Chapter Sixteen:
It was the first time Loraefin had been to Kakariko. She looked at it with an uncanny fascination as they strode through the village, Link was in a hurry though, and he couldn't let Ruto and the Zora down. They didn't say much as they walked briskly up the steps to the Death Mountain Trail entrance.
"Going to check out Death Mountain Crater Mr. Hero?" The guard mocked him humorously.
"Is the trail clear Evander?" Link asked the guard (over the years Link had gotten to know the guard pretty well).
"Sorry to say Link, its not. The earthquake we had earlier today blocked it pretty good ya know. The Gorons are dismantling it as we speak."
"Can we pass then?" Loraefin spoke up. The guard just now took notice of her.
"Who is this Link, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Loraefin," she mumbles shyly.
"It's a long story Evander, can we get by anyway?" Link jumped in.
"Sure, must be important if you're so anxious," Evander laughed again, "feel free to pass."
"Thank you," Loraefin said as they both proceeded past him.
The trail had been scattered with rocks, which in turn made it a little more difficult to walk through. A few miscellaneous boulders were thrown here and there, but no major obstruction yet.
"It's amazing the damage an earthquake can do," Loraefin stated quietly to herself as the three walked in silence up the trail. Higher above them they could see the thick gray clouds of smoke coming from the crater which made Loraefin worry even more. Everything was happening so quickly, she really didn't have time to analyze her situation from one moment to the next. In a way it was an exhilarating experience, but her cautious and concerning nature made her uneasy. What a lifestyle jump she had made Loraefin thought to herself. A girl who until now had never left her home valley, to a girl who was suddenly wheeling a sword and going on adventures. It surprised her and made her laugh inwardly at the irony of it all, she herself could never believe it. Loraefin was sprung out of her thoughts when the three of them turned a corner to find a gigantic stone wall blocking their path.
"By Farore I didn't think it was this big…" Link trailed off. The massive pile off stones was much greater than he had anticipated. They reached some thirty, forty odd feet in the air. It seemed to Link that the whole mountain face had come crashing down. The Gorons were there, helping to clear the stones away from the path, they had already cleared a good portion of it, but there was still a long way to go.
"How are we going to get by?" Navi questioned, "we've got to get to the top."
"If only I didn't have to give Princess Zelda the Ocarina of Time back," Link thought to himself, "then we could have just warped to the crater, we wouldn't have to deal with this mess."
"I'm guessing that's a story you'll tell me later huh?" Loraefin added. She looked around and noticed the Gorons clearing the trail ahead of them; needless to say she was surprised. "Um…Link…What are they?"
"They're Gorons," Link smiled. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you, they're one of the most friendly people I know," he walked over to one of the Gorons and started to talk with him. Loraefin, who was a little taken back by such an odd creature, stayed behind and let Link do the talking. She surveyed the massive pile of rock blocking the path.
"Do you think we could climb it Navi?" She said curiously.
"I suppose so," Navi returned. "I have a feeling we may have to."
As the two were standing there in wait, a Goron was watching the newcomers with interest. Of course he knew Link, every Goron knew him, but he had never seen this new one before. He was curious as to why she was here with the Hero of Time, as far as he knew Link had never mentioned her. The Goron, being the friendly chap he was slowly makes his way over in attempt to talk with the new arrival. Loraefin wasn't paying any attention to these advances as she continued to stand off away from the rest of the group.
"Hello," she heard a voice behind her. Loraefin spun around.
"Um…Hello…" She said nervously. By Farore it's talking to me. By Farore it's talking to me…What do I do? This thing is creepy looking…Breath Fin breath…
"What your name?" It asked in a very friendly tone. "My name Terk."
"Uh, mine's Loraefin."
"Nice to meet you, you here with Link?"
"You could say that," Loraefin makes an attempt to smile to hide her uneasiness. "How long do you think it will take to clear the trail?" The Goron smiles back.
