PART 20 - THE STRENGTH OF THE GORONS
"Holy," Link uttered, "shit."
From the moment they came to the mountain, they hadn't seen one lick of monsters. Now dozens of them seemed to have sprouted from the ground. Archer bokoblins, talus, hionx. Gold lynels.
Link quickly caught Katie who had fluttered weakly. He could feel it too, a swirl of power mixing in the air. Gorons pushed cannons forward, and the explosives deafened his ears. These walls, high enough to see a great deal of the mountain, should be enough to defend them. But those golden lynels worried him. Hell, since when was there gold to begin with?
"What the hell is this?" Norman cried. "Where did they come from?"
"Catherine." Link eyed up. From the east, there were smoke—no, black mist—curled up, trickling. How convenient that monsters are in the way. "Wait, you idiot!"
"I need to help them!" Norman snapped.
"You know a quick way to get there?" Link asked, pointing at the mist. "Preferably not through all that mess?"
Cannon balls ripped into the ranks, like a large hand sweeping aside dust. Impressive. But not nearly enough. Bomb arrows shot up in retaliation, blasting away chips off the wall. More monsters spurned up. A sudden, deep chill rankled through Link. He fought monsters ever since he could walk but the sight of them now, all he could remember that other world Chabrous had put him through. A world where the monsters were the horizons, closing in on him from all sides, killing everyone and everything he knew—
"L-Link, you're crushing me," Katie cried.
He let her go, feeling his breath unlock. "We—" He stopped, hating the crack in his voice. "We need to do something about that."
"I need to go help," Norman urged. "They can't take that wave! Din's flames, we never dealt with something like that before!"
"This-this is a trap," Katie said with certainty. "Goddess, there's so much dark power here. She's trying to stop us."
Link remembered back from when Morus, that drunken idiot, nearly killed him. There had been a black talus on the battlefield. "Yeah, this is just a distraction. Pretty sure she can't keep this up for long." Even Louis had a hard time of summoning creatures.
The sound of another explosion made him wince. Though they were at a much safer distance, one arrow—likely from a lynel—rose up like a white star before coming down with a thunderous clap, shattering rocks.
Norman made to move but Katie swooped in front of him. "We need to go over there!" she urged. "She's trying to distract us!"
"But my brothers—"
"Berry will defend them." Katie turned to Link expectedly.
Link wanted to complain. This was not fair! He'd been wanting to use Berry against Catherine for a long time now.
Katie summoned her hammer. "Right, Link?"
"Goddammit," he growled. "Fine!" He could see Berry a hundred meters from here and nodded to him. Somehow, Link didn't need to say anything or even point anywhere for the guardian to understand him. The machine startled the Gorons, frightening them back as he shot a clean, straight laser straight into the fray. Oh, it was so satisfying. But they couldn't stay put for long.
Norman swore furiously under his breath. Every now and then he tossed a look over his shoulder but he did lead Link and Katie downhill. "We'll need to take a longer way around," he said, "through the caverns. That smoke is likely coming from Ruby Lake so if we hurry—" He stopped when two Gorons rolled down from the cliff face towards them.
Norman made a sharp gesture. "Roast. Umon. Find somewhere to hide, you idiots! I'll be right back!"
Roast was the first to unroll, staggering forward. "We-we can't let you go on your own!"
"Ahem," Link said.
"We have to do something," Umon insisted. Strange that he spoke with such clarity, even as monsters pounded against the village's door. "Let us come with you."
"Oh, hell no!" Link snapped. "You'll get us killed!"
Something changed in Norman's eyes when he stared at them both. They didn't appear as warriors at all, but somehow, somewhere in Norman's tiny head, he didn't see a problem with it since he said, "Alright but stay close."
"Oh, this is just bull—"
"If you got a problem," Norman cut Link off, "then you can head there on your own."
Link figured to Nayru-shield his way through that mess but Katie's reddish glow forced him to reconsider. Likely those monsters will stop at nothing to keep him trapped here. Whatever Catherine was stirring, it had a desperate reek to it.
And so they rushed inside the cave, Roast muttering prayers, Umon jumping at his own shadow. This won't end well.
