Chapter 52: Goooooooron
…
~Day 22
~I hurt.
…
"And 'ere 'e comes, our 'ero!"
Link had decided to sleep in. He regretted it. His shoulders were sore from the battle with the subterranean creature. His head pounded through the physical effort it took for him just to walk to a late breakfast (which had been decidedly more disgusting) then show up at the train platform. In fact, he carried his hat in one hand because he could not fit it onto his head without making the pressure behind his skull worse. It felt like he had lead weights nailed to his boots (which he had had happen before), his feet barely able to make the steps up.
Luggard, leaning in the cab's doorway, allowed his grin to grow. "If I 'ad the talen', I think I'd give ya a ballad righ' 'ere 'n now," he joked. "Bu', uh… me brothers tell me I's tone-deaf."
"Please stop," Link groaned, rubbing a hand on his forehead. "I don't feel very good."
"Cut him some slack, Luggard," Irleen, who had been hovering in Link's wake the whole time, said as she shot forward and spun around in the air between Link and the train. "Neither one of us could get any sleep."
Luggard crossed his arms. "No' me faul' 'e was lookin' for some after-dinner carnage." Link just shook his head.
"It's not our fault we keep running into these things," Irleen said. "It just happens! First the bug, then Drumstik, and now a… crazy… worm-thing. And you know what? Link works his ass off making sure people survive. I don't see you exhibiting that kind of talent."
"Irleen," Link moaned.
"Yeah?"
"Your voice is making my headache worse."
Irleen gave a defeated sigh. "Sorry."
"It's not your fault; your voice is just so high because you're so small. I… sorry, Irleen."
"How about if I just keep my voice low?"
"It would help."
"Ya good 'nough t' travel?" Luggard asked as Link stepped closer to the cab.
Link gave his head a gentle shake. "I'd rather sleep a little more," he said. "On Castle Island, up in the sky… the police play these small drums in the evening when they're changing shifts… or something like that; I've never been very clear about it. But my head feels like one of those drums."
"You got battered around pretty bad," Irleen pointed out.
"Ya wanna stay 'ere 'n sleep it off?" Luggard asked. "Cale 'n me can take care o' everythin'."
Again, Link shook his head. "We still have work to do. I'll-I'll get over it. Maybe some fresh air will help."
"Ah, well, can' say ya's gonna find much ou' 'ere."
"Where's Cale?" Irleen asked.
"He found ou' las' nigh' the se'lemen's go' a small library," Luggard said. "'E wen' lookin' for a new map."
"Maybe one you won't throw into the engine?" Irleen suggested.
"I ain' gonna make promises." Luggard leaned back to look at the Seventeen's instrument panel. "We go' a few minutes 'til we's up. Gauges was frozen this mornin'. I's lettin' the new fuel warm up the engine."
"What about our route?" Link asked, turning so that his sore back was resting against the cool steel of the cab's exterior.
"Par' o' the reason Cale wen' for a map. I don' know these rails well, r'member?"
"Well," Link said, pointing at the large mountain to the west, "we know that the town should be to the south or southwest of the Mountain of Fire."
"I swear, I'm gonna make them rename that mountain," Irleen said.
"Only one track in that direction," Link continued. "We might find it as long as we head due west from here."
"Prob'm's tha' the track turns south a ways up," Luggard said. "'Ow far south is we s'pose t' go?"
"As fah as possible." Link, Irleen, and Luggard's attention turned up as Cale reached the top of the platform. "I have a route foh us."
"Le's 'ear it," Luggard said.
"If I undehstood this map right," Cale said, holding up a rolled sheet of paper, "the tracks around the Mountain of Fiah ah laid out in a layehed pattehn, concentric rings with the Fiah Temple at its centeh and only a handful of junctions along ouh way."
"Righ'," Luggard said with a nod. "So 'ow much trouble is we lookin' a'?"
"Very little, actually. Theah's an outeh bypass around the mountain that runs through the town. It's… a simple ride straight down the track, really."
"I like simple," Luggard said. "I can do simple."
Link shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. "How much longer?" he asked, leaning his head back to indicate he was talking to Luggard.