"I say three days. Gorons will have mighty feast with these rocks!"
"You eat rocks?" Loraefin said confused.
"Yes, Gorons love rocks, they taste good."
Clearly this creature was very friendly and Loraefin started to ease up a bit. It wasn't that strange looking she supposed with its big brown face and stocky build, actually kind of cute.
"I've never met a Goron before," Loraefin said, "but you seem very nice."
"All Gorons very nice," he replied, Loraefin laughed. "What funny?"
"Oh, sahroar!" She apologized in native Gerudo, "sorry! I just love the way you talk…I hope I didn't hurt your feelings…" Terk smiled widely.
"No. Other Gorons laugh at way Terk talk to. Terk like way he talk."
"More power to you," Loraefin smiled. Link walked over to where Terk and she were standing.
"It looks like the path is going to be blocked for a while, we're going to have to climb over," he said simply, "I see you've met someone."
"Link, this is Terk," Loraefin introduces them. Link bends forward and offers his hand.
"I remember you," Link said shaking the Goron's slightly large hand. "Your Link's friend right?" Terk nodded. "There is a Goron named Link," Link turned to Loraefin, "my namesake you could say."
"Oh."
"Fin we better get moving if we want to get to the top of Death Mountain before dark," The Hero of Time stated. "Terk it was nice seeing you again."
"E'taaken tallar," Loraefin waved as they walked away. "You were right when you said they were friendly," she then said to Link. "He was very nice."
"I told you, all you need to do is open up and be friendly."
"Hey, you don't know me very well obviously. I am one of the most open people you could meet, just wait till you've known me for awhile," Loraefin says as Link smiles to himself.
While talking to the Goron, Link found the easiest way up the steep embankment of rock. On the far side of the wall near the cliff face had the best footholds in which to climb up and over, in other words that is where they were climbing. It was pretty easy to scale once you got past the first six feet or so, the rest was smooth sailing. They made it to the top with little hassle whatsoever, it was the climb down that was the problem. A large group of Tektites were assembled near the foot of the wall of rocks. Those spider-like creatures with four legs covered in wiry hairs and the one giant red eye that glares at you through that tough leathery skin of theirs. There were about a dozen or so gathered about the bottom, jumping in frustration because they could not get at the two people and fairy on top of the wall.
"Tektites," Navi said simply. "We can get by them, no problem right?"
"Right," Link seconds the motion. "They should be a piece of cake," he looks over his shoulder at Loraefin. "Here's your fist chance to show off your Gerudo moves," he laughs making it all a joke. Link didn't really see Tektites as a real threat, after you save Hyrule they just don't seem that big anymore.
"Piece of cake huh?" Loraefin looked cautiously down the embankment on which she sat. "A push over you say?"
"Hey don't worry, if you don't want to…I could kill them from here with my bow, but we could use the practice…" Link said in a convincing tone. "It will be easy come on."
"Er…I guess so. Have ta' get it over with sooner or later…" Wearily she starts to follow Link down the rocks.
"That's the spirit!" Navi encouraged.
They made there way down the piles of stones; Link kills three of them with his bow before jumping down. Hesitantly Loraefin follows having no clue where this sudden rush of courage came from. Link slashes one of them open with his sword and it falls in pieces to the ground. Loraefin takes a stab at one and it has the similar effect. It screamed in pain so horribly that Loraefin immediately drew back. She looked at what she had done in horror as Link was still slashing almost happily it seemed.
"What's wrong Loraefin?" Navi asks.
"I, I can't do this. I can't kill them," she says almost terrified.
Link destroyed the last of the Tektites with no problem. The broken frames lay scattered on the ground; bodily fluids soaked the dirt and stained the rocks around them.
