his side, multi-colored blood still dripping from its blade. Damn. He had just wanted to see that Sheikah thing, not engage in a fight. He hadn't expected to be forced to kill today. It felt pointless. He hadn't been protecting anyone, hadn't been on a mission to help some poor farmers or save a village being raided. He'd walked in on their home and slaughtered them.

It didn't feel very knightly of him.

Suddenly, something crashed to the ground behind him with a loud battle cry. The impact was enough to cause the earth around him to shudder and nearly send Link to his knees. He stumbled, spinning around, ready to face whatever new creature had shown up to defend its home. Would this be one of the Stone Taluses that he'd heard so much about?

What Link saw, though, surprised him. Rather than a new monster out for his blood, he found a massive Goron standing in the middle of a noticeable crater in the rock, huge Goron weapon in hand. It wasn't a sword, per se, but was shaped somewhat one, with a long hilt made to be wielded by two Goron hands and a thick blade that ended in blunted edges. It ended in more reinforced iron, forming something like a sledgehammer's head at its end. He had seen weapons like it being used in the mines to shatter stone.

The Goron himself had wild white hair, a thick beard, and strikingly blue eyes. He wore no clothes other than the standard wrap of twisted cloth around his waist that the Gorons called a mawashi, but he did have a black metal chain that crisscrossed on his chest, forming an X right over his heart. A brilliant red ruby cut into the shape of the Goron sigil sat housed in the center of the X.

"Don't worry, Little Guy! The mighty Daruk is here to—" The Goron stopped, lowering his weapon, looking around in confusion. "What happened?"

Link ran his hands through his hair, which was beginning to get long. He would need to tie it back into a ponytail soon to keep it out of his eyes. This wasn't good. He had hoped to check out the Sheikah structure and then go back before anyone noticed his absence.

"I was out walking, and stumbled upon—"

"Wait, you took all these guys out by yourself?" Daruk asked, stepping out of his self-imposed crater and nudging the headless lizalfo with one of his feet. "Good job, Little Guy!"

Behind Daruk, another lizalfo poked it head up from behind an outcrop, looking down at Link and Daruk. Link's eyes widened and he stepped forward, hand out.

"Watch out, there's a—"

"I came down here because I saw you from the peak. I thought you needed some help, but it fine all along!" Daruk was oblivious to the danger behind him as the lizalfo stood, holding its spear.

"Behind you!"

Daruk frowned at Link and began to turn, but he was moving too slow. Far too slow. Link dropped his sword and grabbed up the fallen boomerang. The lizalfo hissed and leaped into the air, preparing to bring its spear down on Daruk's unprotected back. Link threw the boomerang.

The spinning blade whistled through the air as it passed over Daruk's shoulder, eliciting a confused "Huh?" from the Goron. The boomerang caught the lizalfo in the face, rocking its entire body back and causing it to slam into Daruk feet-first, rather than with the point of its spear. The lizalfo fell to the ground, dead, and its spear landed beside it. Daruk, for his part, barely stumbled when the much-smaller lizalfo hit him, looking down at the fallen creature with confusion.

Daruk turned to look back at Link, blue eyes wide with surprise. He looked a little… dopey, in a way. "Little Guy, you just… you saved me!"

"Link. My name is Link."

"Link, huh?" Daruk said, reaching up to rub at his bearded chin. "You know what, Link?" He stepped forward and slapped Link on the back hard enough to send him painfully to his knees. "Oh, sorry about that. But I think you're the first Hylian to ever save me. That make you all right in my book."

Link smiled painfully, standing back to his feet. He picked up his sword and used a piece of the moblin's clothing to wipe its blade before sheathing it. "Thanks. Daruk, right?"

"That's my name!"

Link had heard the name of Daruk, though he'd never met the Goron. Daruk was well-known for being a great warrior among the Goron people and had, indeed, helped many times in clearing away monsters around Death Mountain and in the Akkala Highlands. Curiously, however, Link would have expected such a great warrior to be conferencing with the other Goron warriors and Hylian knights in the city.

