The company was just at the foot of Death Mountain, and the heat was already getting uncomfortable. "It's so hot," Sylvain complained.
"It only gets hotter from here," Boldon, the Goron who had offered to guide them up the mountain, said. "In fact, what with you not being Gorons, you'll need special clothes and fireproof elixirs to even climb Death Mountain without catching fire."
Sylvain looked at Boldon in horror. "It's that hot?"
"Yup," Boldon said. "You kids are not prepared to climb that mountain."
"Great," Sylvain said.
"It gets worse," Boldon said. "The hike up the mountain is three days. My Dodongo can only carry enough water for six humans."
"So...you can only get six of us there?" Link asked.
"That's exactly right," Boldon said.
"What if we each carry a lot of water up the mountain as well?" Edelgard asked. "I don't look it, but I'm strong." She lifted a barrel of water to prove her point.
Boldon shook his head. "Not unless you want to be unable to protect yourselves."
"So, who's going?" Link asked.
"I'll go," Edelgard volunteered.
"Me too!" Raphael said. "You'll need strong guys to carry all that water, and my muscles are up to the job! Plus, I've got these gauntlets that make me even stronger!"
"I'll go," Marianne volunteered. "I promised Mipha I would use her power to protect you in her stead."
"And me!" Caspar insisted. "I might not have a Crest or huge muscles, but I'm still a Bergliez. I'm a lot stronger than I look."
"So, we only need one more person," Edelgard said. "Bernadetta. You're coming with us."
"M-me?" Bernadetta asked. "Why me?"
"Because our only other archers with Crests are Claude and Mercedes," Edelgard reasoned. "Mercedes's magic is mostly fire-based, and that will be useless here. And Claude..."
"Say no more," Bernadetta sighed.
"Hey, look on the bright side!" Caspar said. "If we can't climb the mountain without special protection, I'll bet most monsters can't either!"
"You're right!" Bernadetta realized. "I'll go with you, even though we're climbing a mountain called Death Mountain."
Link had an idea. "If there's a Sheikah Shrine near Goron City, Annette can teleport everyone else there once we get there."
"Smart," Annette agreed.
On the second day, they encountered the strange creatures known as pebblits.
"Oh, they're not so bad," Boldon said as the humans backed away, alarmed at the strange formation of stone that had suddenly risen up and walked toward them on stubby rock legs. He picked up the pebblit and crushed its body in his hand. "They taste bad, but they're not that dangerous. The real threats are their bigger cousins, the Taluses. They're like pebblits, but huge. Sometimes, we go out in hunting parties to try to destroy them when they get to close to the city."
What was this place?
Eventually, the party reached Goron City. And if Zora's Domain had an opposite, Goron City was it.
The entire city was haphazardly laid out, with no discernible thought to proper zoning. The city seemed to be located in a giant bowl or crater, with pathways of rock or metal crisscrossing throughout with no discernible pattern. Buildings were made from combinations of rock and sheets of metal and were, likewise, seemingly random in their location and size. Some buildings were side-by-side while others had been built nearly on top of each other, with ramps leading up to the upper levels. Shockingly, Link even saw a few pools of magma interspersed throughout the city, often with bridges made of interlocking iron plates crossing over them.
Gorons of various sizes and shapes could be seen around the city. Some were young and tiny, others old with drooping skin and bowed rocky backs. Some Gorons were bald while others had massive amounts of hair and beards. Some wore clothes while others worn nothing but a small wrap to cover their waists.
"Do all Gorons live here?" Link asked, eyes taking in the full sight before him. While Goron City was sprawling, to be sure, it was not as large as he would have expected. He saw dozens of Gorons—maybe even hundreds—but that couldn't have been all of them.
"Oh no, brother," Boldon said, chuckling. "Most of us live underground. Lots of us are in Gortram Mountain." He thumbed a finger over his shoulder, pointing back to the large ridgeline that the path up to Goron City had circled around. He also pointed at another massive outcrop of rock on the other side of Goron City. "And under Monument Rock."
Link and the others looked at what Boldon called Monument Rock. Four different Goron faces had been carved into the massive cliff. Some of their bodies had been carved into the rock as well. One of the Goron's hands even ended up in a giant thumbs-up. Three Gorons stood level—the Goron with the thumbs-up, an older Goron with what looked like some kind of bead necklace, and a youthful Goron. Standing above those three, however, was another Goron. One that Link instantly recognized.
Daruk.
Daruk, with his white hair and bushy beard. Daruk, with his confident half-smile. Daruk, with his eyes on the distant Death Mountain, hand outstretched as if to grasp it. Daruk, Link's friend. Daruk. Link's sworn brother.
"Yeah!" Daruk shouted. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of controlling this Divine Beast! Sure is a blast piloting a toy like this around."
"That's good," Link said.
"Let those other Champions know, they'd better eat their gravel if they want to keep up with Daruk," Daruk said. "Speaking of which can you believe this view?"
It was an amazing view. From the Divine Beast, the two of them had an excellent view of the mountains of the Eldin region, the firey Death Mountain and the other, less volcanic mountains alike.
"I may not know a whole lot about this Calamity Ganon thing, but mark my words, I'll protect this land of ours to the death!" Daruk swore, not knowing how prophetic his oath would end up being. "Right, little guy?" He slapped Link's back, which sent Link stumbling forward.
"Hey, by the way, congrats on becoming the princess's appointed knight," Daruk congratulated Link. "That's a really big deal, protecting the king's daughter...no pressure!"
"I don't think she likes me very much," Link admitted.
"She'll come around," Daruk assured him. "The princess is a strong personality, so strong that she can't quite see the range for the peaks. Remember that, and you'll be fine."
Link didn't understand, but he chose to nod as if he did. Suddenly, the Divine Beast started to shake.
No, wait, it was the ground under the Divine Beast that was shaking. And from above, boulders began to rain down on Vah Rudania.
One looked as if it was about to fall on the two of them and crush them, but Daruk held out his hands and a barrier of orange fractals created an imperfect sphere around him. From behind Daruk, Link saw the boulder hit the barrier and shatter.
"That was a little strange," Daruk noted. "As far as I know, Death Mountain has been quiet for decades."
Link's memory was interrupted by a tremor beneath the ground. "The volcano is erupting! We're all gonna die!" Bernadetta shouted.
"We'll be fine," Boldon assured her. "Rudania's just acting up again. The Boss just has to give her a once-over with the cannons."
"Can we speak to the Boss?" Link asked. "It's about Rudania."
"Well, I dunno..." Boldon said. "But I'll see if I can get him to see you."