Chapter 51
Goron City
Zelda's PoV
"Everyone's gonna be so excited to meet you two. A lot of us Gorons go to the Festival of Warriors just to watch the Golden Arrow Tournament." Daruk tells us, as we follow him through a steep canyon that cuts through the mountainside.
When we cross a bridge over a river of lava, Daruk welcomes us to a place called "The Southern Mine". As expected, many gorons are hard at work here, mining away in deep caverns on both sides of the road. Inside I see red lanterns lit up in the middle of the day for light and hear music playing on sheikah radios. Buckets sit here and there full of common ores and minerals. Most of which appear to have flint or rock salt, but I spot a wheelbarrow half full of amber plus a few rubies and sapphires.
"We Gorons like the thrill of mining, but most of us don't care to find the colorful non-edible nasty tasting rare gemstones. We're mostly after the tasty rocks to fill our bottomless pits. Speaking of, I could do with some nice rock-sirloin about now." Daruk informs us, rubbing his belly.
"Do you guys have to look hard for those um...delicacies?" I ask.
"Sometimes. At the moment we have a pretty good stock up in town. Most everyone here today is mining for gems to sell to the buyers that come up here frequently."
"I bet you guys make great money." Link says.
"We sure do. But most of the time we trade those valuable ores y'all other people love for supplies. Weapons, pickaxes, booze, and food for visitors mostly."
We stay around the mines for a short time longer, discovering everything there is to see before Daruk asks us if we'd like to head up to town. He gives us two options for traveling up there: a long walk that brings us to the main entrance, or a short-cut up, along which we'll have a fantastic view and be there in minutes. It's obvious what we choose, we're definitely both tired from walking all the way up here.
We follow Daruk up to a mountain wall next to a bunch of sun shelters where a few gorons are taking a break. He pulls a humongous red lever and from high above our heads descends a huge platform lift. Unlike the one we rode to get to the top of the cliff where we first met Daruk, this one is more like a cage. Once the three of us are inside, Daruk flips the lever again and we start rising into the air. When we reach the top of the mountain, we get off and walk across a series of bridges reaching between rocky outcroppings of mountainside. I enjoy walking high up above everything, the view is beyond amazing. The peak of Death Mountain looks no less than a mile away and it's seriously intimidating to look up at. However, I'm really excited to see it up close now that we are finally here. To think there was ever a time when this was the last place in Hyrule I thought I would go. After we cross the last bridge we follow Daruk down a zig zag path that brings us right up next to the entrance of town.
"Welcome to Goron City! It's not much, but we call it home. I'll give you the grand tour if you're up for it." Daruk says.
"That sounds fantastic. Lead the way." I tell him as I take in our surroundings.
Two Goron kids are playing on the bridges placed over a lava pit in the center of town. One of them looks our way and gasps before pointing. I watch as they curl themselves up before quickly rolling our way, leaving dust clouds in their wake before stopping in front of us.
"Whoa! It really is you guys! Sheik and Link! I can't believe it!" The goron kid wearing a yellow construction hat exclaims.
"Can we have your autographs, please?!" The second kid asks.
"If you introduce yourselves and have something to write on, sure." I answer, with a smile.
"I'm Stergo and this is Offrack! We'll be right back!" The kid wearing the hat says before the two of them roll off in a rush. They're back no more than a minute or two later with a large silver slab of rock and a red ruby shaped like a rupee, plus a big black marker.
"This is my space rock!" Offrack exclaims holding it out to me.
"Your space rock?"
"Yeah! I've never seen a stone or rock like this before so it must be from outer space!"
I laugh as I take it and sign "Sheik" in cursive letters with a giant "S". I also draw a quick bow and arrow next to my name before passing the odd, but pretty, choice of autograph material to Link and sign Stergo's rupee-shaped ruby. Both kids thank us several times before running off shouting to everyone that they got our autographs, as if it's the coolest thing in the world. I never thought that signing my name on something would make anyone so happy.
