**DISCLAIMER**I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its characters.
Leigh, Leena, Keman, Aiden, Rhiannon, and several other characters are
figments of my imagination.**
**Author's Note** I know the dialogue in the vision in this chapter is
incorrect, but it has been awhile since I played OoT and I'm just trying to
give a general idea. Sorry: ( Also, I still can't figure out website
formating, so my italics and hyphens don't work. In this and all following
chapters, anything double spaced away from the rest is either thoughts, a
dream, or a vision. ~Alatariel Sirenial~
INTERIM
"So you have failed."
"I haven't failed!" Leigh shouted, her voice angry. She was on one knee before two hovering witches.
"Oh really?" Koume said, her voice smooth. "Then where is he?!" she screeched. Leigh winced.
"I met a few setbacks. I assure you, I will bring him to you. But why rush?" Leigh asked. "After all, we do not yet know the location for the sacrifice."
"Are you suggesting that we are not doing our jobs?" Kotake demanded icily.
"No, of course not," Leigh replied hastily, bowing her head.
"It sounded like it to me, Kotake," Koume said before turning on Leigh. "Did we not take you in when we found you wandering in the desert? Did we not convince Nabooru to accept you? Did we not teach you magic? And what do we get in return for our efforts? Nothing! Now get out there, you ungrateful wench, and we had better not see you again unless you are accompanied by the Hero of Time!!!"
"I shall bring him here with the utmost haste," Leigh replied, and then, considering herself dismissed, she stood and left the Spirit Temple.
CHAPTER 4
"Uh, Darunia, exactly how much farther is Goron City?"
"Oh, it's just around that bend up ahead." I breathe an inward sigh of relief. Darunia and I have been walking for the better part of the day, and I'm exhausted. Of course, it doesn't help that a quarter of the walk has been up Death Mountain. I stop for a moment to look back the way we came. In the west, the sun is already sinking below the mountains on the horizon. We left Hyrule Castle just after sunrise, and Darunia wouldn't even let me stop when we reached the ruins of Kakariko to tell Neal and Karina where I was going. Zelda says I can't let anyone know where I am, not even Neal. Great. Beyond the mountains, I can see a rippling glimmer. I'm fairly sure it's the sea.
"Link, get over here!" Darunia shouts. I hear a rumbling noise behind me. I turn to see a gigantic boulder rolling rapidly towards me. "Now!" Darunia bellows. I sprint to the mountain wall just as the boulder rolls over the place where I had been standing.
"You'll have to watch out for boulders. We get frequent rockslides here," Darunia says, then continues up the mountain with me in tow.
"Hey, Darunia," I say, "Who was that Ronan guy anyway?"
"He is the Prince of Dinahar," Darunia answers.
"And where is Dinahar?" I ask. "I've never heard of it."
"It is a small island country about three days from here by ship."
"So what's the Prince of Dinahar doing in Hyrule?" I ask.
"It's not my place," Darunia says evasively.
"Aw, come on. What, does he have some dark secret?" Darunia turns his head to give me an apprehensive look.
"He is courting the Princess," he says quickly, looking forward once more. I burst into laughter. Darunia gives me another look, this one puzzled. "How is that funny?" he asks.
"That. cocky. asshole is. perfect for her," I answer through my laughter.
"You're not upset? Or jealous?" Darunia asks, looking perplexed at my reaction.
"No!" I say, bursting into another fit of laughter. "Should I be?" I ask, calming down now that I see that Darunia is serious.
"No," he says quickly. "It is just, well, you and Zelda were. it's really not my place."
"What?" I ask, curious now. "We were what?" Darunia looks away, his face blank.
"Nothing," he replies. "Forget I said anything." I can tell I'm not going to hear any more on the topic from this guy, so I resolve to glare sullenly at the back of his head as we trudge up the mountain.
"So, Brother," Darunia calls back. "Is there anything you would like me to explain?"
"Nothing comes to mind at the moment," I answer. Darunia nods his head in understanding.
"I am sure that later you will have more questions. Now come, we have reached the entrance," he responds. I jog around the bend to catch up with Darunia as he approaches a great hole in the mountainside, small banners hanging above it. We enter the hole, darkness abruptly replacing the fading daylight. Just as my eyes are adjusting, we emerge from a short hallway into a brightly lit room.
"Welcome to Goron City, Brother," Darunia says proudly. I stare around me in awe. I'm looking at a vast cavern that has been hewn from the mountainside. There are three levels of earthen walkways and a bottom floor, all with stairways leading off of them. The entire city is surprisingly bright with torchlight. We stand on the top floor. In front of us is a stone platform suspended over the city by ropes. On the platform is a shining red stone set in gold.
Darunia holds the red stone out to me. I'm looking up at him.
"Here," Darunia says. "You have driven the evil monsters from Dodongo's Cavern. As promised, I will give you the Goron Ruby. Now you and I are Sworn Brothers."
"Big Brother!"
"Big Brother, you're back!" Several deep voices break through my consciousness, ending the vision. Two Gorons are lumbering towards Darunia and I.
"Welcome back, Big Brother," says one of the Gorons upon reaching us.
"How are things going?" Darunia asks.
"Things have not changed since you left," answers the second Goron.
"Who is this?" the first Goron asks, looking curiously at me.
"This is my Sworn Brother, Link," Darunia answers. The Gorons' eyes visibly widen and one of them grabs my hand in a crushing grip and shakes it enthusiastically.
"It's an honor," the Goron who is shaking my hand says.
"Uh, thanks," I say, trying to smile through the pain in my arm. I swear my arm is going to come out of its socket if he doesn't cut that out. "Could you let go of my arm, please?" I ask. The Goron drops it immediately.
"Sorry," he says. "It is easy to forget that all are not built like Gorons."
"I can imagine," I mutter under my breath.
"What was that?" the Goron asks.
"Oh, I just said don't worry about it," I answer quickly.
"Oh, all right," the other Goron says. "Well, it was an honor meeting you. Big Brother," he says, addressing Darunia now. "We need to see you in the meeting hall."
"I'll be right there," Darunia answers, and the two Gorons walk away. "Come, Brother," he says, turning to me. "You can wait in the throne room until I get back."
"What was that all about?" I ask as we descend a staircase. Darunia smiles.
"I knew you would have questions. You are quite a celebrity here. As for why, I shall leave that tale for another to tell," he answers.
"What? Why can't you tell me now?"