"Aaah…" Luggard droned before glancing back at the instrument panel. He looked over his gauges and tapped one which had not appeared to move since he started the firebox. He returned to the side and said, "Few more minutes. Gauges still warmin' up. I knew this would 'appen."
"Do we still have a train?" Irleen asked.
"Don' worry," Luggard told her. "Seventeen's go' plen'y o' life lef' in 'er. She'll ge' us there."
"I would cehtainly hope so," Cale said. "I can't say I'm fond of the thought of being stuck heah."
"I don't think any of these people are," Link said.
Cale gave a silent stammer before speaking. "Not-not that I implied—"
"It's okay, Cale," Link told him. "Just… go with it. Full and by."
Luggard started chuckling. "'Full and by'?"
"It's a sailing term," Link replied. He illustrated with hands as he explained, "You guys know that wind pushes a ship, right? It's possible to sail upwind in an airship. You can turn a ship toward the wind, and the wind blowing over the outside of a sail will actually begin pulling the ship into the wind, what we call sailing 'by'. It's not really efficient, and most captains will order the sails lowered and the engines on. But when you're not in a rush, it's an easy way of sailing into the wind with the sails still at full, saving fuel. It's a little lazy, but that's what we call 'full and by'."
Cale's face turned small circles as he tried understanding where the explanation was going. "So I should…"
"Just take it easy," Link finished. "Go with the flow."
Luggard snapped his fingers. "I can follow tha' one."
Link frowned. "Yeah, I suppose it's easier saying it that way."
Cale's gaze shifted between Link and Luggard for a moment. "Full and by."
Link nodded. "Full and by."
"Is that how a skipper should live?" Irleen asked.
At that, Link shrugged. "Unless he wants to drive his crew insane."
"Oi, boys!" Cale turned around, and all four watched Roland step onto the train platform. He doubled over for a moment. "S'worried I's go'a miss ya boys."
"Jus' 'bou'," Luggard said. He jerked a thumb at the boiler. "Still warmin' up."
"Oh, good," Roland said. "Firs', jus' wanted t' wish ya boys luck."
"We can use it," Irleen said.
"Secon'." He lofted something at Link, which he would have dropped had he been a half-second slower. "Gif' from Alber'."
For a moment, Link felt a pang of guilt drop from his heart and through his stomach. He stared at Roland for a moment. Then he remembered that the man from yesterday, the one who owned the whip, had also been named Albert. He glanced down at the coiled whip in his hands. "R-really?" he asked.
"Asked me t' give i' t' ya. 'E's go' 'nother."
Link examined the leather piece holding the whip's coils. Then he fit the open loop around his tunic belt and snapped it together so that the whip rested on his right hip where his sword used to be. "Tell him I said thanks."
Roland nodded. "Ya saw ma boys go 'ead?"
"Yeah," Luggard said.
"They'll 'ave the track salted time ya boys ge' there. Good luck."
"Don' need luck. We go' Link."
"Ahp," Irleen began, her tone indicating that she was about to argue. Then she bobbed up and down and admitted, "Yeah, he's got a point."
"Of course he does," Link sighed as he turned to climb into the cab.
…
Link and Cale huddled behind the instrument panel for most of the ride. Link occasionally rose and shoveled coal for Luggard, who had to keep watch as he drove the train. Luggard was hardly enjoying it, having to peer around the instrument panel at the tracks by sticking his face into the chilly wind caused by the locomotive's movement. Irleen was huddled in the cavity above the instrument panel, keeping mostly to herself. Sello lay passed out under the bench. Link was unsure if he had fallen asleep there or Luggard had just shoved him there to keep him out of trouble. Either way, Sello did not appear to mind.
The trip up the slope alongside the Mountain of Fire made Link worry. The locomotive's wheels slipped a number of times, and Link was surprised that they did not slide back down the slope and off the rails. Fortunately, Roland's men were still there and spread more salt on the tracks to help the wheels' grip. After listening to Luggard shout at the miners and a few minutes of high-pitched squealing, the Seventeen mounted the slope and disappeared around the side of the Mountain of Fire.
"Oi, Link," Luggard said a moment after the slope disappeared from sight. "I need 'nother shovelin'."
"Okay," Link said as he stood. The shovel was already in his hands, and he started carrying piles of coal to the open firebox. "How much longer do you think, Cale?"