"Oh great--" Loraefin groans and clutches her stomach. She bends forward and vomits at the site of the torn carcasses, adding to the already unpleasant mess. She vomits again and leans against the wall to steady herself, also turning away so she didn't have to look at all of the blood shed on the ground. "Can I have some water please?" She choked. Link, surprised, walks over to her and hands Loraefin a flask of water; she gulps a small part down. She breathed in deeply and allows her body to rid itself of the last of its stomach fluids. Loraefin takes another drink and hands it back to Link. Trying to relax her tensed body she shivered and coughed to clear her throat, then, without saying a word, turned and started to walk up the trail in silence.
***
For the next hour or so the trio made it's way up to the top of Death Mountain. They experienced minor tremors on their way up, which made them quicken their pace. Large billowing stacks of smoke loomed from Death Mountain Crater blocking out a small part of the sky. Nearing the top the wind grew stronger and made it more difficult to climb, but with time and patients they made it to the peak.
"Wait here, I'm going to go inside and take a look around," Link said putting his Goron tunic on in place of his usual green attire.
"Why can't I come?" Loraefin asked turning around so that her back was facing Link as he unlaced and removed the green tunic from over head, revealing the white undergarment underneath that he always wore.
"The crater is to hot for a mortal alone. That's why Link is putting on the Goron tunic, it is specially designed to protect the person who wears it from the heat," Navi informed her.
"We only have one so wait here, I won't be long," Link said adjusting his belt around his waist. "Ready Navi?"
"You bet. Let's go."
"Be careful!" Loraefin shouted after them as they stride down the steps into the crater.
The crater was hotter than normal. Even with the Goron tunic Link could still feel the incredible heat beating against him. Molten rock lit the inside walls as clouds of smoke rose to the top and out skyward. Link peered over the edge of a cliff to see the lava pits below him. The lava itself was covered in the same black masses as Zora's Domain! It seemed to multiply on the seething red pools of melted rock and it bubbled like oil in the process.
"Very odd…" Navi fluttered about, "it seems that the same thing is happening here as it is at Zora's Domain."
"What's causing it though?" Link asked his fairy companion. "What connection does it have with Zora's Domain?"
"It must be Ganondorf Link," she said. "Only he could do something like this."
Another tremor hits and Navi and Link run for cover in the tunnel entrance. The crater groans as the cold air currents from outside flow into the funnel and churns the hot ones.
"We better get out of here," Navi warned, "I don't want to be in here if another earthquake hits."
"Good idea."
Loraefin was relieved to see the two of them emerge from the entrance of the crater, and whole might I add. It was getting to be late afternoon and the shadows of Death Mountain cast a cold shade wherever the shadows lay. On their way back down Link described what he had seen in the crater and he also filled Loraefin in briefly about the story of Ganondorf, leaving out a lot of important parts, mostly about what happened to him. Loraefin didn't bother asking him about the plot holes, she figured he would tell her in time. All three of them were dumbfounded with this sudden turn up; none of them knew how to explain it or how to fix it. Could Ganondorf really have left it as some sort of 'time bomb'? And if so, how could they stop the damage if he was locked in the Sacred Realm for eternity?
It was evening when the trio made it back to Kakariko. They were tired and hungry from the day's happenings, but they had to keep going, the Zoras needed them, Hyrule needed them. The village was quiet except for a few people out enjoying the evening air and the constant turn of the windmill. In silence they walked down the steps with discouraging looks on their faces, all that work and still no answers to be had.
"Maybe…no that doesn't make sense…" Loraefin pondered to herself as she hopped onto a crate to rest. "Maybe…no, no that doesn't work either…"
"I take it your as stumped as I am," Link said setting himself down on a step.
"Rou nat," Loraefin agreed and added, "you bet," at Link's puzzled face, apologizing for slipping into Gerudo dialect.
"Perhaps Ganondorf wanted Death Mountain to erupt," Navi concluded.
"No, that wouldn't make sense. He would have known Death Mountain would erupt anyway sooner or later," Link replied. "Maybe he placed it there to…"
"Distract you."