"You shall find out quite soon, believe me," Darunia says. "Now, it is just through this door here." We are now on the bottom floor of the city. Darunia motions to an open doorway. "Go on in," he says. "I'll see you in a few hours."
"Alright," I say, and walk through the door and into a room. It's not very big, but it's not small either. The walls are lined with small wooden tables and on one wall sit a stone statue, which I assume is the throne.
"Hey, what are you doing in here?" asks a young voice. I look down to see a young Goron staring up at me. "Where's my dad?"
"Who is he?" I ask.
"Darunia," the young Goron answers. Darunia has a kid?
"Your dad is at a meeting," I answer.
"Oh," the Goron says. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Link," I answer. "What's yours?"
"Link," he answers gleefully, a wide grin on his face.
"No," I say slowly, "that's my name. What's yours?"
"Link," he answers again. "My dad named me after you." I give the Goron ,Link, a puzzled look.
"You're kidding, right?" I ask. That's kind of weird. I mean, I hadn't met Darunia until yesterday, but he named his kid after me. But wait: he has met me before. I just don't remember it because it happened before I was sent back in time.
"Nope," Goron Link says, shaking his head. "My dad says he met you when you were ten. Dodongo's Cavern was filled with evil creatures, so we couldn't go in to harvest the rocks. Then you came and destroyed all the dodongos, so Dad gave you the Goron Ruby and made you his Sworn Brother. He even named me after you."
"Oh," I answer. "Er, that was nice of him." Goron Link is giving me a suspicious look.
"Hey, shouldn't you remember all that stuff?" he asks accusingly.
"Well, I should, but I don't because all my memories were erased," I say rather bitterly. He doesn't pick up on my tone, instead giving me a wide eyed look.
"Whoa, really? I've never heard of that happening before. Did you just wake up one day and not remember anything? Do you think that can happen to anybody? Do you think it could happen to me? Or my dad? What if he couldn't-"
"Kid, calm down," I say, interrupting him. He had been asking questions almost frantically. Someone had to stop him before he keeled over from stress or something. I hope I wasn't like this when I was little. "I'm sure that you and your dad will keep your memories. Don't worry about it."
"Okay," Goron Link says, sounding suddenly disinterested. "Hey," he says, immediately changing gears, "wanna see something cool?"
"Sure," I say with a shrug watching as he hurries to the throne and pushes it several feet to the side as easily as if it were made of air. A dark tunnel entrance is revealed where the throne stood. Warm air wafts from the opening. The young Goron starts toward the tunnel.
"Come on," he says, "It's in here." He goes a few feet before turning to look at me. After a moment he shakes his head and returns to the throne room. "I can't take you in there," he says by way of explanation, pushing the throne into place.
"Why not?" I ask.
"You can't go in unless you're a Goron," Goron Link answers. He turns his head towards the door. "Dad!" he says happily, running into Darunia's arms as he enters the room. Darunia scoops him up into a bear hug before setting him down again, laughing. I look on uncomfortably. I don't particularly enjoy watching family displays of affection since I never had a family of my own. I've always been alone, even when I had Saria to talk to. She was a great friend, but the best friend in the world can't replace family. Scenes like this just tend to depress me.
"So," Darunia says warmly as he sets his son down, "what have you two been up to?"
"Link and me were talking, Dad. He doesn't remember all that stuff that happened to him that you told me about, isn't that weird?" the little Goron says energetically. "He didn't believe me when I said my name was Link."
"Really?" asks Darunia in mock surprise.
"But he believes it now," Goron Link says reassuringly.
"Oh, good," Darunia says, smiling.
"Link!" calls a voice. A young Goron who looks to be several older than Darunia's son comes through the door. "Big Brother," he says, turning to Darunia, "Can Link come play?" Darunia nods.
"Of course," the Goron leader answers. "Go ahead, son." Goron Link hugs his father before running off after his friend. Darunia turns to me.
"You never told me you had a kid," I say with a grin. "Interesting name choice."
"Yes," Darunia says with a thoughtful smile, "That's what you said before."
"I'm honored," I say sincerely. "He's a sweet kid."
"He is," says Darunia. "It's hard to believe he'll be doing my job one day. So, any questions yet?"
"Yeah," I say. "What's through that tunnel behind your throne?"
"That is the entrance to Death Mountain Crater," Darunia answers.
"What's that? What's in there?"
"Nothing of much importance. It holds the entrance to the Fire Temple, but it is not in use. Do not concern yourself with it. You can't go in there anyway," he responds. That gets my attention.
"Why not?" I ask curiously.
"Only Gorons can enter the Crater," Darunia says. He must see something in my eyes, because he gives me a stern look. "Stay out of there, Link. It's dangerous." That strikes a nerve. First off, anyone who knows me pretty well knows that the best way to make me do something is to say that I'm either not allowed to or am not capable of doing it. And secondly, sure, Darunia's been a lot more friendly than Impa, but apparently they both see me the same way: a defenseless little kid incapable of taking care of himself. Well, we'll see about that.
"Alright, Darunia," I lie easily, "I won't go near it."
"Thank you," he says, looking relieved. "Now," he continues, "We have been walking all day, and I would be willing to bet that you are hungry. How does dinner sound?"
"Sounds great. I was beginning to worry that Gorons didn't eat," I reply with a crooked smile.
"Well, then, follow me." Darunia turns and leaves the room and I follow him out into Goron City's central chamber. As we ascend a staircase, it occurs to me that I've been following people a lot lately. It's not an idea that I like.
As it turns out, we don't have to go up any more stairs as our destination is on the second floor. We enter a warmly lit room with a large, crude stone table running down the center. There are no chairs; what appears to be the entire population of Goron City is standing around the table, each at his own place. The majority is already devouring food as though they haven't eaten in days. A rare few are talking between slower bites. I can't tell what it is that they are eating, as it does not remain on the table long enough to be seen. Darunia makes his way to the head of the table at the back of the room. I scan the table for a place for me to stand, and, unable to find any place down at this end, go over to stand near where Darunia is. I find one of the few remaining places to stand at the table near its head and step into it.
Now that I am among the Gorons I can see what it is that they are eating, and that causes my stomach to feel a lot emptier. Rocks. They're eating rocks. The Gorons are shoving countless rocks into their mouths ravenously with no sign of letting up. And they aren't little rocks, either. These are small boulders at least the size of my head. I see a Goron eating an unusually dark rock and realize with a shock that it's actually a bomb. Everywhere I look I can see rocks and bombs, but no food that I would consider edible. Oh crap. I'm famished and there's probably nothing edible from here to Kakariko at the bottom of the mountain. Just my luck, I suppose.