Cale shrugged. "A half-houh, pehhaps? It's hahd to tell from heah."
Luggard nodded and looked out at the mountain. The earth to the locomotive's right looked like a steep slope, but it only rose just above the height of the locomotive. "Somehow, it feels like this ain' much o' a volcano," he commented.
"It's a 'shield' volcano, I believe," Cale explained. "Befoah it became dohment, it would have spilled out enough lava to cause the area around the opening to flatten." Luggard pointed at the slope to their right. "Relatively speaking, of couhse."
"So, if it wanted t' blow, we'd be in trouble."
"Ah… w-well, I can't say foh cehtain…"
"We probably won't have to find out," Link said.
"Tha'll do, Link," Luggard said as he shut the firebox. Link nodded and moved back in front of the instrument panel for cover. Luggard sniffed. "Cold's botherin' me nose. We should'a grabbed a couple o' blankets b'fore we lef'."
"We would have still had those blankets we used yestehday if we hadn't lost them afteh Crunchy tuhned against us," Cale said.
"I still say we should tie 'im up."
Cale gave Luggard a confused look. "Crunchy?"
Luggard pointed at Sello. "No, tha'!"
Cale took a moment to catch on. "Oh, Sello? What's wrong with him?"
Luggard glared at Cale. "A grown man's sleepin' under me bench 'n ya ask wha's wrong with 'im?"
"He's fallen asleep on top of the office car before," Link replied. "So it's not entirely strange."
"It… actually sounds a little sane foh him," Cale added. "Do you suppose he's sobeh?"
"No," Link answered, "probably not."
Luggard glanced around the side. "Cale, wha's I s'pose t' be lookin' for?" he asked.
"I believe that eitheh side of the Gorons' town is suhrounded by cliffs," Cale said, pulling himself up. "It will be on the otheh side of a tunnel."
"DAA—!" Sello suddenly shouted. The other three glanced over to see that he had awoken, tried to sit up, and struck his head on the underside of the bench with a metallic thump, which had cut his scream short. He dropped back to the floor and appeared to go back to sleep.
Link turned back to find Cale and Luggard staring at him. He could tell that they wanted to ask him why they were transporting a psychotic drunk. He had to admit to himself that he was not entirely sure what kind of purpose taking Sello along would have been, although they had been lucky that he had been at hand to fix Crunchy. Of course, so far he had been a handful, especially when he needed a drink. With a sigh, Link planted a palm over one eye and looked down at the floor. And he groaned, "Are we there yet?"
Fortunately, they just about were.
The tunnel Cale had mentioned appeared a few minutes later. Cale mentioned that the platform spanned the narrow gap in between the cliffs. Just as the locomotive was exiting. Luggard suddenly applied the brakes, and both Cale and Link slammed their heads into the instrument panel. The train squealed along the tracks until jerking to a stop part-way into the opposite tunnel. Luggard spent a few minutes securing the train while telling Cale off for not warning him. Then they disembarked.
From the platform, the Goron town looked to be just the opposite of the rest of the Fire Realm. Whereas all the ice had given the outlying lands an eerie, grey color, the rock around the town was warm and red. The town had been shaped into levels, the highest at the north side and the lowest to the south past the tracks. Massive boulders dotted the landscape, each one sporting a hole in the side. More holes decorated the cliffside. The air felt comfortably warm; Link could only recall this kind of warmth when he was inside the tunnels under the mines.
Lumps moved across the ground. Or, at first Link thought they were lumps. They were vaguely humanoid with large, round bodies. Link would not have noticed them if not for their gold skin. None of them appeared to wear any kind of clothing, although a few wore wide, bucket-shaped hats. Rocks decorated their backs, reminding Link of the Malgyorgs they had had to fight to make it to the realm. The air was filled with boisterous, deep voices, the friendly sort that Link only ever heard around a port. He found that he liked this place, probably one of the few places he liked purely on sight.
"I-I hope you didn't strain anything stopping," Cale said as he stepped onto the platform behind Link.
"If I did, it's cuz ya don't tell me stuffs," Luggard snapped.
Link turned and raised a hand to calm him. "At least we found the town," he told both Cale and Luggard. Then he leaned to one side and called into the locomotive, "You coming along, Irleen?"