"Well, thanks for coming to my aid, Daruk."

"Hey, it's no problem," Daruk said, nodding. "Tell you what, brother. Let's go back into the city. I was just up on the peak, looking for some rock roast, but I don't feel like going all the way back up there. You feeling hungry?"

Link couldn't help but to smile up at the massive Daruk. He was Squire Link, after all. He was always hungry.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Brother?"

The memories flashed through Link's mind in a rush. He could remember how they went down to the city and how Daruk told the knight about Link's defeat of the monsters, making him out to be a hero. When it came time to eat that night, Daruk had also insisted that Link be allowed to sit next to him as they ate, making Link the only squire allowed to eat with the knights and Goron warriors.

After all, Link was Daruk's new brother. Of course, he should eat by his side.

"Brother, are you all right?"

Link blinked his eyes and came back to himself, looking around in confusion. Boldon was looking at him, frowning. How long had he been standing there, staring up at the monument to Daruk?

"Yeah, I'm… fine, Boldon. Thanks. I was just remembering something from another time I was here."

"You've been here before?" Boldon frowned. "I thought you said you hadn't."

"It's been a long time," Link said, shrugging. "I don't remember a lot."

Boldon seemed to accept his explanation and nodded, smiling broadly. "Well, come on! I'll show you where you can stay while you're here in Goron City."

"Hey, Tray! We've got a customer coming through!" the older Goron, Volcon of the Rollin' Rock Inn, called over his shoulder. He grinned at Link, giving him a thumbs-up as Boldon ushered Link inside. "If you want a massage, just let me know. You'll feel as loose as gravel afterwards."

Link couldn't help but to think that a Goron massage sounded excruciating, but before he could respond, another Goron inside of the inn grinned broadly and called out to him.

Tray, like Volcon, was an older Goron, as evidenced by the wrinkles on his forehead and the way he carried himself with a slight bow to his back. The rocky texture on his back was more pronounced than on Boldon's, and Link silently wondered if that was a sign of age as well. His white hair had been pulled into a small topknot, and his beard was wispy and thin.

"Welcome to the Rollin' Rock Inn, brother!" he said with typical Goron enthusiasm. "You're the first Hylian we've had up here in a while. Had a Gerudo last week, but she didn't stay long. Couldn't take the heat!" Tray laughed at what Link assumed had been a joke. When Tray's laughs subsided, he leaned forward some. "So, you want a bed, right? Don'tcha worry now—we've got ourselves some soft beds for ya, and some complimentary elixirs thrown in."

Link had finally downed the first fireproof elixir as they entered the city. It had been thick like sludge and foul tasting, but the relief it provided had been almost immediately apparent. While he still felt the heat, it seemed far more manageable than it had been.

After Link agreed to a room, Boldon clapped Link on the back nearly hard enough to send him sprawling. "Tell you what, brother—I'm going to go grab your stuff for you. After that, I can show you around some more."

"Thanks, Boldon," Link said, grateful for the Goron's help. He turned back to Tray and placed a red rupee on the counter, which Tray gladly took from him.

"Now, how about that massage?"

"No, I think I'm all right," Link said, glancing back towards Volcon, who stood just outside of the door. He watched as the large Goron cracked his knuckles, seemingly oblivious to the nervous looks that Link was giving him.

"New to the art of the Goron massage, eh?" Tray said, grinning at him. "It's pretty good! Mostly pain-free."

Mostly?

"It's done on a hard rock bed. Pressure is applied to your whole body to squeeze out all of that tension. I'll tell ya—it really doesn't hurt one bit once you get used to it. Honestly, I doze off sometimes! And then, when it's all over, you'll sleep like a rock and feel great when you wake up. What do ya say?"

"Maybe next time," Link said. "Right now, I really just need to drop some things off and go talk to someone about Divine Beast Vah Rudania."