I stand uncomfortably in the middle of the frenzy, getting hungrier by the second. After a while, a Goron turns to me.
"Why do you not eat?" he asks. "Does the food displease you, little one? It is quite good." I fight my rising temper as I answer the Goron. Little one?! Okay, so I'm not made of rock. So hang me. I don't want to offend this guy, since he can probably crush my skull with his bare hands. Oh, hell with it.
"I don't eat rocks," I say with an annoyed glare at the Goron.
"Why not?" the Goron asks. I've got a question for him: are all Gorons this stupid?
"Well, I'm not exactly capable of eating them," I explain, hanging on to my last thread of patience. As most people can tell you, I don't have all that much to begin with and one thread won't hold for long. "Do you have anything that I might actually be able to chew?" I ask. The Goron thinks for a second, and then nods his head. He turns to the wall behind him and, after staring at it intently for several seconds, lifts a loose boulder and removes something from the hole beneath it. He replaces the boulder and returns to the table.
"Here," he says with a warm smile as he places something in front of me. He's retrieved five dark strips of what I'm pretty sure is meat. I pick one up, noticing as I do that it is as stiff as a piece of wood, give it an apprehensive look, and then take a bite.
It doesn't taste bad; it actually has practically no taste at all. It is, however, nearly impossible to chew. The Goron has gone back to stuffing himself, so he doesn't notice my attempts to make the dried meat fit to swallow. I finally manage to get the first bite down and reluctantly tear off another piece. This stuff may be hard to eat, but I'm starving.
As I'm finishing off my fourth meat strip I hear the dull sound of rock hitting rock near the end of the table. Looking in the direction of the noise, I see that one of the younger Gorons has thrown a rock at a Goron a few places down. The Goron who was hit throws another rock at his attacker. The rock breaks over the Goron's head as he throws a bomb towards his victim. The bomb falls short, landing in the middle of the table with a rather large explosion. As my eyes recover from the flash of light caused by the explosion I see that not only are the Gorons unharmed, they're all laughing. The only sign of the explosion is a small dent where it struck the table. Now that I think of it, there are a lot of those dents all over this table. I have about half a second to contemplate this, however, because a moment later all hell breaks loose.
Rocks and bombs are flying through the laughter filled air, some colliding with each other rather than landing. Since the Gorons all seem to be enjoying themselves, I don't see any need to duck until a rock about the size of my fist collides with my head. I drop to the floor, head spinning, and crouch under the table in search of cover. Farore, how could I have been so stupid? There are rocks and bombs flying through the air, and I just stand there. That was smart.
Summoning my courage, I crawl out from under the table and dash along the wall and out the door of the cavern unnoticed. Once in the main chamber of the city, I descend the stairs to the bottom floor and enter Darunia's throne room. I sit down and lean back against the wall. I feel something warm and wet on my face and reach up to wipe it off. I lower my hand to find my fingers covered in blood. Lovely.
My eyes sweep the room and come to rest on the throne in the center of its back wall. Only Gorons are allowed in, huh? We'll see about that.
I stand and walk over to the throne, put my shoulder against it, and push. When it doesn't move, I continue to push harder until it slides sideways an inch or so. I wasn't expecting it to be this heavy, especially since Goron Link moved it so easily. Then again, he is a Goron.
I continue pushing the throne, gradually making progress. I lean against it to rest as I gaze into the black void that it had hidden. Once I've caught my breath I stand up and head slowly and purposefully into the dark tunnel.
Within seconds the darkness of the tunnel consumes the light from the throne room and I am forced to feel my way along a tunnel wall. This actually proves to be rather easy, as the tunnel has been straight thus far. The tunnel is obviously short; before a minute has passed a faint red glow begins to grow at the other end of the tunnel. As I near the exit, the temperature of the air around me quickly rises, growing from comfortable warmth to stifling heat in a matter of seconds. The light brightens and the heat continues to rise as I near the end of the tunnel. I am close enough to the exit that I can begin to make out landforms beyond the tunnel's mouth.
As I step from the tunnel, I am hit by a wave of intense heat. I stagger slightly but steady myself on a boulder before I walk off the edge of the wide ledge upon which I stand. The side of the ledge plummets several hundred feet into bubbling red lava. Many other such ledges range along the soaring walls of the Crater, some connected by wooden bridges. Several towering black cones that appear to be made of ash reach up toward the night sky, which is slightly obscured by smoke. A maze of ledges, bridges, and paths winds across the crater, bridging the lava.
Several feet in front of me are two posts, which once supported the now severed rope bridge. I stumble towards them until I come to stand at the edge of the precipice. I glare angrily at the remains of the bridge across the gap. I have to get to the small island of rock rising from the lava.
I must get to the Temple.
Why did I just think that? The heat must be getting to my head. It doesn't matter. I have to get to that rock. In my delirium, I take out my hookshot, aim at one of the poles, and flip the switch. The grappling hook shoots forward and deeply embeds itself into the wooden post. I release the catch and the chain pulls me to my destination. Still holding the hookshot, I doggedly make my way across a rope bridge leading to a large, lower rock island. In its center is a white and gray marble platform with a Triforce design on it. There is an unusual symbol in the center of the Triforce design. I hurry past it, my mind blank except for one thought:
I must get to the Temple.
Before I reach the next rope bridge, however, I trip clumsily and fall to my knees, head throbbing. I'm drenched in sweat and it's hard to breath. The world spins as I fall forward onto my face. Maybe that rock hit me harder than I thought. My vision blurs and darkens. It's so hot. so hot. can't breathe. can't think. so. hot..
INTERIM
Leigh strode purposefully through the smoldering remains of Kakariko Village in the form of a member of the Hyrulian Royal Guard. She was headed toward the burnt skeleton of the house closest to the graveyard entrance. She could see the boy that she had met the day before standing in the midst of the ruined building, his light brown hair darkened by ash and his green eyes worried. His mother stood several feet away in what had once been a chicken pen, her face sorrowful.
As she approached, the boy bent down and began once more to dig futilely through the ashes. Leigh smiled; he would never find what he was looking for. Her smile quickly turned into a frown, however, as she remembered that she wasn't exactly close to finding it either.