"Yeah," she said after popping out from above the instrument panel. "Do you think anyone's expecting us?"
"I can't see why," Link replied. "All the trains to the Fire Realm were supposed to be cut off."
"Well, 'ere comes a welcomin' committee," Luggard said with a nod.
Link turned around to find five of the large humanoids approaching from the opposite end of the platform. The leader bore square-shaped, white tattoos across his large body, all arranged in a diamond which indicated his wide jaw. Link was surprised by how prominent their lips were, especially compared to their dot-like eyes. The leader had a flat-top haircut from the small circle of grey hair on top of his head, while his followers sported baldness. He was not sure what to make of them; their stride was a business-like strut airship officers walked around with if they were occupied, but Link found it difficult to read the expressions on their smooth, round faces. They stopped near the end of the locomotive, just out of reach from Link.
"You boys are two days late," the leader said in an easy, deep tone. His brow formed a worried look as he asked, "Is everything all right?"
Cale glanced at Luggard. "T-two days late?" Luggard's response was a confused shrug.
"We were worried that the pass had closed," the leader continued. "I just had some of my brothers check that it was clear early this morning." When he watched Cale, Link, and Luggard glance around at each other, he asked, "You are here to take us to the mines, right?"
Link took in a breath to address him. "We… should probably talk."
…
The news Luggard conveyed to the miners' leader, Dorogo, was met with solemn understanding. After taking them to an office inside the eastern cliff, Dorogo sent his men to find the town's single Hylian resident. Now, he stood at the backside of the office in silence, admiring the rock formation in the wall. When he finally turned back to his visitors, it felt as if it had been hours.
"I am… I am glad that someone told us this," he said. "Some of my brothers and… myself… were concerned that the Hylians had abandoned the mines due to the cold."
"T' tell the truth, they prob'ly would've if they could," Luggard told him, wiggling on the stone chair set against the wall. Dorogo nodded. "Don' ya 'ave any engines?"
"Cars. We can construct any type of car. But…" To illustrate the point to follow, he held up one hand and flexed his large fingers. "Engines that Hylians make are too complex and fragile for our hands. That is why we have always relied on the train companies for transportation in exchange for materials."
"Doesn't really seem to be paying off," Irleen, hovering over Link's head, spoke up.
Link, leaning against the wall near the doorway, looked up at her. "Come on, Irleen, that's not fair."
Dorogo gave a shrug. "We always knew that the companies might stop trains. I can only be glad that it was not because of us."
"Me, too," Luggard said. "I mean… it sucks we can' ge' 'ere by the usual rails, bu' it's no' like it's anyone's faul'."
"Is anything being done to bring the trains back here?"
"Can' say there's much t' be done. 'Til the tides go back, the trains won' be comin' ou' 'ere."
"What about the Hylian miners? Is there anything that can be done for them?"
Luggard let out a sigh and leaned against the wall. "Don' see much."
"Couldn't we take them back to the Forest Realm with us?" Cale asked from the rock stool in the middle of the room.
Luggard chuckled. Then he shook his head to help remove his grin. "Cale, we don' go' much train lef'. We could take maybe a few with us."
"Would you like to use one or two of our cars?" Dorogo asked.
"You'd lend us a car?" Irleen asked.
"I can give you one if you need it. Otherwise, they just carry dust and dirt in storage."
"Wha' can ya spare?" Luggard asked.
"I believe that you will need a passenger car."
"'Ow 'bou' a freigh' car? Somethin' t' carry the supplies in?"
"What size do you need?"
Luggard thought for a moment. "Regular one, maybe? Don' know 'ow much we'll be carryin'."
The office's occupants heard quick footsteps outside. Link stepped away from the wall and turned with everyone else as a Hylian man with tanned skin stopped in the doorway. He was shirtless, his smooth chest and stomach covered in white swirls similar to Goron tattoos. He wore russet-colored trousers which had been torn off at the knees and sandals made of straw. "Gogodo said ya's lookin' fer me," he told Dorogo. "Whacha need, brodda?"
"Da broddas down in da mines need help," Dorogo said, the change in his accent surprising his visitors. "Da trains ain't movin' no more, so dey need stuff from here. Can ya spare, brodda?"