Back on track with our tour, we continue to follow Daruk as he gives us a few details of each place we walk past.
"This here is the armor shop, Ripped and Shredded, which y'all should definitely check out. There's extra gear for deeper exploration of Death Mountain. I'm sure you'll want to travel up there, after all. Next here is the Goron Gusto shop for all your traveling needs. Tanko can help you with anything. The Rollin Inn is next door, where we have only the finest guest accommodations." We cross one of the bridges over the lava pit in the center of town and Daruk continues. "The outdoor grill sells the finest rock roast I've ever had. Wish you could know what I'm talkin about." He pauses and laughs shortly. "Unfortunately we gorons are no good at cooking anything but tasty rocks, heh...so you two will have to fend for yourselves. Not that that should be any issue for the world's best archers, there's plenty of birds around. There's not much more to Goron City besides our homes over there." He finishes, pointing to several rows of doorless rooms built right into the mountainside. Ladders and zig-zag paths lead to the ones built higher up. I think it's an absolutely cool home system.
"Thanks for showing us around."
"Anytime, Sheik. I-"
"Hey Daruk! We're waitin on you here." Someone calls up the path to our left, interrupting whatever he was about to tell me.
"Yeah yeah! I'm comin. I had to properly welcome our newest guests." Daruk calls back before turning back to us with a grin. "You guys are just in time for our weekly strength tournament. You're welcome to come watch."
I glance at Link and he shrugs his shoulders before answering. "Sure. Why not?"
We follow Daruk up to where the other goron is waiting for us.
"Hey! I'm Darunia, the current champion of the Festival of Warriors strength competition. I'm honored to meet champions like yourselves." He says holding his hand out. When I take it he has a tough grip and shakes my hand so roughly that it yanks my whole arm and knocks me off balance. It's the most intense handshaking I've ever had.
"Nice to meet you." I say, and grimace while rubbing my right hand right through the fireproof suit.
"Sorry! I tend to forget Hylians aren't built as tough as we are." Darunia says, looking concerned.
"No worry. I'm alright." I assure him with a smile.
Darunia holds a thick blue curtain aside, revealing a doorway behind him. Inside we find an enormous underground arena that gets deeper the further down into the center you go. The room is divided in four, three level sections of seating around what is obviously a sparring ring. If I didn't know better, I'd say every Goron on Death Mountain is here; the room is packed. Daruk tells us to follow him down to the first row in front of the raised sparring platform. There, we sit in two giant chairs crafted from rock themselves. The arms are in embedded with colorful jewels that glitter in the bright light shining down from the ceiling directly above the platform in front of us. A better look shows me that there isn't actually a ceiling at all in the center of the room, the roof is open to the sky, a giant circle letting in natural sunlight. After telling us to enjoy the show, Daruk and Darunia walk around the stage and into a doorway on the other side of the room.
An elder goron sporting a beard tied into four ponytails climbs the steps onto the sparring platform and raises his hands. The room goes silent within a second. After clearing his throat several times he begins to speak and even sitting in the front row, I still struggle to hear him. A goron kid runs up the stairs and hands him a giant sheikah microphone. "Oh, thank you Pelison. At least someone around here is thoughtful..." He says in a scraggly voice.
"I guess I have to start over. Though you all know what we're here for. I'm Bludo, the Goron Patriarch as you know. I'm introducing myself because this week we have two extras in the audience. The FOW-" He stops and coughs into the microphone- " Ehh..Golden Arrow winners Sheik and Link have come to watch the strength contest this week."
The room erupts in shouts and welcomes. I look around to see fist bumps in the air and waves along with pointing and wide eyes as if nobody actually saw us when we walked in here.
"Welcome." Bludo says.
"Hello! Thanks!" I say grinning.
"Glad to be here." Link says.