"You there, boy!" she barked in a male voice. The boy raised his head to look at her. "The inhabitants of Kakariko have been ordered to evacuate to Castle Town. Why do you remain?"
"We are looking for someone," the women answered, coming towards the guard and her son.
"Perhaps you will find them in Castle Town," Leigh offered. The woman shook her head.
"He was not among those who have gone already to Castle Town. My son and I checked many times," she answered.
"May I ask your name?" Leigh said in an official tone. She supposed she was laying it on a bit thick, but she had never posed as a guard before.
"My name is Karina, and this is my son, Nealan."
"And who is it that you are looking for? Your husband?" the "guard" asked. Karina looked down.
"My husband died twelve years ago," she answered quietly.
"A son, then?" Leigh asked, pushing for answers. Karina paused slightly before shaking her head.
"No," she answered, "he is not related to me. He is a good friend of my son's."
"I see," Leigh answered. "So you have no idea where he is? When did you last hear from him?"
"He said he was going here," the boy, Nealan, said, speaking for the first time. "There was someone trapped inside and he wanted to save them. She's alive; she told us that he fell through the stairs on the way down, but had said that he was right behind her. Only, when she looked back. he didn't come out. She waited, but he never came. She eventually went to where everyone else was gathering. Some people say that they thought they saw him after that, but no one is sure."
"I see," Leigh said coldly. "Well, he is obviously dead or elsewhere, so there is no point in remaining here. Come now, the last of the villagers have left already. You must get to Castle Town. I will escort you."
Fools, she thought. That hero friend of yours is alive and well. And I didn't get anything from them. They have no idea where he is. I've wasted magic on a shift for nothing!
She turned to leave, but realized that the two Hylians weren't following her. She sighed as she turned to face them. No one was doing what she wanted lately.
"We should go, Nealan," Karina was saying. "We haven't found anything. There would have at least been bones. Perhaps Link did get out." Her son nodded slowly and stood. As mother and son approached her, something inside of Leigh began nagging at her. The voice was almost always silent; the witches had taught her how to beat it down. It was a voice of kindness, a trait that could get you killed in Gerudo Fortress. It had been silent for nearly four years.
Tell them that the boy is alive, the voice said. Spare them from their grief.
Leigh was so surprised that she had thought this that she obeyed the command immediately.
"Blond boy in green?" she asked quickly. Nealan's head snapped up.
"Yes. Have you seen him?" he asked eagerly. Leigh nodded.
"He was headed towards the Castle," she lied. But then again, perhaps it wasn't a lie. Hyrule Castle would be a good place to continue her search. As she looked at the relief in the Hylians' faces, her anger flared.
Stupid conscience, she thought as she strode off in the direction of Castle Town.
"Link? Hey, can you hear me? Link?" Someone is shaking me by my shoulder. I open my eyes and quickly shut them again against the light. When I open my eyes for the second time, I find my Goron namesake staring me in the face.
"You're up!" Goron Link says happily before sobering almost immediately. "Boy, are you in trouble," he says in a singsong voice. "My dad was really worried. He told you not to go in there. As soon as he figures out that you're alright, he's gonna kill you." He stands up and walks away, calling over his shoulder, "Good luck!" I try to stand and immediately regret it as the blood rushes from my head and I fall unceremoniously to the ground once more. All right, I'll stand up slowly this time. Unfortunately, Darunia enters just as I have successfully gotten to my feet.
"Link, are you alright?" he asks with a worried expression.
"Yeah," I answer warily. Darunia's face clouds with rage at my response.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" he roars. "I told you to stay away from there! You could have DIED! What if you HAD died?!" I wonder if he wants me to answer that. Well, I should probably say something before he explodes.
"Then your problems would be solved," I venture calmly as a revelation hits me. Darunia, who was definitely not expecting this, gives me a puzzled look as his anger ebbs.
"What do you mean by that? If you were to die, Ganon-"
"Would be trapped forever."
"Come again?"
"If I die then my blood can't be used to resurrect Ganon," I explain, before adding, "Well, you'd have to burn my body or something because I would still have blood if I was dead, but it wouldn't exactly last very long, now would it?" Darunia gives me a hard look, still trying to understand what he's hearing.
"Link, how can you possibly think." he pauses as anger clouds his face once more. "You weren't trying to KILL YOURSELF, were you?!" he demands furiously. Well, I didn't see this coming. And I thought I was safe. I've just dug myself into a deeper hole than I was in before.
"No, Darunia, I promise you that I wasn't. I.had to get to the Temple," I say, remembering the thought that had run through my head.
"What?" Darunia asks, clearly confused. "Why?"
"I don't know. I just kept thinking that I had to get to some Temple, so. I went. It was strange, almost as though it was a dream or something. I'm not even sure why I had to get there so badly," I answer.
"Well, my only explanation would be that the heat got to you. Which," he adds, "was eventually what happened anyway. Only Gorons enter Death Mountain Crater because they are the only beings that can survive in it for more than a few minutes. A Goron could live there quite happily for eternity, but the heat is too much for anything else. You have no idea how lucky you were. If one of the Goron's hadn't seen you leave, I never would have gotten to you in time."
"I'm sorry for going in there." I can't believe Darunia had to save me. Goddess, Impa is going to love this.
"Well, no harm done, I suppose," Darunia says, his expression still serious. "But you might want to listen the next time someone tells you something, especially if that someone is a Sage." I nod reluctantly. It can't hurt.
There is a flurry of activity outside the door, accompanied by shouts of "Stop," and, "You can't go in there." Seconds later Impa strides into the room with several Gorons trailing behind her.
"Darunia," she says urgently, "There is something wrong in the Fire Temple."
"But I sense nothing unusual," Darunia responds, nevertheless turning toward the entrance to Death Mountain Crater. Impa shakes her head.
"I know, but the Princess did. It is very small, barely detectable. Even so, this poses a great threat to Goron City. I would advise you to seal all entrances after we leave."
"'We?'" Darunia questions.
"The boy is to accompany me back to Castle Town," the Sheikah replies, glancing over at me. The ground rumbles and I catch a fleeting trace of fear in her gaze. "You must destroy whatever is in there as quickly as possible, Darunia. I wish you luck, but I cannot stay here. Farewell." She turns to me. "Come, quickly now," she says dashing out the door. I turn to Darunia.
" 'The Temple'. you felt it," he says, bewildered. "You knew something was there.. Why are you still here? Go, follow Impa. If you lose her, you'll never hear the end of it." He gives me a rather sad smile.