"Doooooooooh," the Hylian droned, his lips pursed into a trumpet shape. He scratched at his scraggly beard for a moment. Then he sucked in air and nodded. "Go."
Dorogo smiled and nodded. "Goron."
The Hylian pointed a hand to one side. "Goron."
Dorogo nodded again. "Goron." The Hylian nodded and disappeared from the doorway.
Confused glances floated around the room. "What… I… huh?" Irleen spoke up in an accurate vocalization of what her companions were thinking.
"He will start gathering supplies," Dorogo told them. "He should have them ready to leave in about an hour. In the meantime, we will have your locomotive turned around and hooked up with the cars you will need."
Luggard exchanged a satisfied look with Link. "Thanks!" he said.
"Link, Cale," Irleen spoke up. "Architect. You know, while we're here?"
Link held up a hand and nodded. "We were wondering if you knew anything about one of the old Architects."
Dorogo frowned. "Archi… architect?"
"A Goron by the name Agoro," Cale explained. "He was a blacksmith some fohty yeahs ago."
Dorogo held up a finger. "Yes, I believe I knew him a long time ago. My father used to work for him. But… I am afraid that he has died since then. He died almost ten years ago."
"Yeah, that's the story everywhere," Irleen said.
Link hissed at her. Then he asked, "Did he happen to have any children? Someone to carry on his work?"
"Yes, he had a son," Dorogo said with a nod. "Lidago. But… Lidago pursued another line of work. He makes pottery. And…"
"And wha?" Luggard asked.
"Well… he is… not very smart."
The room felt stuffy for a moment, all three Hylians squirming uncomfortably. "Wha-what do you mean?" Cale asked. "Has he been injuahed in some manneh?"
"No. He has been this way since he was born."
"He's slow?" Luggard asked.
Dorogo nodded. "I believe that is how you Hylians describe his illness. It took him longer to master Goron, and he does not speak Hylian very well."
"Oh, deah," Cale uttered.
"Well, tha's one down," Luggard said. Irleen let out a hum of agreement as she dropped to eye-height with Link.
But Link said, "Would you mind if we meet him anyway? He might be able to help us anyway."
Dorogo gave him an uncomfortable look. But he nodded and said, "I have to direct my brothers first. Then I will take you to Lidago."
…
Dorogo led Link, Irleen, and Cale through a tunnel which took them under the tracks to the south side of town. Link found himself surprised yet again by the Gorons. Unlike even some of the friendliest towns he knew in the sky, every Goron that they walked by raised a hand and greeted them with a lively call of "Goron". Both Link and Cale could only wave in response while Dorogo repeated the call. This continued until they reached a large, hollowed-out rock along the outer periphery of the town.
A lone Goron sat outside looking over a clay pot almost the size of his head. His body tattoos were a bunch of lines forming chevrons in four different directions and appeared to extend all the way around his body. He looked up at the sound of Dorogo's footsteps and stood, one hand in the air in greeting. "Goron!" he hollered at them.
Dorogo also raised his hand, although his tone and gesture did not seem as energetic as with the other Gorons. "Goron."
The other Goron tilted his head. "Goron?"
"Goron," Dorogo said with the same tone, standing aside to indicate Cale, Link, and Irleen.
The other Goron stood and, with a striking amount of enthusiasm, picked up a smaller, red pot. "You like pot?" he asked them. "You buy pot from me?"
"Um…" Link said.
Dorogo held up a hand to the other Goron and gave his head a solemn shake. "Goron."
"Goron?"
"A-ah you… uh, Lidago?" Cale asked.
The other Goron nodded. "Lidago, yes. I Lidago! You buy pot?"
"Goron," Dorogo said, stepping closer to Lidago. "Goron?"
Lidago pursed his lips. "Goron." He turned his back on the Hylians with Dorogo as Dorogo started to say something in too low a voice for them to hear.
"Okay, am I the only one annoyed by the fact that they say nothing but 'Goron' when they talk to each other?" Irleen said.
"I believe that it is paht of how the Goron language wohks," Cale said in a low tone so as not to disturb the Gorons' conversation. "From what I undehstand, entiah dialogues can be expressed between Gorons by repeating the same wohd with many different intonations."