"Rudania?" Boldon said as he entered the inn again, carrying the barrel of water with one massive arm, and holding a bundle of Link's other effects in the other hand. "I don't know if I can get you up to see Rudania, brother."

Link felt a twinge of guilt. He kept his true purpose for coming to Goron City from Boldon. Perhaps it had been the distrust he felt after Delilah's betrayal, or perhaps he had just not wanted to deal with the questions that would inevitably follow. Now that he was here, though, he had little choice but to be honest.

"That's why I'm here," he said, smiling faintly. "I'm going to stop Rudania from causing problems with Death Mountain and free it from Calamity Ganon's control."

As Boldon and Tray looked at each other in confusion—and proceeded to start laughing—Link wondered if he should have worded things a little differently. He pursed his lips, expression growing irritated.

"Brother, the Boss isn't going to let ya up to see Rudania," Boldon finally said once their chuckling died down. "He's not even letting us Gorons go up there."

"That's right," Tray said, nodding sagely. "It's gettin' too dangerous, even for us. There's always new magma vents and rock slides."

"That's why I'm here," Link said, trying to keep the edge of frustration from his voice. In truth, he probably should have waited until the next day before broaching the subject—he wasn't in any shape to tackle the Divine Beast today after three days of hard travel up to the mountain. "Just let me talk to whoever is in charge."

Boldon and Tray looked at each other curiously before Boldon finally shrugged his large shoulders. "If you say so, buddy. I can take you over to him."

Boldon led Link back out of the inn and along a winding path that took him to the other side of Goron City, opposite its entrance. They approached a strange building positioned on an upward slope. The building was made mostly of black volcanic rock in the form of huge slabs that had been laid against one another to form a hut-like structure. On top on it rose a massive black boulder that had been emblazoned with the symbol for the Gorons—a rough yellow diamond with three triangles arrayed across its top.

When they arrived, Boldon approached the building first, motioning for Link to stay where he was. Link remained standing in front of the building while looking around in curiosity at the city around him. The city seemed… familiar to him, yet he couldn't place it. Once again, his memories came and went at seemingly random, triggered by any number of stimuli. Yet when he wanted to know more, they were often frustratingly absent.

He did notice, however, that he was beginning to attract an audience. A younger Goron that only stood to about Link's waist had stopped rolling down the incline into the city to look at him curiously. Not far away, one adult Goron reached up and smacked another Goron with the back of his hand, nodding towards Link. They both stared at him with little shame.

At least none of them had walked up to him, claiming to have known him one hundred years ago. How long did Gorons live for, anyway? Link couldn't remember. It was possible that any Gorons that knew Link may have long since passed away. It was an odd feeling, thinking that he was a true stranger in this place. Every other place that he had been had at least one person that recognized him and could vouch for his identity.

He didn't wait long until Boldon came back out of the stone hut, followed by another Goron. This Goron appeared shorter than Boldon due to the aged curvature of his back, but he looked anything but old and feeble. Instead, this Goron was a massive brute. He was far wider than Boldon in pure muscle. His arms were each easily thicker and longer than Link's own body, and he looked to have hands that could wrap completely around Link's torso. He was bald on top, but a ring of white hair began at the level of his eyebrows and continued down into a long, thick beard that had been tied into four different clumps. He only had one eye—the other was covered by an eyepatch that did not quite cover up old scars.

The Goron Boss, as Boldon had called him, was incredibly intimidating, especially since he fixed Link with a dark, single-eyed stare that didn't particularly look very happy.

"You're the one wanting to go up and see Rudania?" His voice, deep and gravely, seemed to cut through the bustle of Goron City, silencing those around them.

Link took a moment to find his voice. "Yes. My name is—"

"No." The Goron Boss turned to head back into his hut.

"Wait!"

The Boss stopped, and his shoulders heaved in a sigh. He turned back to Link and a painful wince passed over his face as he did so. "Look," he said, fixing Link with an unreadable expression. "No one can go see Rudania. It's too dangerous, even for Gorons. The best we can ever do is chase it off."