Bludo explains the history of their weekly contest. He say it dates back over several hundred years and has always been a way of earning respect. We also learn that it took a few years to convince the coordinators to accept their ancient trial as a main event at the Festival of Warriors. Nobody thought it would be as popular as it became, but every year people from all races sign up to participate. I'm excited to watch today as I hardly saw any of it this year at the FOW. I was too busy being excited and impatiently waiting to go track Link down and congratulate him on making history as Golden Arrow winner.
A Goron named Darbus takes over hosting the event when Bludo is overcome by a serious coughing fit. I assume he's either sick or his health is deteriorating from old age. Darbus explains the rules of the tonight's starting match before inviting the first combatants up. Two gorons at a time come up to be introduced before they wrestle to throw the other from the circular platform. The gorons are very loud and enthusiastic spectators, the floor beneath my seat rumbles quite frequently from excited stomping and fist pounding onto the ground. I find it an odd way to show excitement, but it's quite fun to watch everyone here enjoy the show. It's a tournament, so we watch several of the same combatants go at it at least three times. Eventually the time for the last and final match has come. Darbus takes the stage once more and riles up the crowd before welcoming their two finalists to the sparring platform.
"Left stage we welcome Daruk! He lost his title of twenty-one consecutive weeks in his last match!"
The room erupts in roaring cheers accompanied by what sounds and feels like an earthquake. I look around to see gorons slamming their fists down onto the arms of their chairs or stomping their feet with much more enthusiasm than they have this entire time.
"And walking onto stage from the right: Our current champion, Darunia! Will he keep the title or will Daruk regain it?!"
An almost even amount of cheers and fist and feet stomping follows his introduction. This match stands out from the others as we watch the two strongest competitors go at it. Several close calls and moments of nearly knocking each other off balance occur, but it's at least ten minutes before Daruk lets out a battle cry and manages to pick Darunia up, spin and practically toss him from the ring. The room explodes in loud cheering and celebration of their crowd favorite regaining the champion title. Darunia looks a bit down from his defeat but walks back up to the ring with a shake of his head.
"This week's champion: Daruk!" Darbus shouts.
Daruk holds his massive fist out and Darunia slams his own into it enthusiastically.
"Well, the title was a great steal for a week. But don't get too comfortable Ruk. I'll be taking it back." Darunia says.
"Looking forward to it, Dar."
xxx
Link's PoV
We follow the Gorons outside and find the atmosphere has done a one-eighty. As where this place was nearly deserted when we arrived, the streets are now packed with people. Music starts up from a band who have set themselves up on the stage near the outdoor grill, filling the air with the sound of drums and deku pipes. Many Gorons start dancing as soon as they hear it. Someone starts singing in a deep gravelly voice from our left and several guys quickly tell him to "put a rock in it."
"Hey Daruk! Get up here before the good ones are gone!" Someone up over at the outdoor grill shouts.
"Let's get some food, Z-. I'm starving." I say, nearly saying her real name. Zelda sends me sharp look, softened with a small smile as she takes my hand.
We follow Daruk over and I let myself hope they'll be something edible for us, which is a mistake. All they have is huge rocks carved to look like giant hunks of meat with a bone going through them - which I hear someone call a 'rock roast'. Zelda asks Daruk if there is any food we can eat here and he shakes his head with a sympathetic frown.
"Not out here. But you two should definitely check out our shop, the Goron Gusto. Tanko always has something for our visitors to munch on."
We both let out a thankful sigh. "Oh thank Hylia. I'm starving. I wasn't in the mood to go hunting. Thanks." She replies.
"No problem, Sheik." Daruk says before taking a bite of the giant rock roast in his hand. A few small chunks fall to the ground in the process.
xxx
Inside the Goron Gusto, we are welcomed by Tanko. When I ask him if he has anything for us to eat, he replies he has just what we need, before disappearing behind a curtain in the back. A minute later he returns with two thick steaks that make my mouth water even if they're currently raw. We pay him twelve rupees for each. Back over with the rock roast enthusiasts, I slap the slabs of juicy meat on the steaming grill and sprinkle goron spice and hyrule herb on them, both of which I find on the table beside the grill. The smell alone drives me crazy and my stomach rumbles loudly in anticipation. I see Zelda licking her lips as we both salivate over them. Zelda tells me she's glad we didn't have to hunt anything right now, waiting longer than we already are would be torture. I agree as I flip our steaks and a few minutes later we're eating the meat right off the grill, gratefully stuffing ourselves full. We haven't eaten since breakfast early this morning.