"You mean that's all they say?" Link asked. "And that's all they ever have to say?"
Cale put on a difficult face. "Well… yes a-and no. Uh… from what I have read, the Gorons do speak with a language fah different from Hylian, but they express complex ideas through things like gestuah and that same wohd. I believe the appropriate tehm is 'context'. Theah is a lot of meaning in that one wohd depending on the situation and how it is spoken."
"That's complete madness!" Irleen said.
"Maybe," Link said, "but it works for them." He looked back at Cale. "Do they ever use their own language in front of Hylians?"
"Of couhse," Cale said. "But it's so much easieh foh them to express themselves with the wohd 'Goron' that it doesn't really matteh."
"Well," Irleen said, "if he decided to help, how are we suppose to talk to him? Dorogo said that he barely understands Hylian."
"If it comes to it," Link said, "we can always give him the translator gem so you can talk to him."
Irleen's tone turned sarcastic. "Right. Because whatever I have to say to him can be reduced to a single word."
Link pulled the gem from his pocket. "We might have to rely on it right now," he said, watching as Dorogo and Lidago turned around.
"Lidago would like to know why you need his help," Dorogo said.
But Lidago held out the pot still in his hands. "You buy pot?"
"You're on, Irleen," Link said as he stepped forward. "Just tell him what we want him to do."
"This'll be rich," she moaned.
"W-wait a moment!" Cale spoke up. "Make suah he doesn't eat it."
Link glanced over his shoulder. "Huh?"
"Gorons eat rocks and gemstones," Cale explained. "He might not undehstand if you give him something he believes to be a snack."
"Oh."
Dorogo looked down at the smaller Goron and said with one hand smacking against his lips, "Goron. Goron."
Lidago nodded. "Goron."
"He understands," Dorogo said.
"Seriously?" Irleen groaned.
Link handed Lidago the gem. Then he looked up and said, "Irleen?"
Irleen gave a long sigh. Then she said while indicating the sky with a series of jumping moves, "Goooooooron?" Link snorted and quickly turned away. Irleen glanced down at him and asked, "Goron?" When Cale started giggling, she spun and shouted, "Goron!?"
"Goron?" Dorogo asked Irleen.
"Goron," Irleen replied, indicating the gem with a jerk.
"Dooooooooh," both Gorons droned as they looked at the gem in fascination.
"Goron," Irleen said flatly. Both boys snorted again, and she spun to them. "Goron!"
"Goron," Lidago told Dorogo in an assertive voice.
"Goron?" Dorogo asked.
Lidago nodded. "Goron."
Dorogo gave him an approving nod. "He says that he will go with you," he told the boys. "He wants to help."
"Does he understand what we want him to do?" Link asked.
"You need help to build something, correct? To go to the sky? Lidago is good at making things."
"You like pot?" Lidago asked, offering the pot again.
"But… isn't he a potteh?" Cale asked.
"He can also make things with metal and wood," Dorogo explained. "But he prefers making pots to his father's life as a blacksmith."
Link pointed a finger as he stepped forward. "Can I have the gem?" Lidago looked down at the translator gem resting between his fingers as if he just remembered that it was there. He handed it to Link. "Do you need time to get ready?"
Lidago set down the pot and glanced back at the one he had been inspecting. "Have crack. I get crack pipe."
As Lidago disappeared into his home, Dorogo told them, "You two can go on ahead. I will tell him to meet you at the train platform."
"Okay," Link said as he turned away. "Thanks, Dorogo."
"Ya're welcome, brodda," Dorogo said with a wave.
"Just what were you two laughing at?" Irleen asked when they were out of earshot of Dorogo.
Link chuckled at the memory. "You know how you said that whatever you have to say can be reduced to a single word?"
"Yeah?" She realized Link's meaning when both boys stared at her with wide grins on their faces. "Oh, no. I didn't."
"You did," Link said, unable to hold back the amusement in his voice.
"That initial statement was especially egregious," Cale added.
"But… I-I thought I gave him precise directions!" she told them. "You two have got to be kidding!"
"The funny part is we really don't have to," Link said. "Every word we heard came out 'Goron', even when you were shouting at us."
"Well, now I'm just embarrassed," Irleen said. She hovered over to Link and ducked into his hat.