"Goodbye. And thanks, Darunia. For saving me, I mean."
"Don't worry about it," the Goron leader responds. "Now go." At those words, I turn and sprint after Impa, guilt heavy on my shoulders. I have a bad feeling that whatever is in that temple is there because of me.
"So you have failed."
"I haven't failed!" Leigh shouted, her voice angry. She was on one knee before two hovering witches.
"Oh really?" Koume said, her voice smooth. "Then where is he?!" she screeched. Leigh winced.
"I met a few setbacks. I assure you, I will bring him to you. But why rush?" Leigh asked. "After all, we do not yet know the location for the sacrifice."
"Are you suggesting that we are not doing our jobs?" Kotake demanded icily.
"No, of course not," Leigh replied hastily, bowing her head.
"It sounded like it to me, Kotake," Koume said before turning on Leigh. "Did we not take you in when we found you wandering in the desert? Did we not convince Nabooru to accept you? Did we not teach you magic? And what do we get in return for our efforts? Nothing! Now get out there, you ungrateful wench, and we had better not see you again unless you are accompanied by the Hero of Time!!!"
"I shall bring him here with the utmost haste," Leigh replied, and then, considering herself dismissed, she stood and left the Spirit Temple.
CHAPTER 4
"Uh, Darunia, exactly how much farther is Goron City?"
"Oh, it's just around that bend up ahead." I breathe an inward sigh of relief. Darunia and I have been walking for the better part of the day, and I'm exhausted. Of course, it doesn't help that a quarter of the walk has been up Death Mountain. I stop for a moment to look back the way we came. In the west, the sun is already sinking below the mountains on the horizon. We left Hyrule Castle just after sunrise, and Darunia wouldn't even let me stop when we reached the ruins of Kakariko to tell Neal and Karina where I was going. Zelda says I can't let anyone know where I am, not even Neal. Great. Beyond the mountains, I can see a rippling glimmer. I'm fairly sure it's the sea.
"Link, get over here!" Darunia shouts. I hear a rumbling noise behind me. I turn to see a gigantic boulder rolling rapidly towards me. "Now!" Darunia bellows. I sprint to the mountain wall just as the boulder rolls over the place where I had been standing.
"You'll have to watch out for boulders. We get frequent rockslides here," Darunia says, then continues up the mountain with me in tow.
"Hey, Darunia," I say, "Who was that Ronan guy anyway?"
"He is the Prince of Dinahar," Darunia answers.
"And where is Dinahar?" I ask. "I've never heard of it."
"It is a small island country about three days from here by ship."
"So what's the Prince of Dinahar doing in Hyrule?" I ask.
"It's not my place," Darunia says evasively.
"Aw, come on. What, does he have some dark secret?" Darunia turns his head to give me an apprehensive look.
"He is courting the Princess," he says quickly, looking forward once more. I burst into laughter. Darunia gives me another look, this one puzzled. "How is that funny?" he asks.
"That. cocky. asshole is. perfect for her," I answer through my laughter.
"You're not upset? Or jealous?" Darunia asks, looking perplexed at my reaction.
"No!" I say, bursting into another fit of laughter. "Should I be?" I ask, calming down now that I see that Darunia is serious.
"No," he says quickly. "It is just, well, you and Zelda were. it's really not my place."
"What?" I ask, curious now. "We were what?" Darunia looks away, his face blank.
"Nothing," he replies. "Forget I said anything." I can tell I'm not going to hear any more on the topic from this guy, so I resolve to glare sullenly at the back of his head as we trudge up the mountain.
"So, Brother," Darunia calls back. "Is there anything you would like me to explain?"
"Nothing comes to mind at the moment," I answer. Darunia nods his head in understanding.
"I am sure that later you will have more questions. Now come, we have reached the entrance," he responds. I jog around the bend to catch up with Darunia as he approaches a great hole in the mountainside, small banners hanging above it. We enter the hole, darkness abruptly replacing the fading daylight. Just as my eyes are adjusting, we emerge from a short hallway into a brightly lit room.
"Welcome to Goron City, Brother," Darunia says proudly. I stare around me in awe. I'm looking at a vast cavern that has been hewn from the mountainside. There are three levels of earthen walkways and a bottom floor, all with stairways leading off of them. The entire city is surprisingly bright with torchlight. We stand on the top floor. In front of us is a stone platform suspended over the city by ropes. On the platform is a shining red stone set in gold.
Darunia holds the red stone out to me. I'm looking up at him.
"Here," Darunia says. "You have driven the evil monsters from Dodongo's Cavern. As promised, I will give you the Goron Ruby. Now you and I are Sworn Brothers."
"Big Brother!"
"Big Brother, you're back!" Several deep voices break through my consciousness, ending the vision. Two Gorons are lumbering towards Darunia and I.
"Welcome back, Big Brother," says one of the Gorons upon reaching us.
"How are things going?" Darunia asks.
"Things have not changed since you left," answers the second Goron.
"Who is this?" the first Goron asks, looking curiously at me.
"This is my Sworn Brother, Link," Darunia answers. The Gorons' eyes visibly widen and one of them grabs my hand in a crushing grip and shakes it enthusiastically.
"It's an honor," the Goron who is shaking my hand says.
"Uh, thanks," I say, trying to smile through the pain in my arm. I swear my arm is going to come out of its socket if he doesn't cut that out. "Could you let go of my arm, please?" I ask. The Goron drops it immediately.
"Sorry," he says. "It is easy to forget that all are not built like Gorons."
"I can imagine," I mutter under my breath.
"What was that?" the Goron asks.
"Oh, I just said don't worry about it," I answer quickly.
"Oh, all right," the other Goron says. "Well, it was an honor meeting you. Big Brother," he says, addressing Darunia now. "We need to see you in the meeting hall."
"I'll be right there," Darunia answers, and the two Gorons walk away. "Come, Brother," he says, turning to me. "You can wait in the throne room until I get back."
"What was that all about?" I ask as we descend a staircase. Darunia smiles.
"I knew you would have questions. You are quite a celebrity here. As for why, I shall leave that tale for another to tell," he answers.
"What? Why can't you tell me now?"
"You shall find out quite soon, believe me," Darunia says. "Now, it is just through this door here." We are now on the bottom floor of the city. Darunia motions to an open doorway. "Go on in," he says. "I'll see you in a few hours."
"Alright," I say, and walk through the door and into a room. It's not very big, but it's not small either. The walls are lined with small wooden tables and on one wall sit a stone statue, which I assume is the throne.
