Chapter 9 The Line.
To be frank, Link expected something more. It was just an empty storage unit and two ways out. Link walked up to the one on the right and sighed.
"Are we there yet?" Cera asked from under Link's hat. Link let the two fairies out by removing his hat fully. Navi and Cera circled the storage unit before returning to Link. "There's nothing here!" Cera said with a pout. Navi and Link sighed together.
"Let's go." Link put his hat back on. Cera and Navi went back under Link's hat as he walked through the right exit. When Link came up, he felt strange for some reason. When the blackness cleared from Link's vision, he heard a strange pop. Link landed hard on his rear aboveground.
"Link?" Link cleared his vision to see Derek! Link took a quick recap of his surroundings. Instead of the grass knolls of the sandy beaches and rock cliffs, Link saw nothing but mist.
"Derek?" Link asked trying to see through the fog. Suddenly, a hand shot out from behind Link causing him to jump up. Link rolled away and unsheathed his sword.
"Link! Was that you?" Link lowered his sword and sighed. It was Derek! Link then reprimanded himself for being a scaredy cat. Link then poked Navi and Cera in his hat.
"I'm here Derek! Cera, go and see if you can make him out in this mist." Cera did as she was told and vanished into the mists.
"Over here Link!" Cera shouted.
"Watch that light bug!" Derek growled at Cera. "-and would you stop circling me like a buzzard! It's annoying." Link stifled a laugh as he navigated his way through the mist. Link was rewarded with an annoyed version of his friend Derek of Neutral City. "Would you call her off? She's as bad as a vicious guard dog!"
"Who are you calling a VICIOUS GUARD DOG!?!" Cera bellowed in his ear. Derek gave a yelp and quickly covered his poor ringing ears.
"Come on Cera. We'll need him to be able to think if we want to reach Giro safely." Link said in a tired tone. Cera nodded but gave Derek a bop on the head for his insult. "Where is this city anyway? Zirain said that it would be nearby." Derek surprised Link by grabbing onto his shoulder and began to guide him through the mist.
"Don't worry about it. I've been in this area so often I could do it in the dark." Derek said with a grin.
"That's not comforting!" Link growled. "The fog's so thick that it might as well be night!" Derek laughed at Link's correct statement. It was true, one wouldn't know if it were day or night in the pea soup fog. Derek smiled at the memories when Taro and Zirain visited Misty Mountains.
"You can never tell here. Actually, it's not usually this bad in the main rings around the city. I just hope that the city isn't as bad as this." The pair of humans and fairys walked onward and uphill through the fog.
"How much longer is it?" Link asked a little impateint. "If I trip once more, I swear I'll bellow bloody murder for my feets sake." Link joked. Derek sighed and then stopped suddeny almost making Link trip over him.
"We're here!" Derek said in a neutral tone. Link frowned at his tone but decided to look anyway. What Link saw made him gasp in surprise.
'How in all Hyrule did I miss that!?!' It indeed was a rare sight. A rock wall about the size of the Deku tree popped out of nowhere. The fog was so thick that he could barely see the top.
"We have to go to the right. When the fog isn't this bad, you can see the rocky gardens that the Goron culitivate. There is also a mine and a quarry that can be seen from the gates of the city." Derek said tromping on a well worn path.
"How big is this place Derek? I don't even think I've ever seen the Goron race build anything this huge before." Link asked to the boy who was leading him like a dog would do to a blind man.
"They had to build the walls for protection from the mist and since the trade rout had been cut off. Visions has been trying to made a blacksmith of sorts here. Not many things are being made though. No gorons here have that natural talent for making swords or such. They do make fine armour and sheilds."
"Who is Visions?" Link asked curious. Hoping it was the right question to ask, Link was rewarded with a smile from Derek.
"Visions is a sort of the alliance leader here. They call him Visions because he always had plans or visions of what the future should be like for his people. I think you'll like him. Visions is a big fan of warriors of any sort so smile when I introduce you and he'll butter up to you like you wouldn't believe. By the way, he's the one you have to talk to about getting the pendant." Derek then asked a stupid question in Link's opinion. "Ummm... You do know what a Goron looks like right?" Link let out a bark of laughter.
"Know what they look like! Are you kidding!?! I'm a blood brother to Darunia of Hyrule!" Link said through his giggles. "Have you already forgotten our talk in the inn? Really..." Link said with a grin on his face. Derek blushed beet red but no one was there to see it because of the mist.
"Sorry. It's just that we've been separated for almost five days. Since then, I've been so busy worrying about Misty Mountain and the pendants. What the Blazes!?!" Link almost stepped on Derek's heel when he suddenly stopped dead in the road.
"What's wrong Derek? I can't see a thing with this mist." Link asked. There was a sound of metal upon metal as Link drew the gilded sword. Derek's hand suddenly gripped Links hand tighter.
"Put that away. That's not the reason why I'm shocked." Link's puzzled frown was lost in the mist. Link did as Derek obeyed and put the sword away.
"What's the matter then?" Derek seemed to hesitate to answer the question.
"I can't find the bridge to cross the moat. It's like it's been broken. I stepped on peices of wood." Link and Derek had the same line of though, something had definitly happened here.
"Should we try to cross anyways?" Link asked the misty figure in front of him. If the fog had not been so thick, Link would have seen Derek shake his head.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Derek knew the lay of the land better than Link and Linkknew this. Link was then startled when Derek suddenly let go of Link's hand. "Bern! Bern! You old bomb brain! Are you there!" Derek suddenly yelled. Link felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck at Derek's language. Link was even more surprised when there was an answering shout.