Not only do they need to survive Catherine but they needed the boys to survive Link.
She understood Norman wanted to train them, to fit them into Lee's prophecy, but this felt like giving a child an axe and asking him to cut down an oak tree.
"I'll protect them," Norman told her. "I need them to see, to understand, what we're up against."
"Can you hurry it up?" Link snapped. "You think we have all day here?"
Though Roast was easily twice as Link's size, he still winced all the same. Norman thankfully bit back a retort, focused on leading the way. Katie shivered at the darkness, sticking to Link's shoulder. All of this power, a massive explosion of it had threatened to knock her out cold. What was Catherine doing? Even Louis hadn't been this erratic.
She's getting scared, Katie realized. It must be about those grey rocks Lee left for them. It had to be. Oh, they knew so little of her. Louis was a slave to the church hundreds of years ago. Mathilda lost her son and became deranged because of it. Catherine…who is she? What exactly inspired her to turn to the dark side?
What was her obsession with this mountain?
The caverns, dark and chilly, held little light even with her shining bright enough to make them all wince. Rocks twisted from the ceiling like icicles and a rancid smell of something old clung to the air. She could see tension rising in Norman. Leaving his home when it was under attack must be killing him. What would the others think of him?
"You can go back," Katie told him. "Link and I can take care of this."
Norman seriously seemed to be considering it. He cared so much for his home, even with no one to appreciate him for it. "I need to get this down to the roots. If she's really up to something then I need to stop it myself."
"We're not going to be seeing it with these two with us," Link said sharply. "What the hell can they do, unless you want Catherine to start laughing at us?"
Roast flushed. Umon only casted his eyes down.
"These two Gorons," Norman snapped, "are brave enough to come with us when no one else would."
"Sure, sure," Link dismissed. "Where's their weapons by the way? Can they fight without them?"
"I've got one!" Roast showed a broadsword strapped on his back and Umon lifted his cudgel.
"Real swell," Link said flatly. "You know how to use it?"
"Uh, well, we uh had some practice…"
"Catherine's not expecting them," Norman insisted, "and they're coming with us. Deal with it."
Link was about to snap until Katie cut him off. They reached the end of the tunnel, the pathway twisting further up to reveal taluses. Catherine was expecting them.
"We need another way down," Katie whispered.
"Oh, what about the railway?" Umon pointed at the upper part of the cliff up ahead. "I'm sure it's still there!"
Norman frowned. "It's pretty old though and I don't think it's in one piece."
"But if the earthquake happened at Ruby Lake, this'll get us there quicker!"
It took careful maneuvering, getting past those taluses. A whole cluster of them, like rocks at the beach. Link distracted them by firing bomb arrows, giving them all the cover they needed to reach into the next tunnel. Few carts had rusted with time but only one remained, lying on its side.
"We need to be quick!" Roast squealed as taluses began throwing rocks. The ceiling began chipping off.
"Hold on!" Umon reached over to the remaining cart, Norman helping him put it back onto the tracks. Link and Roast got on all the while Umon searched for the lever. Katie watched the walls beginning to crumble, the taluses making their way. Another chilling wave of power moved through her, nearly fainting her.
Katie fluttered rapidly, keeping herself upright. She could sense dark magic as well as light. Through the waves Catherine gave out, whatever she cooked up was wild, raw power.
This…doesn't make any sense.
"Katie!"
She turned and found the cart had moved on without her, moving with such a speed that Link was nearly thrown off. "Wait for me!" she cried.
The cart shot out the tunnel, running over tracks that were very high up from the ground. Taluses fired more rocks to it, which only met Link's bomb arrows. He looked at Katie, wide-eyed.
"I'll meet you there!" she called out, watching the cart stumble into another tunnel on the other side of the mountain.
Norman and Umon both leaned to the same side, bringing the cart up and avoiding the broken railings. They rushed with high speed and Norman never would've seen the dead end if Umon hadn't warned him. He stomped down his leg, bringing the whole thing to a jarring stop.