"Mmm...Goron spice tastes fantastic on fresh steaks. However, I'm wicked thirsty now." Zelda says, licking her lips.
"Have any water?" I ask Aji, the goron who is pouring drinks of something called "lava fuel" for everyone else.
"Of course." He says before opening a metal barrel behind him and dunking two giant mugs into it. "Two fresh springwaters for our special guests."
"Thanks."
"Thank you. What's 'lava fuel'?" Zelda asks.
"Our homemade liquor. I haven't met many hylians and the like who could handle it...but I'll set you up if you're interested."
"Umm..." She says before looking at me in question.
"I'll have some." I tell him.
"Whoa hoh...look here y'all. We have a brave soul." Aji calls out, and the rest of the gorons go quiet before they cheer me on. Zelda looks at me with a wary expression and I give her a smirk as Aju sets a mug full down in front of me.
"Here goes." I say lifting it in my hand.
Everyone starts clapping in time and cheering. Zelda watches me and I give her a wink before leaning my head back and taking my first drink. Chugging it down turns out to be a mistake as I choke violently as soon as the liquid hits my throat. It feels like someone literally set my vocal cords on fire. I spit all over the bar in front of me, eyes watering and gagging. The gorons all burst out into laughter and Zelda looks at me with extreme worry before she quickly hands me her water. I chug it down as fast as I can and end up choking on it, but it extinguishes the fire in my throat. I gulp down my own mug of water as well.
"Are you okay?" Zelda asks, her hand on my back. Everyone stares at me as I answer her.
"I'll live. But Hylia, I've never had anything like that. Be glad you didn't drink any. I can still feel the burn."
"Worse than Midna's 'not for cuccos'?"
I nod. "I doubt even she could swallow this stuff."
"Don't you guys dare play another joke like that on us." Zelda says looking every goron near us in the eyes with a cold stare.
"Of course, miss Sheik. But you have to admit it was funny." Daruk answers.
Zelda stares at him for several moments before her lips curl into a smile. "Alright. Maybe it was a little."
xxx
Zelda's PoV
Link and I enjoy ourselves in the center of town, watching and partaking in the crazy dancing that our new goron friends indulge in. I enjoy the music, it's upbeat, fun and really catchy. The gorons are also the most laidback, carefree individuals I have met yet. Everyone appears to have boundless energy and no shortage of enthusiasm and joy, I'm happy to be a part of it. Watching someone going crazy on a set of giant drums reminds me of the harp and ocarina we bought in Tarrey Town, which we brought with us. I ask Link if he's up for playing some music with me.
He gives me an unsure look and says "I dunno..."
I put my hands on his shoulders and assure him that everyone will love hearing us play, I just know it. We've practiced several times over the past week and I think we're pretty good at our favorite song from the beginners book we have. Also, from the little lore tidbits also written in the books, I know said song originated in Goron City.
Moments after we pull our instruments from our backpacks, someone notices and points the fact out to everyone else. Daruk asks Aji to cut the music and tells everyone to quiet down for a special performance. I freeze up as everybody stares at us, waiting in anticipation. I wasn't expecting to be singled out like this, but I guess I should've been. I take a deep breath and look at Link, who nods before bringing his ocarina to his lips. He looks much less nervous than I feel even if this was my idea.