It was the first time Loraefin had been to Kakariko. She looked at it with an uncanny fascination as they strode through the village, Link was in a hurry though, and he couldn't let Ruto and the Zora down. They didn't say much as they walked briskly up the steps to the Death Mountain Trail entrance.
"Going to check out Death Mountain Crater Mr. Hero?" The guard mocked him humorously.
"Is the trail clear Evander?" Link asked the guard (over the years Link had gotten to know the guard pretty well).
"Sorry to say Link, its not. The earthquake we had earlier today blocked it pretty good ya know. The Gorons are dismantling it as we speak."
"Can we pass then?" Loraefin spoke up. The guard just now took notice of her.
"Who is this Link, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Loraefin," she mumbles shyly.
"It's a long story Evander, can we get by anyway?" Link jumped in.
"Sure, must be important if you're so anxious," Evander laughed again, "feel free to pass."
"Thank you," Loraefin said as they both proceeded past him.
The trail had been scattered with rocks, which in turn made it a little more difficult to walk through. A few miscellaneous boulders were thrown here and there, but no major obstruction yet.
"It's amazing the damage an earthquake can do," Loraefin stated quietly to herself as the three walked in silence up the trail. Higher above them they could see the thick gray clouds of smoke coming from the crater which made Loraefin worry even more. Everything was happening so quickly, she really didn't have time to analyze her situation from one moment to the next. In a way it was an exhilarating experience, but her cautious and concerning nature made her uneasy. What a lifestyle jump she had made Loraefin thought to herself. A girl who until now had never left her home valley, to a girl who was suddenly wheeling a sword and going on adventures. It surprised her and made her laugh inwardly at the irony of it all, she herself could never believe it. Loraefin was sprung out of her thoughts when the three of them turned a corner to find a gigantic stone wall blocking their path.
"By Farore I didn't think it was this big…" Link trailed off. The massive pile off stones was much greater than he had anticipated. They reached some thirty, forty odd feet in the air. It seemed to Link that the whole mountain face had come crashing down. The Gorons were there, helping to clear the stones away from the path, they had already cleared a good portion of it, but there was still a long way to go.
"How are we going to get by?" Navi questioned, "we've got to get to the top."
"If only I didn't have to give Princess Zelda the Ocarina of Time back," Link thought to himself, "then we could have just warped to the crater, we wouldn't have to deal with this mess."
"I'm guessing that's a story you'll tell me later huh?" Loraefin added. She looked around and noticed the Gorons clearing the trail ahead of them; needless to say she was surprised. "Um…Link…What are they?"
"They're Gorons," Link smiled. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you, they're one of the most friendly people I know," he walked over to one of the Gorons and started to talk with him. Loraefin, who was a little taken back by such an odd creature, stayed behind and let Link do the talking. She surveyed the massive pile of rock blocking the path.
"Do you think we could climb it Navi?" She said curiously.
"I suppose so," Navi returned. "I have a feeling we may have to."
As the two were standing there in wait, a Goron was watching the newcomers with interest. Of course he knew Link, every Goron knew him, but he had never seen this new one before. He was curious as to why she was here with the Hero of Time, as far as he knew Link had never mentioned her. The Goron, being the friendly chap he was slowly makes his way over in attempt to talk with the new arrival. Loraefin wasn't paying any attention to these advances as she continued to stand off away from the rest of the group.
"Hello," she heard a voice behind her. Loraefin spun around.
"Um…Hello…" She said nervously. By Farore it's talking to me. By Farore it's talking to me…What do I do? This thing is creepy looking…Breath Fin breath…
"What your name?" It asked in a very friendly tone. "My name Terk."
"Uh, mine's Loraefin."
"Nice to meet you, you here with Link?"
"You could say that," Loraefin makes an attempt to smile to hide her uneasiness. "How long do you think it will take to clear the trail?" The Goron smiles back.