"Hey, what are you doing in here?" asks a young voice. I look down to see a young Goron staring up at me. "Where's my dad?"
"Who is he?" I ask.
"Darunia," the young Goron answers. Darunia has a kid?
"Your dad is at a meeting," I answer.
"Oh," the Goron says. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Link," I answer. "What's yours?"
"Link," he answers gleefully, a wide grin on his face.
"No," I say slowly, "that's my name. What's yours?"
"Link," he answers again. "My dad named me after you." I give the Goron ,Link, a puzzled look.
"You're kidding, right?" I ask. That's kind of weird. I mean, I hadn't met Darunia until yesterday, but he named his kid after me. But wait: he has met me before. I just don't remember it because it happened before I was sent back in time.
"Nope," Goron Link says, shaking his head. "My dad says he met you when you were ten. Dodongo's Cavern was filled with evil creatures, so we couldn't go in to harvest the rocks. Then you came and destroyed all the dodongos, so Dad gave you the Goron Ruby and made you his Sworn Brother. He even named me after you."
"Oh," I answer. "Er, that was nice of him." Goron Link is giving me a suspicious look.
"Hey, shouldn't you remember all that stuff?" he asks accusingly.
"Well, I should, but I don't because all my memories were erased," I say rather bitterly. He doesn't pick up on my tone, instead giving me a wide eyed look.
"Whoa, really? I've never heard of that happening before. Did you just wake up one day and not remember anything? Do you think that can happen to anybody? Do you think it could happen to me? Or my dad? What if he couldn't-"
"Kid, calm down," I say, interrupting him. He had been asking questions almost frantically. Someone had to stop him before he keeled over from stress or something. I hope I wasn't like this when I was little. "I'm sure that you and your dad will keep your memories. Don't worry about it."
"Okay," Goron Link says, sounding suddenly disinterested. "Hey," he says, immediately changing gears, "wanna see something cool?"
"Sure," I say with a shrug watching as he hurries to the throne and pushes it several feet to the side as easily as if it were made of air. A dark tunnel entrance is revealed where the throne stood. Warm air wafts from the opening. The young Goron starts toward the tunnel.
"Come on," he says, "It's in here." He goes a few feet before turning to look at me. After a moment he shakes his head and returns to the throne room. "I can't take you in there," he says by way of explanation, pushing the throne into place.
"Why not?" I ask.
"You can't go in unless you're a Goron," Goron Link answers. He turns his head towards the door. "Dad!" he says happily, running into Darunia's arms as he enters the room. Darunia scoops him up into a bear hug before setting him down again, laughing. I look on uncomfortably. I don't particularly enjoy watching family displays of affection since I never had a family of my own. I've always been alone, even when I had Saria to talk to. She was a great friend, but the best friend in the world can't replace family. Scenes like this just tend to depress me.
"So," Darunia says warmly as he sets his son down, "what have you two been up to?"
"Link and me were talking, Dad. He doesn't remember all that stuff that happened to him that you told me about, isn't that weird?" the little Goron says energetically. "He didn't believe me when I said my name was Link."
"Really?" asks Darunia in mock surprise.
"But he believes it now," Goron Link says reassuringly.
"Oh, good," Darunia says, smiling.
"Link!" calls a voice. A young Goron who looks to be several older than Darunia's son comes through the door. "Big Brother," he says, turning to Darunia, "Can Link come play?" Darunia nods.
"Of course," the Goron leader answers. "Go ahead, son." Goron Link hugs his father before running off after his friend. Darunia turns to me.
"You never told me you had a kid," I say with a grin. "Interesting name choice."
"Yes," Darunia says with a thoughtful smile, "That's what you said before."
"I'm honored," I say sincerely. "He's a sweet kid."
"He is," says Darunia. "It's hard to believe he'll be doing my job one day. So, any questions yet?"
"Yeah," I say. "What's through that tunnel behind your throne?"
"That is the entrance to Death Mountain Crater," Darunia answers.
"What's that? What's in there?"
"Nothing of much importance. It holds the entrance to the Fire Temple, but it is not in use. Do not concern yourself with it. You can't go in there anyway," he responds. That gets my attention.
"Why not?" I ask curiously.
"Only Gorons can enter the Crater," Darunia says. He must see something in my eyes, because he gives me a stern look. "Stay out of there, Link. It's dangerous." That strikes a nerve. First off, anyone who knows me pretty well knows that the best way to make me do something is to say that I'm either not allowed to or am not capable of doing it. And secondly, sure, Darunia's been a lot more friendly than Impa, but apparently they both see me the same way: a defenseless little kid incapable of taking care of himself. Well, we'll see about that.
"Alright, Darunia," I lie easily, "I won't go near it."
"Thank you," he says, looking relieved. "Now," he continues, "We have been walking all day, and I would be willing to bet that you are hungry. How does dinner sound?"
"Sounds great. I was beginning to worry that Gorons didn't eat," I reply with a crooked smile.
"Well, then, follow me." Darunia turns and leaves the room and I follow him out into Goron City's central chamber. As we ascend a staircase, it occurs to me that I've been following people a lot lately. It's not an idea that I like.
As it turns out, we don't have to go up any more stairs as our destination is on the second floor. We enter a warmly lit room with a large, crude stone table running down the center. There are no chairs; what appears to be the entire population of Goron City is standing around the table, each at his own place. The majority is already devouring food as though they haven't eaten in days. A rare few are talking between slower bites. I can't tell what it is that they are eating, as it does not remain on the table long enough to be seen. Darunia makes his way to the head of the table at the back of the room. I scan the table for a place for me to stand, and, unable to find any place down at this end, go over to stand near where Darunia is. I find one of the few remaining places to stand at the table near its head and step into it.
Now that I am among the Gorons I can see what it is that they are eating, and that causes my stomach to feel a lot emptier. Rocks. They're eating rocks. The Gorons are shoving countless rocks into their mouths ravenously with no sign of letting up. And they aren't little rocks, either. These are small boulders at least the size of my head. I see a Goron eating an unusually dark rock and realize with a shock that it's actually a bomb. Everywhere I look I can see rocks and bombs, but no food that I would consider edible. Oh crap. I'm famished and there's probably nothing edible from here to Kakariko at the bottom of the mountain. Just my luck, I suppose.
I stand uncomfortably in the middle of the frenzy, getting hungrier by the second. After a while, a Goron turns to me.