"Okay! Hope you all enjoy." I say loudly before beginning to play my part of Bolero of Fire and Link plays the melody. Hardly a second passes by before several people cheer and the guy playing the drums joins in with us. I feel vibrations in the ground as the Gorons dance, clapping their hands, stomping their feet, singing wordless ad libs and even pounding the ground to make their own music. I can't hear my harp very well through all the noise but I laugh and keep playing as I watch them. We end up playing the song several times before everyone is satisfied.
After partying with the gorons for a while, we take an exploratory walk around town taking in everything in better detail. The four-way bridge in the center of town freaks me out a little, as the cracks between the boards show the glowing lava pool beneath our feet. It seems well made however, and I have to believe it must be, considering the bulky weight of our goron fellows. We explore up and down the several steep paths around the perimeter of town and end up meeting Stergo again. He gives us a tour of the multi-level homestead, telling us who lives where and such. We climb up and down the ladders and weave the zig-zag paths checking everything out. A ladder leading down below ground level on the left side shows that there are homes even built underground. Stergo talks our ears off as we follow him all around their houses and around town for a second time. But I don't mind as I notice more and more things that I missed before. Like the incredibly massive statues carved into the mountainsides and the bridge crossing high above the city. Stergo goes on and on about the gorons whose faces are eternally watching over everyone up there. The kid has an answer to every curious question we have and I can't stop smiling as I listen to all the unfamiliar amazing stories about these legendary gorons.
xxx
When evening comes around, we make our way up onto the bridge above the main entrance of town to watch the sunset. We can't see much of the horizon from here due to all of the mountains and jutting peaks rising into the air, but the way the sun makes everything glow red as it goes down is stunning. I rest my hands on the railing as I enjoy the view, spotting numerous luminous stone deposits starting to glow in the near distance. Link steps behind me before wrapping his arms around my waist and I lean back against him, the warm feeling I get being this close to him enveloping me. When I feel him kiss my temple above my right ear I giggle and turn my head.
"I love you." I say softly, smiling before kissing his cheek.
"I love you too, Zelda."
I slowly turn around and wrap my arms around him before kissing his lips. We stand there lost in the moment and when we finally part, I rest my chin on his shoulder and sigh happily. I close my eyes as Link rubs my back. I hum in contentment and start massaging circles across his back too, wanting him to feel the same thing I'm feeling.
Once the full moon has risen in the sky, we hear a loud booming noise and let go of each other, looking around for the source of the sound. The bright colors of a fireboomer fill the night air above Goron City. Three more streaming lines of smoke shoot up into the air before they explode with more deafening booms. Red and orange streaks rain down from the sky above the city and the gorons below cheer and raise their hands above their heads as if to catch them.
"Looks like our shipment finally came in!" Daruk says, startling me as he joins us on the bridge. "That genius Hudson found a way to design those exploding things so the air up here wouldn't immediately set 'em off."
"The air alone would set them off?" I ask when I regain my wits.
"Oh yeah. Just like a bomb arrow." He answers.
"Good thing to know...glad we didn't bring any with us. They would have exploded on our backs." Link murmurs nervously.
"How do you guys shoot them off then?"
Daruk grins before answering. "They are sealed inside temporary cannons! They must be loaded before even being brought up Death Mountain."
"Sounds like quite the hassle."
"But it's worth it."
"Certainly."
After the show we head back into town. Several gorons bid us good night as they turn in. Someone switches off the sheikah radios placed all around us and the musicians pack up their instruments. We make our way over to the Rollin Inn on the east side of town. The lobby consists of a single front desk with a few day beds to the right of the room and a table adorned with a vase of rock flowers and two chairs to the left. Tray, the innkeeper, welcomes us jovially before leading us through a doorway behind the front desk. We follow him through a tunnel lit up with lanterns before coming up to a glass wall. Tray grabs a lever on the wall to our left and the transparent wall retracts up into the ceiling.
"Onward we go. We're almost there." He says.