Roast fell out, coughing while Umon muttered prayers under his breath. Norman felt his head swiveling and wanted to sit down but there were voices echoing through the cave. This one was an old mining place, a favored place for young miscreants.
Also a place where his father had died.
Norman shook his head, bringing out his hammer and began smashing it against the boulder blocking their way. Link sat in the cart, arrow facing the direction to where the noise was happening.
"So uh does this happen usually?" Umon squeaked. "Is this the part where we die?"
"No one's dying here," Norman growled as he brought his hammer and shattered rock. Light shot through the cracks. "Roast, you remember this place the most right?"
"Y-yeah."
"How many stops are we going through till we reach there." Norman pointed all the way over at the west, where it stood shore to the lake.
"Um, a couple more," Roast said, his voice growing pitcher. "Something's coming!"
Link used a lightening arrow for light. Norman caught sight of something hairy, something with lots of arms crawling over towards them. He felt his stomach heaving and turned sharply to the boulder, delivering one last blow to clear the way. He got behind the cart and started pushing, gritting his teeth. Link fired arrow after arrow and his cursing didn't give Norman any kind of comfort.
The cart moved and he swung on when it was gaining acceleration. His stomach heaved as the cart dashed through loops, up and down slopes, sharp rights and lefts that nearly flew the damn thing off the rails. He couldn't tell if the creature was following them, as he kept hold for dear life.
"Norman, we need to turn right!" Roast shouted.
Wind dried his eyes when he stared up ahead but he did see the path forking. He shifted his balance and the cart went right. Then he heard Link swearing. Norman turned and gaped. Now, he's fought monsters both in the day and in the night. Monsters of all colors, shapes and intelligence.
And yet the very sight of an enormous spider, hairy with about eight legs crawling rapidly over the railings, was enough to make him squeak. When the cart slowed in another tunnel, Norman used his hammer like an oar to keep it moving. The spider crawled over the walls of the tunnel, down on the ground, hissing viciously.
"Link, do something!" Norman cried.
"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!" Even the Hylian sounded unnerved, cursing some more as he shot several arrows at once. Bombs, ice, lightening. The spider's hard shell—do spiders have shells?—proved inaccessible. Their cries echoed through the dark tunnel, bouncing from wall to wall.
Up ahead there the path split off into two. "Roast, which way?"
"We're gonna die!" Roast wailed.
"Which way?!" Norman grabbed him. "Roast!"
Roast blinked back tears and looked ahead, his eyes wide. "Right! Another right!"
Norman put down his hammer and pivoted, the cart squealed, sparks flared at the wheels as he swung it around and headed down right. Link decided to drive his arrow up and shatter the ceiling, blocking the way behind them.
"Uh, L-Link," Umon uttered.
They heard the crawling and glanced up to see the vicious thing once more. It must've found another way in. Directly above them, Link could not fire it without burying them all. Several eyes blinked back at them like black stars and before it could drop on them, the cart went outside once again, through loops and sharp turns, then it headed down for another tunnel.
"At the next stop," Norman said, "you two get out. Find someplace safe."
"Norman—" Roast tried to say.
"There's no way we're outrunning that thing. On my mark, you and Umon get away, got it?" He didn't wait for their reply. The cart entered into the tunnel and Norman planted his hammer into the dirt to put it into an abrupt halt.
Roast and Umon got out, so did Norman to take his stand. The spider came crawling and fell from the ground, hissing. Norman attacked it first, bringing his hammer down and regretted it at once. It felt like hitting a solid wall. His hammer rebounded off the spider's back and nearly into his face. He stumbled, yelping as the spider reached out, mandibles sprayed out.
An ice arrow froze its mouth opened. Link used another arrow to freeze its large, skeletal leg before it could impale Norman. The Goron used his hammer and broke the frozen leg, shattering it in pieces.
Another leg simply regrew and that leg attacked him, piercing down. Norman rolled away while Link tackled the monster from the other side with the Master Sword. The sword beamed like blue light, startling Norman. Since when—
The spider moved faster than they anticipated. One leg struck Link's shield, the force knocking him against the wall, hard. Norman tried to reach him but three legs came for him, making deep holes into the ground when they missed. Those eyes followed them, pitch black. The Hylian didn't have a blessing, as he used it up earlier for those taluses.
