Thanks for your review Snowsilver, all will eventually be revealed but for now there should be enough to keep you guessing!
By the time I had hiked up the mountain once more to where I had met with the old man the day before I was breathing heavily and needed a break. It was hard enough to travel all that way but the monsters that were gathering around outside were hampering my progress somewhat, not to mention falling rocks that I had to at one point dive for cover from! Once I had the chance I quickly ducked into the old man's cave where it was safe from the spidery teketites that were bouncing my way. I couldn't help but poke around a little but there wasn't much of interest - the old man it seems truly lived a spartan existence. I did however discover an exit in the back of his cave that led me further up the mountain and thankfully helping me avoid those teketites. I decided to make my way toward the highest point on the mountain - Spectacle Rock. If I couldn't find any sign of the transporter before then it would at least give me a better view of the terrain. Yet by the time I had reached my target I stared up in dismay - the peak was unassailable with the meagre equipment I had with me. I was still quite high up though, so I took the chance to survey my surroundings. It appeared it wasn't possible to get to the mountain's east or to go any higher. Annoyed, I kicked a rock away with my foot and turned around.. Gyah! The teketite had crept right up on me! I dived out of the way just in time as it leapt onto the ground where I had just been standing. I sprinted to the cover of some nearby shrubs and ducked behind them. I whipped out my boomerang and let fly - damn, I had missed my target! But it was now coming back to me and.. yes! It clipped the creature's head knocking it to the ground. It now seemed frightened and jumped away down the mountain as my weapon returned to my hand. I wiped my brow and crept out of my cover.. but it was then I noticed something a little strange about the bush that had shielded me - it seemed to have a soft blue glow about it. I took out my knife and hacked away at the bush and my jaw dropped at what was before my eyes - I thought back to what I had read '..glowing whirlpools of colour'. This was it! 'Well here goes..' I said aloud, immediately feeling a little foolish for having done so as I stepped cautiously into the swirling miasma.
At once the most surreal sensation overtook me. My head started spinning and I became dizzy as the landscape went all fuzzy and distorted. But as soon as it had begun the colours stopped madly rushing around me and things phased back into clear view. I shook off the cobwebs and my eyes took in the first view of my new surroundings. I was still on Death Mountain yet.. where there had been green grass about all I was greeted with was utter desolation and a chilling wind blowing around me. I cautiously peered over the edge of the cliff face and saw nothing but cold grey rock, and far below, the red glow of hot lava running through the mountain's base. Looking out over the land I could see dark storm clouds above in the sky, lightning periodically flashing and to the east a murky green river flowed where I would have expected to see clear waters of the Waterfall of Wishing flowing from.
Despite being a hardy adventurer I could not help but shiver at the twisted world the golden land had now become. However I took it upon myself to look around a little. I started toward the rope ladder that would take me back down the mountain but when I arrived at the entrance to the cave that would lead me down the mountain I gasped - where it had been there was no opening, nothing but solid rock. I stared down the sheer cliff face with some degree of annoyance for it appeared there was no way to proceed. The mountain was completely deserted as far as I could see, so I decided to return to where I entered the magical transporter. Yet when I arrived.. nothing - nothing was there. No gateway back! It had never occurred to me the transporter would close on this side. Panic gripped me for a moment until I remembered the mirror - yes, what had the old man said? Gaze into it and it would return me to Hyrule. I reached into my pack for it and paused as I caught sight of my arm. It was.. furry. 'What in the world?' I wondered. I looked down at my body and recoiled - I was some kind of animal! I grabbed the mirror and looked into it. Staring back at me was not my face at all but the face of a fox and then all at once the world went fuzzy once more.
When my vision returned I immediately lifted the mirror back to my eyes - my own form had returned and I was back on Death Mountain, a short way from the swirling transporter. The land beyond it had seemed so surreal, more like something from a dream yet it was most certainly real.. a whole new world and one I felt I must explore. I shuddered at how twisted it had been; perhaps the old tales of Ganondorf I had overheard had not been exaggerated after all. In any case, there would surely be adventure to be had and possibly great treasure since Ganondorf had once been a thief. The mountain transporter had proven to be a dead end but there were more scattered throughout Hyrule and there was no man better to find them than me. I gathered my things and made my way back down the mountain, the now unconcealed swirling transporter still softly glowing.