I follow warily as I can't see wherever he is apparently leading us. Even with the lanterns the passageway is dark, and the air smells a bit funny as we follow along. I glance over my shoulder to see the glass wall is lowering back to the ground behind us. We continue on and pass through another glass barricade and maybe a hundred feet beyond that one I see light up ahead and feel the temperature dramatically dropping. I also feel a cool breeze coming from somewhere. We come to a stop in front of yet another glass wall a minute later and what I see inside of the next room surprises me.
"I have to shut the wall as soon as y'all are inside, keeping the air cold is super important. Be quick getting in there okay?" Tray pauses and we nod. "Inside you can take off your fireproof suits and relax. There is a matching lever on the wall inside to open the glass when you want to come back outside, just be sure to shut it very quick as soon as you're through."
"Of course." I say with a grin, excited to go in.
"We will."
I feel a rush of fresh, cool air on my face as soon as the wall slides upward and Link and I step inside.
"Have a great night." Tray says cheerily as he immediately lowers the transparent wall behind us.
"Thank you."
"Good night."
The room we now stand in looks completely different than anywhere else here in Goron City. The rock wall to our left is a floor to ceiling mural of a Goron sunset, much like the one we enjoyed earlier. The floor is made of smooth red bricks with a huge rectangular red rug in the center of the room. A narrow hallway with framed portraits leads off the right side of the room. We both walk down there to find three separate but identical rooms. Each have queen sized beds with thick mattresses, red blankets, and huge plush pillows. A small silver chandelier with drooping gemstones hangs from the center of the ceilings, providing the perfect amount of light to give a nice homey feel. I never thought there would be such a place existing on Death Mountain.
"Damn. This is nice." Link says, taking the words put of my mouth as he sits on a bench in the first room before pulling off his fireproof boots.
"It's definitely not what I expected." I say, still gawking at the gorgeous room we choose to stay in. I notice the shelf above where Link is sitting has several metal bottles on it labeled 'fresh spring water.' I grab one and drink half, as I'm suddenly quite thirsty, before handing it to Link who finishes the rest before saying thank you.
We both strip off our fireproof gear and hang it up on the hooks on the wall. I instantly feel much better than before, especially since I can now feel the blissfully cold air blowing down from the vent in the ceiling above us.
"I wonder who designed this room. I would love to personally thank them for doing so." I say.
"Same. Not having to worry about burning alive in my sleep is a huge relief."
"Right? We would have had to wake up in the middle of the night just to drink fireproof elixir and slather more of that lotion."
"Instead, we have a nice cool room and a comfy bed to sleep in." Link says before literally sweeping me off my feet and walking over to the bed. I smile as he lays me down and I feel myself sinking into the mattress. The softness takes me by surprise even though the beds look really nice. The blanket is also extremely fluffy.
"This is so comfy. If only this bed was available anywhere with just a snap of a finger." I say.
"A bed that magically appears, out of thin air, whenever you want? I wish. That's probably every traveler's dream." Link says, with an amused look.
Link presses a button on the wall and the room goes dark except for a blue glow. I gasp in surprise as I look up at the ceiling. Hundreds of tiny chunks of luminous stone have been attached to it. It's like someone put them up there to perhaps resemble stars, and the effect is absolutely beautiful.
"Whoa."
"This room is amazing!" I exclaim as I keep gaping up at the ceiling in awe.
"It's even better with you." He says, laying down before pulling me into his arms.
"Obviously!" I respond, with a cheeky smile, as we cuddle up as close as possible. The luminous stone above our heads gives off just enough light that I can make out his face as Link gazes at me and I'm melted by the look he's giving me, heat quickly replacing my humor. I put my hand on his cheek and he closes his eyes for a moment before slowly opening them again.
"I'm the luckiest girl in the world." I whisper.
"Why's that?"
"I get to lay in your arms and look into your eyes every night."
"And I get to look into yours."
I gaze at him feeling so much love until I can't hold back anymore and I press my lips to his, my hands in his hair. We share a long, searing kiss that leads to a wonderful night of passion under our beautiful ceiling of glowing stars.