Norman thought quickly, panickily. He never fought something like this before. How to even begin? It lunged forward at him, four legs coming from different direction. He dodged the first two but the other legs got to him. One on his shoulder, pinning him to the ground and the other raised up like an executioner's axe.
It missed him. Roast, blessed Roast, fell right onto the spider's back, rung his arms around it. The spider hissed, trying to shake him off. At the same time, Umon got past the thing and helped Link up, who bled by the head.
As the spider moved vigorously to shake Roast off, Norman saw the soft flesh beneath the spider. Umon saw it as well, slamming his cudgel on it, hard enough to flip the spider all to his back. Link raised up with his sword, shining blue and stabbed the spider right in the underbelly.
Roast, who had been thrown off, coughed. "It's dead? For real?"
Norman started at the black flakes, so relieved that he had to laugh. "You crazy Goron!"
"That was awesome, Roast!" Umon helped him up. "Just wait till the boys hear this!"
"Oh, it was nothing." Roast flush. "I had to do something."
"You were brave, Roast," Norman said proudly. "Damn, with a good weapon in your hand who knows what else you'd do?"
Umon's shoulders sagged a little.
"You did good, Umon."
"I'm a coward, Norman," he said with a sigh.
"I didn't expect you to stay this long so there's hope for you yet." Norman glanced at the cart then at his two brothers. They did well but they were pale to the face. "Maybe we should head back. I don't think we're ready for this." He trailed off when he saw Link leaning against the wall, holding his bloodied head. "You still with us?"
"Just a scratch," the Hylian huffed, drinking in elixirs. Golo won't be happy to learn that Link was drinking away pain rather than let it naturally heal.
Norman paused, looking at his brothers.
"I'm coming with you," Roast said. "I need to see Catherine. I want to know what we're up against."
Umon was silent, looking behind them.
"There's no shame in it, Umon," Norman said gently. "Just more training and then you'll be just as—"
"No," Umon said. "Dammit, I'm pissing myself but I can't let you do everything on your own, Norman. I need to come with you."
And there was no stopping him. Norman nodded and the three headed into the cart. It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize that Katie was not with them. With all the excitement, he nearly forgot. Link said she'll meet them there. It wasn't far now.
o-o-o-o
Ruby Lake was more of a tourist attraction than anything else. Wide, hot and…ruby looking. It was better at sunset when the sky and the lake melded together. Norman was shocked to see black mist rising from its shore.
Katie was there and screaming at them but it was too late, seeing as how the cart pulled up to a stop at the end of the road. Just a few meters away, the lake burned red and hot.
He saw a black pillar of smoke rising from the ground a few strides away. The cause for the earthquake. Standing in front of it was a hionx.
"Great," Link muttered. "What's the plan here, sprite?"
"Run," Katie cried. "We need to run! There's—"
The hionx ran to them and something was off about it. Its skin was deep black, its eye sickly yellow. It moved fast and when it brought down its fist, the ground rocked.
Norman once again turned to the black mist. Not really mist but a geyser of something black running out from the ground. A large mass of it splashed out and from it was born another spider.
"Link, that fountain—"
"On it!" Link used his hookshot to get close. At the same time, a woman decided to show up, dressed in black, eyes narrowed and hateful. She gave the Gorons a chilling smile, raising a hand up and lava started to creep closer to the land.
Shit
Norman kept away from the hionx while Katie used her strange hammer to hit at the eye. At the same time, the spider approached them, using its web to catch a hold of Roast. Norman tried to reach him but the giant got in the way, agonizing over its injured eye. Katie wacked at it again, bright pink and red, all the while Roast fought for his life, grabbing the leg and trying to keep it from piercing his throat.
"Norman!" Katie said. "Link-Link is—"
Norman expected Link's arrows to give them cover, but the Hylian stood still, very still, at the edge of the fountain with a haunted daze not unlike Hill.
Behind him, Norman heard Roast cry in agony. Umon had helped back away the spider but one leg cut across his chest and another pinned him down by the shoulder. Roast tried helping but the hionx pounded a fist to the ground, too close to him, and he lost his footing.