"Why do you not eat?" he asks. "Does the food displease you, little one? It is quite good." I fight my rising temper as I answer the Goron. Little one?! Okay, so I'm not made of rock. So hang me. I don't want to offend this guy, since he can probably crush my skull with his bare hands. Oh, hell with it.
"I don't eat rocks," I say with an annoyed glare at the Goron.
"Why not?" the Goron asks. I've got a question for him: are all Gorons this stupid?
"Well, I'm not exactly capable of eating them," I explain, hanging on to my last thread of patience. As most people can tell you, I don't have all that much to begin with and one thread won't hold for long. "Do you have anything that I might actually be able to chew?" I ask. The Goron thinks for a second, and then nods his head. He turns to the wall behind him and, after staring at it intently for several seconds, lifts a loose boulder and removes something from the hole beneath it. He replaces the boulder and returns to the table.
"Here," he says with a warm smile as he places something in front of me. He's retrieved five dark strips of what I'm pretty sure is meat. I pick one up, noticing as I do that it is as stiff as a piece of wood, give it an apprehensive look, and then take a bite.
It doesn't taste bad; it actually has practically no taste at all. It is, however, nearly impossible to chew. The Goron has gone back to stuffing himself, so he doesn't notice my attempts to make the dried meat fit to swallow. I finally manage to get the first bite down and reluctantly tear off another piece. This stuff may be hard to eat, but I'm starving.
As I'm finishing off my fourth meat strip I hear the dull sound of rock hitting rock near the end of the table. Looking in the direction of the noise, I see that one of the younger Gorons has thrown a rock at a Goron a few places down. The Goron who was hit throws another rock at his attacker. The rock breaks over the Goron's head as he throws a bomb towards his victim. The bomb falls short, landing in the middle of the table with a rather large explosion. As my eyes recover from the flash of light caused by the explosion I see that not only are the Gorons unharmed, they're all laughing. The only sign of the explosion is a small dent where it struck the table. Now that I think of it, there are a lot of those dents all over this table. I have about half a second to contemplate this, however, because a moment later all hell breaks loose.
Rocks and bombs are flying through the laughter filled air, some colliding with each other rather than landing. Since the Gorons all seem to be enjoying themselves, I don't see any need to duck until a rock about the size of my fist collides with my head. I drop to the floor, head spinning, and crouch under the table in search of cover. Farore, how could I have been so stupid? There are rocks and bombs flying through the air, and I just stand there. That was smart.
Summoning my courage, I crawl out from under the table and dash along the wall and out the door of the cavern unnoticed. Once in the main chamber of the city, I descend the stairs to the bottom floor and enter Darunia's throne room. I sit down and lean back against the wall. I feel something warm and wet on my face and reach up to wipe it off. I lower my hand to find my fingers covered in blood. Lovely.
My eyes sweep the room and come to rest on the throne in the center of its back wall. Only Gorons are allowed in, huh? We'll see about that.
I stand and walk over to the throne, put my shoulder against it, and push. When it doesn't move, I continue to push harder until it slides sideways an inch or so. I wasn't expecting it to be this heavy, especially since Goron Link moved it so easily. Then again, he is a Goron.
I continue pushing the throne, gradually making progress. I lean against it to rest as I gaze into the black void that it had hidden. Once I've caught my breath I stand up and head slowly and purposefully into the dark tunnel.
Within seconds the darkness of the tunnel consumes the light from the throne room and I am forced to feel my way along a tunnel wall. This actually proves to be rather easy, as the tunnel has been straight thus far. The tunnel is obviously short; before a minute has passed a faint red glow begins to grow at the other end of the tunnel. As I near the exit, the temperature of the air around me quickly rises, growing from comfortable warmth to stifling heat in a matter of seconds. The light brightens and the heat continues to rise as I near the end of the tunnel. I am close enough to the exit that I can begin to make out landforms beyond the tunnel's mouth.
As I step from the tunnel, I am hit by a wave of intense heat. I stagger slightly but steady myself on a boulder before I walk off the edge of the wide ledge upon which I stand. The side of the ledge plummets several hundred feet into bubbling red lava. Many other such ledges range along the soaring walls of the Crater, some connected by wooden bridges. Several towering black cones that appear to be made of ash reach up toward the night sky, which is slightly obscured by smoke. A maze of ledges, bridges, and paths winds across the crater, bridging the lava.
Several feet in front of me are two posts, which once supported the now severed rope bridge. I stumble towards them until I come to stand at the edge of the precipice. I glare angrily at the remains of the bridge across the gap. I have to get to the small island of rock rising from the lava.
I must get to the Temple.
Why did I just think that? The heat must be getting to my head. It doesn't matter. I have to get to that rock. In my delirium, I take out my hookshot, aim at one of the poles, and flip the switch. The grappling hook shoots forward and deeply embeds itself into the wooden post. I release the catch and the chain pulls me to my destination. Still holding the hookshot, I doggedly make my way across a rope bridge leading to a large, lower rock island. In its center is a white and gray marble platform with a Triforce design on it. There is an unusual symbol in the center of the Triforce design. I hurry past it, my mind blank except for one thought:
I must get to the Temple.
Before I reach the next rope bridge, however, I trip clumsily and fall to my knees, head throbbing. I'm drenched in sweat and it's hard to breath. The world spins as I fall forward onto my face. Maybe that rock hit me harder than I thought. My vision blurs and darkens. It's so hot. so hot. can't breathe. can't think. so. hot..
INTERIM
Leigh strode purposefully through the smoldering remains of Kakariko Village in the form of a member of the Hyrulian Royal Guard. She was headed toward the burnt skeleton of the house closest to the graveyard entrance. She could see the boy that she had met the day before standing in the midst of the ruined building, his light brown hair darkened by ash and his green eyes worried. His mother stood several feet away in what had once been a chicken pen, her face sorrowful.
As she approached, the boy bent down and began once more to dig futilely through the ashes. Leigh smiled; he would never find what he was looking for. Her smile quickly turned into a frown, however, as she remembered that she wasn't exactly close to finding it either.
"You there, boy!" she barked in a male voice. The boy raised his head to look at her. "The inhabitants of Kakariko have been ordered to evacuate to Castle Town. Why do you remain?"
"We are looking for someone," the women answered, coming towards the guard and her son.
"Perhaps you will find them in Castle Town," Leigh offered. The woman shook her head.