Link took a deep breath, stepping closer to the Goron Boss, looking up at him. "I have to get on that Divine Beast. I can free it and stop it from causing so much instability with Death Mountain."

The Boss snorted in derision. "Death Mountain's a volcano. It's unstable. Rudania just riles it up sometimes—we'll chase it off like we always do."

"It's being controlled by Calamity Ganon and—" Link started, but the Goron Boss waved his hand dismissively again, beginning to turn back towards the hut. Link took a deep breath and took another step forward, placing a hand on the Goron's arm. "I knew Daruk!"

The Boss stopped again, fixing Link with his beady stare. "What did you say?"

Link hesitated, looking up into the Goron's angry expression. "I knew Daruk. He was my friend." Link hesitated for a just a moment. "He called me brother."

The Boss stared at Link, unreadable and dangerous. All of the other Gorons seemed to be listening now as well.

"My name is Link. I am the Hylian Champion charged with defeating Calamity Ganon. I'm here to finish what we started one hundred years ago. Rudania is being controlled by a creature created by Calamity Ganon, and Daruk's spirit is trapped there as a result. I can free him. I can free both Daruk and Rudania."

He fell silent. Everyone's eyes were on him, but the only sound that he could hear was the slow sound of magma flowing under and through the city. The Goron Boss looked at Link for a long time before grunting and motioning for him to follow. He turned to walk back in his hut, but before he continued in, he paused to look at Boldon. "Go find Yunobo and bring him to me."

"Got it, Boss!" Boldon said with sudden energy. His voice broke the spell over Goron City, and Link heard dozens of voices start up again, filling the air with a dull rumble. Link resisted the urge to grimace, reflecting that he couldn't have remained a stranger for long.

When he followed the Goron Boss into his hut, he found the interior to be even hotter than outside—enough that it was uncomfortably hot, even with the fireproof potion. It didn't take him long to see why. At the center of the room was a chair, not unlike a throne, made from pieces of iron that had been fused together. On either side of it, magma flowed down into twin falls, pooling under the throne and flowing out underneath the hut. How could anyone stand to be in this place?

The Goron Boss didn't seem to mind the heat, though. He walked over to the throne and sat down in it with a heavy groan, closing his eyes in apparent relief as he did so. When he opened them again, he fixed Link with another stare, but this one seemed different than before. Less threatening. Kinder.

"The name's Bludo," the Goron said. "You said you're Link?" Link nodded slowly, stepping up to stand in front of Bludo. "Daruk mentioned you in his training journal. Even said you saved his life once."

"Did you know Daruk?" Link asked, curious. This Goron seemed older now than he had first appeared.

Bludo snorted, shaking his head. "No, but my father did. He was the one that carved that big statue of Daruk out there." He got a far-off look on his face for a time before fixing Link with another stare. "You'd better start from the beginning. I thought all the Champions were dead."

Link nodded, having known that this was coming up. He was grateful to be able to do this out of earshot of the rest of the Gorons, at least. He gave Bludo an abridged version of his adventures thus far, explaining how he'd woken in the Shrine of Resurrection and had visited Zora's Domain and freed their Divine Beast—and Mipha—from Ganon's control. He had little in the way of proof outside of the Sheikah Slate, which didn't seem to interest Bludo in the slightest. However, the massive Goron appeared to believe him, listening intently.

When Link finished his story, Bludo simply pulled at his beard, thinking. Shortly after, another Goron entered the room. This one was younger than Bludo by far. He seemed rounder than he was muscular, with only a small tuft of white hair atop his head. He had blue eyes and expressive eyebrows that rose high on his forehead in confusion when he saw Link.

"Hey, Boss, what's up? I was just about to go to the Southern Mine to pick up—"

Link stopped listening to the Goron's voice, instead noticing what he was wearing. A familiar emblem in the form of the Goron symbol was tied around his neck by a length of light blue cloth. Link knew that cloth. Link remembered that cloth.