"No!" Norman screamed. "No, NO!"
Umon stumbled, bleeding heavily from his head, his shoulder had a nasty bite. The spider nearly bit him again but Norman threw his hammer at just the right time, right into the face and throwing it off. He ran up and kicked the spider to its belly, ripping out the flesh with his bare hands. The thing squealed, legs circling rapidly before it froze.
Katie was over Umon in seconds. The Goron whimpered, eyes bright with fear. Norman turned to see Roast struggling to get away from the hionx who leered at him, sickly eye staring down. All the while Link stood there, unmoving.
Catherine appeared next to Norman, tusking. "My, my," she said. "What a mess."
"You bitch!" Norman screamed, throwing a fist at her, only for her form to waver. It solidified seconds later and she only smiled at him.
"There's your hero right over there," she said smoothly. "Does he seem so capable to you now? Hmm?"
Norman attacked at her desperately. He didn't want to see Katie crying or Umon's fearful eyes. He especially didn't want to see Link just standing there, yielding the only sword that could stop all this madness.
"Your entire village is next," she whispered, vanishing and reappearing further away from him. "All of them. Your dear grandfather, your chief, your pathetic veterans. My Lynels have already broken in."
"No!"
"They are all dead, like your dear friends."
"Norman!" Katie cried. "Norman, Roast needs help!"
Norman saw the hionx grabbing his friend and lifting him up, mouth opening to show a set of sharp teeth. Roast cried, twisting. Katie couldn't go herself, not when she had Umon's life under her..
Something in him snapped. This helplessness. This nothingness. He screamed out, running to the giant and picking up his hammer along the way. He slammed into its knee, watching it stagger and tumble into the lava. It didn't kill it instantly but it did let go of Roast.
Link stood nearby, staring at the dark mist spitting out from the ground. Norman headed to him, even as another spider suddenly sprang up. He ducked away from it, stuffing his hammer into its mouth and pushed against it, hard. He threw his weight into the spider, shoving it right into the lava.
He realized that the black mists were crawling out of rocks the size of watermelons. Black, thick smoke hissed out from them. He hesitated before grabbing one, which numbed his hand entirely, black thoughts bursting into his mind. Deep fears of failure, of seeing everyone he loved die in front of him, all rose to the surface at once.
He squeezed his eyes shut against them all and with a feral scream, he threw one rock. He hadn't meant to throw it into the lava. The moment that happened, the black thing burst. The spider disappeared.
That was when Catherine screamed.
Norman took another one and threw that, needing to use upper body strength and an iron willpower against the ill thoughts that threatened to shut him down.
"No, stop!" Catherine shouted. "Stop it!"
Norman threw another, one after the other. The hionx disappeared, crumbling into black flakes. He could somehow know that his brothers are winning the fight up there, perhaps confused that monsters are winking out on their own.
Only one rock left.
"You do this," Catherine said, appearing before him, hair tangled, eyes bright with fury, "I will bring your home down. I will—"
"You don't scare me, monster," Norman sneered.
"I am not the monster!" she screamed and lunged out for him. It was as if she forgot herself since she merely passed by him. "Don't! NO!"
Norman threw the last rock, his mind black with terror, his hands numb to the point where he thought they might fall off. The rock fell into the lava and burst. That ended the black steam from the ground.
"Norman," Roast said, shaking him. "Norman! We need to go!"
Voices paraded into his head, sinister whispers, dark desires. Kill him, it said sweetly. So annoying. Just kill him.
Roast shook him. "Umon needs help!"
Norman blinked and shook his head. Roast picked up Link while Norman helped Umon up, moving away. Behind him, he could see Catherine's figure, a beacon of pure hatred. Such a large amount of anger in her that he was surprised that her stare hadn't vaporized them yet.
He hadn't noticed the black talus until now, moving much further up ahead, slow and steadily. It looked weak to him, pathetic even and he knew that she had meant to do more than this. It was safe to say that both sides won and lost. Umon and Roast did not speak to Norman at all in the coming days.