"He was not among those who have gone already to Castle Town. My son and I checked many times," she answered.
"May I ask your name?" Leigh said in an official tone. She supposed she was laying it on a bit thick, but she had never posed as a guard before.
"My name is Karina, and this is my son, Nealan."
"And who is it that you are looking for? Your husband?" the "guard" asked. Karina looked down.
"My husband died twelve years ago," she answered quietly.
"A son, then?" Leigh asked, pushing for answers. Karina paused slightly before shaking her head.
"No," she answered, "he is not related to me. He is a good friend of my son's."
"I see," Leigh answered. "So you have no idea where he is? When did you last hear from him?"
"He said he was going here," the boy, Nealan, said, speaking for the first time. "There was someone trapped inside and he wanted to save them. She's alive; she told us that he fell through the stairs on the way down, but had said that he was right behind her. Only, when she looked back. he didn't come out. She waited, but he never came. She eventually went to where everyone else was gathering. Some people say that they thought they saw him after that, but no one is sure."
"I see," Leigh said coldly. "Well, he is obviously dead or elsewhere, so there is no point in remaining here. Come now, the last of the villagers have left already. You must get to Castle Town. I will escort you."
Fools, she thought. That hero friend of yours is alive and well. And I didn't get anything from them. They have no idea where he is. I've wasted magic on a shift for nothing!
She turned to leave, but realized that the two Hylians weren't following her. She sighed as she turned to face them. No one was doing what she wanted lately.
"We should go, Nealan," Karina was saying. "We haven't found anything. There would have at least been bones. Perhaps Link did get out." Her son nodded slowly and stood. As mother and son approached her, something inside of Leigh began nagging at her. The voice was almost always silent; the witches had taught her how to beat it down. It was a voice of kindness, a trait that could get you killed in Gerudo Fortress. It had been silent for nearly four years.
Tell them that the boy is alive, the voice said. Spare them from their grief.
Leigh was so surprised that she had thought this that she obeyed the command immediately.
"Blond boy in green?" she asked quickly. Nealan's head snapped up.
"Yes. Have you seen him?" he asked eagerly. Leigh nodded.
"He was headed towards the Castle," she lied. But then again, perhaps it wasn't a lie. Hyrule Castle would be a good place to continue her search. As she looked at the relief in the Hylians' faces, her anger flared.
Stupid conscience, she thought as she strode off in the direction of Castle Town.
"Link? Hey, can you hear me? Link?" Someone is shaking me by my shoulder. I open my eyes and quickly shut them again against the light. When I open my eyes for the second time, I find my Goron namesake staring me in the face.
"You're up!" Goron Link says happily before sobering almost immediately. "Boy, are you in trouble," he says in a singsong voice. "My dad was really worried. He told you not to go in there. As soon as he figures out that you're alright, he's gonna kill you." He stands up and walks away, calling over his shoulder, "Good luck!" I try to stand and immediately regret it as the blood rushes from my head and I fall unceremoniously to the ground once more. All right, I'll stand up slowly this time. Unfortunately, Darunia enters just as I have successfully gotten to my feet.
"Link, are you alright?" he asks with a worried expression.
"Yeah," I answer warily. Darunia's face clouds with rage at my response.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" he roars. "I told you to stay away from there! You could have DIED! What if you HAD died?!" I wonder if he wants me to answer that. Well, I should probably say something before he explodes.
"Then your problems would be solved," I venture calmly as a revelation hits me. Darunia, who was definitely not expecting this, gives me a puzzled look as his anger ebbs.
"What do you mean by that? If you were to die, Ganon-"
"Would be trapped forever."
"Come again?"
"If I die then my blood can't be used to resurrect Ganon," I explain, before adding, "Well, you'd have to burn my body or something because I would still have blood if I was dead, but it wouldn't exactly last very long, now would it?" Darunia gives me a hard look, still trying to understand what he's hearing.
"Link, how can you possibly think." he pauses as anger clouds his face once more. "You weren't trying to KILL YOURSELF, were you?!" he demands furiously. Well, I didn't see this coming. And I thought I was safe. I've just dug myself into a deeper hole than I was in before.
"No, Darunia, I promise you that I wasn't. I.had to get to the Temple," I say, remembering the thought that had run through my head.
"What?" Darunia asks, clearly confused. "Why?"
"I don't know. I just kept thinking that I had to get to some Temple, so. I went. It was strange, almost as though it was a dream or something. I'm not even sure why I had to get there so badly," I answer.
"Well, my only explanation would be that the heat got to you. Which," he adds, "was eventually what happened anyway. Only Gorons enter Death Mountain Crater because they are the only beings that can survive in it for more than a few minutes. A Goron could live there quite happily for eternity, but the heat is too much for anything else. You have no idea how lucky you were. If one of the Goron's hadn't seen you leave, I never would have gotten to you in time."
"I'm sorry for going in there." I can't believe Darunia had to save me. Goddess, Impa is going to love this.
"Well, no harm done, I suppose," Darunia says, his expression still serious. "But you might want to listen the next time someone tells you something, especially if that someone is a Sage." I nod reluctantly. It can't hurt.
There is a flurry of activity outside the door, accompanied by shouts of "Stop," and, "You can't go in there." Seconds later Impa strides into the room with several Gorons trailing behind her.
"Darunia," she says urgently, "There is something wrong in the Fire Temple."
"But I sense nothing unusual," Darunia responds, nevertheless turning toward the entrance to Death Mountain Crater. Impa shakes her head.
"I know, but the Princess did. It is very small, barely detectable. Even so, this poses a great threat to Goron City. I would advise you to seal all entrances after we leave."
"'We?'" Darunia questions.
"The boy is to accompany me back to Castle Town," the Sheikah replies, glancing over at me. The ground rumbles and I catch a fleeting trace of fear in her gaze. "You must destroy whatever is in there as quickly as possible, Darunia. I wish you luck, but I cannot stay here. Farewell." She turns to me. "Come, quickly now," she says dashing out the door. I turn to Darunia.
" 'The Temple'. you felt it," he says, bewildered. "You knew something was there.. Why are you still here? Go, follow Impa. If you lose her, you'll never hear the end of it." He gives me a rather sad smile.
"Goodbye. And thanks, Darunia. For saving me, I mean."
"Don't worry about it," the Goron leader responds. "Now go." At those words, I turn and sprint after Impa, guilt heavy on my shoulders. I have a bad feeling that whatever is in that temple is there because of me.