"I say three days. Gorons will have mighty feast with these rocks!"
"You eat rocks?" Loraefin said confused.
"Yes, Gorons love rocks, they taste good."
Clearly this creature was very friendly and Loraefin started to ease up a bit. It wasn't that strange looking she supposed with its big brown face and stocky build, actually kind of cute.
"I've never met a Goron before," Loraefin said, "but you seem very nice."
"All Gorons very nice," he replied, Loraefin laughed. "What funny?"
"Oh, sahroar!" She apologized in native Gerudo, "sorry! I just love the way you talk…I hope I didn't hurt your feelings…" Terk smiled widely.
"No. Other Gorons laugh at way Terk talk to. Terk like way he talk."
"More power to you," Loraefin smiled. Link walked over to where Terk and she were standing.
"It looks like the path is going to be blocked for a while, we're going to have to climb over," he said simply, "I see you've met someone."
"Link, this is Terk," Loraefin introduces them. Link bends forward and offers his hand.
"I remember you," Link said shaking the Goron's slightly large hand. "Your Link's friend right?" Terk nodded. "There is a Goron named Link," Link turned to Loraefin, "my namesake you could say."
"Oh."
"Fin we better get moving if we want to get to the top of Death Mountain before dark," The Hero of Time stated. "Terk it was nice seeing you again."
"E'taaken tallar," Loraefin waved as they walked away. "You were right when you said they were friendly," she then said to Link. "He was very nice."
"I told you, all you need to do is open up and be friendly."
"Hey, you don't know me very well obviously. I am one of the most open people you could meet, just wait till you've known me for awhile," Loraefin says as Link smiles to himself.
While talking to the Goron, Link found the easiest way up the steep embankment of rock. On the far side of the wall near the cliff face had the best footholds in which to climb up and over, in other words that is where they were climbing. It was pretty easy to scale once you got past the first six feet or so, the rest was smooth sailing. They made it to the top with little hassle whatsoever, it was the climb down that was the problem. A large group of Tektites were assembled near the foot of the wall of rocks. Those spider-like creatures with four legs covered in wiry hairs and the one giant red eye that glares at you through that tough leathery skin of theirs. There were about a dozen or so gathered about the bottom, jumping in frustration because they could not get at the two people and fairy on top of the wall.
"Tektites," Navi said simply. "We can get by them, no problem right?"
"Right," Link seconds the motion. "They should be a piece of cake," he looks over his shoulder at Loraefin. "Here's your fist chance to show off your Gerudo moves," he laughs making it all a joke. Link didn't really see Tektites as a real threat, after you save Hyrule they just don't seem that big anymore.
"Piece of cake huh?" Loraefin looked cautiously down the embankment on which she sat. "A push over you say?"
"Hey don't worry, if you don't want to…I could kill them from here with my bow, but we could use the practice…" Link said in a convincing tone. "It will be easy come on."
"Er…I guess so. Have ta' get it over with sooner or later…" Wearily she starts to follow Link down the rocks.
"That's the spirit!" Navi encouraged.
They made there way down the piles of stones; Link kills three of them with his bow before jumping down. Hesitantly Loraefin follows having no clue where this sudden rush of courage came from. Link slashes one of them open with his sword and it falls in pieces to the ground. Loraefin takes a stab at one and it has the similar effect. It screamed in pain so horribly that Loraefin immediately drew back. She looked at what she had done in horror as Link was still slashing almost happily it seemed.
"What's wrong Loraefin?" Navi asks.
"I, I can't do this. I can't kill them," she says almost terrified.
Link destroyed the last of the Tektites with no problem. The broken frames lay scattered on the ground; bodily fluids soaked the dirt and stained the rocks around them.
"Oh great--" Loraefin groans and clutches her stomach. She bends forward and vomits at the site of the torn carcasses, adding to the already unpleasant mess. She vomits again and leans against the wall to steady herself, also turning away so she didn't have to look at all of the blood shed on the ground. "Can I have some water please?" She choked. Link, surprised, walks over to her and hands Loraefin a flask of water; she gulps a small part down. She breathed in deeply and allows her body to rid itself of the last of its stomach fluids. Loraefin takes another drink and hands it back to Link. Trying to relax her tensed body she shivered and coughed to clear her throat, then, without saying a word, turned and started to walk up the trail in silence.
***
For the next hour or so the trio made it's way up to the top of Death Mountain. They experienced minor tremors on their way up, which made them quicken their pace. Large billowing stacks of smoke loomed from Death Mountain Crater blocking out a small part of the sky. Nearing the top the wind grew stronger and made it more difficult to climb, but with time and patients they made it to the peak.
"Wait here, I'm going to go inside and take a look around," Link said putting his Goron tunic on in place of his usual green attire.
"Why can't I come?" Loraefin asked turning around so that her back was facing Link as he unlaced and removed the green tunic from over head, revealing the white undergarment underneath that he always wore.
"The crater is to hot for a mortal alone. That's why Link is putting on the Goron tunic, it is specially designed to protect the person who wears it from the heat," Navi informed her.
"We only have one so wait here, I won't be long," Link said adjusting his belt around his waist. "Ready Navi?"
"You bet. Let's go."
"Be careful!" Loraefin shouted after them as they stride down the steps into the crater.
The crater was hotter than normal. Even with the Goron tunic Link could still feel the incredible heat beating against him. Molten rock lit the inside walls as clouds of smoke rose to the top and out skyward. Link peered over the edge of a cliff to see the lava pits below him. The lava itself was covered in the same black masses as Zora's Domain! It seemed to multiply on the seething red pools of melted rock and it bubbled like oil in the process.
"Very odd…" Navi fluttered about, "it seems that the same thing is happening here as it is at Zora's Domain."
"What's causing it though?" Link asked his fairy companion. "What connection does it have with Zora's Domain?"
"It must be Ganondorf Link," she said. "Only he could do something like this."
Another tremor hits and Navi and Link run for cover in the tunnel entrance. The crater groans as the cold air currents from outside flow into the funnel and churns the hot ones.
"We better get out of here," Navi warned, "I don't want to be in here if another earthquake hits."
"Good idea."
Loraefin was relieved to see the two of them emerge from the entrance of the crater, and whole might I add. It was getting to be late afternoon and the shadows of Death Mountain cast a cold shade wherever the shadows lay. On their way back down Link described what he had seen in the crater and he also filled Loraefin in briefly about the story of Ganondorf, leaving out a lot of important parts, mostly about what happened to him. Loraefin didn't bother asking him about the plot holes, she figured he would tell her in time. All three of them were dumbfounded with this sudden turn up; none of them knew how to explain it or how to fix it. Could Ganondorf really have left it as some sort of 'time bomb'? And if so, how could they stop the damage if he was locked in the Sacred Realm for eternity?
It was evening when the trio made it back to Kakariko. They were tired and hungry from the day's happenings, but they had to keep going, the Zoras needed them, Hyrule needed them. The village was quiet except for a few people out enjoying the evening air and the constant turn of the windmill. In silence they walked down the steps with discouraging looks on their faces, all that work and still no answers to be had.
"Maybe…no that doesn't make sense…" Loraefin pondered to herself as she hopped onto a crate to rest. "Maybe…no, no that doesn't work either…"
"I take it your as stumped as I am," Link said setting himself down on a step.
"Rou nat," Loraefin agreed and added, "you bet," at Link's puzzled face, apologizing for slipping into Gerudo dialect.
"Perhaps Ganondorf wanted Death Mountain to erupt," Navi concluded.
"No, that wouldn't make sense. He would have known Death Mountain would erupt anyway sooner or later," Link replied. "Maybe he placed it there to…"
"Distract you."