"Derek! Derek! Is that you?" Derek's answer was a smile that no one could see and a slight shake of his head.
"You bet it is! If you want the five ruppies I owe you, you had better tell us another way to get in!" Link barely contained his laughter. So Derek was a betting man was he?
"Wait there you scamp." Was the returning bellow. Link then felt Derek take his hand again and relaxed a bit. A little later, a rope was thrust into Link's hand.
"Tie that down to something. Climb up after me." Derek ordered. Link sighed when he couldn't find anything to tie down to. Then Link thought better of it and just held the rope while Derek climbed up it. Link waited for the rope to go slack and he saw something he could use. Derek saw as the rope was suddenly dropped. "Link!"
"Comming!" A small squeak answered. Derek blinked at the unfamiliar voice. That was when Cera and Navi came out of the fog and into the safety of the City.
'What are you doing Link?' Dereks question wasn't answered right away. First, there was the sound of rustling. Next, there was an odd whirrling sound that Derek didn't recognize. Then, a small pop sound echoed and a small deku scrub came shooting out of the mist latched onto a pair of pretty pink flowers. The scrub landed beside Derek without any trouble.
"That was fun. I didn't think you had launching flowers here too." Link said in a deku voice. Derek sighed and shook his head. With that being said, Link pulled off his mask and became a human boy once again.
"You're lucky that Bern was checking in." Derek said as he ruffled Link's hair. Link felt a strange feeling well up inside him. He had made note of it when he had woken up to find that people were worried about him, but that was the only time that Link had felt this strange feeling.
"Checking in? Oh, you mean he's telling his superiors that we're-" Link never got to finish the sentance. A Goron that looked suspiciously like Darunia boomed up the nearest towers steps and barreled into Derek.
"Derek! My boy! How's one of the great hero's of Neutral doing." Link jumped back in mock horror as the strange Goron suddenly had Derek in a bone crushing bear hug. Link wasn't about to get away though as a Goron behind him stopped his escape.
"*Gasp* Hello Visions." Derek managed to gasp out. Link blinked in surprise, this Goron was the alliance leader.
"It does my heart well to see you again Derek." Visions said as he let go of the gasping teen. "You couldn't have come at a worse time though boy. You actually came up the mountain in the heaviest mist that I've ever seen! Oh! You brought a little friend from Neutral. Is he your paige?" Link had to blink a few times to get what he meant.
"He's not my servent!" Derek said in mock horror. "This is Link. He's the hero in green that everyone's talking about."
"Hero in green? Sorry boy, I haven't hear anything about a hero in green. Our gossip lines have been cut off as the fog is too thick for anyone to get through. That's the trouble I'm talking about." Derek had gasped at Link not being heard of in town and looked even more agast when he heard that no one else had gone up the mountain.
"You've got to be kidding me! The Flower Festival is supposed to be tomorrow! What are we going to do without the festival?" Derek said in an anguished voice. Visions gave a sigh in Goron.
"I wish I knew boy. I know how much you like the Flower Festival. That's not the only flaw in the stone. The mist hasn't gone down yet and that means the quarry and mine have been shut down as well as the smiths. We can't send word to Harvester explaining our plight because of the mist. It's almost covering the inside of the city! And to top it all off, the last batch of Glowgreens won't bloom! It's a real mess here!" Visions looked truely depressed. Link noted all the trouble might have been caused by one factor; the mist.
"Where is this mist comming from? I don't think it's natural to have this much mist on any mountain this time of the year." Link asked Derek. To Link's surprise, it was Visions who answered.
"You have a good eye squirt. This mist is produced by the Flora Temple at the summit. It was originally used to hide the Goron race from the Dondogo's. For some reason, they all disappeared when the trading route was closed. Now, we have to contend with the mist." Derek then decided to put his two cents in.
"The mist also lets the Gorons grow their rocky gardens that they are so proud of. People flock from all over Hyrule to see their gardens at the flower festival. It won't be the same here." Derek's sad sigh made all present look a little gloomy.
"At least we have a good feast prepared for tomorrow." Link was startled at the Goron who said that out of the blue. Link recognized the voice as the one who was bantering with Derek. Bern was it?
"Sir!" Link had trouble keeping his balance as a small blur about his size came rushing past him. When the world had slowed down, Link saw the assailant as a young Goron boy. Visions took the paper the boy was holding out and read the paper. "Bye!" Link braced himself as the boy slammed into him again and this time, Link nearly sat down trying to get the world to stop spinning.
"What the blazes!?!" Link blinked as the world went back into focus.
'At least I know where Derek got that saying from.' Link though with a wry grin on his face. Then Link noticed that the Goron leader was angry, very angry. Link had never seen a Goron look like that before. Visions face looked like it was a miniture volcano ready to blow. Link gulped down a lump in his throat and pitied the poor fool who had angered the Goron.
"What's wrong?" Derek asked taking the note from Vision's tightly clenched hands. Link jumped up on the wall's ledge to read over Derek's shoulder. The note read:
Greetings Visions,
We both know the point of this letter so I will be brief. Harvester cannot help you and your people are in
an uproar about the festivals imminent cancelation. They demand that you hand over the pendant to the
one that stops the mist and saves the festival. I will persuade the temple to stop making the mist if you
bring me the pendant at tomorrow's sunrise at the quarry. If not... well, suicide isn't the only option left to
you after discracing your people for the first time in a thousand years.
Soaran
Link nearly choked on the signature. Derek looked like he was ready to explode. Derek turned to Visions so fast that Link almost fell off the wall.
"You can't give into him! Visions, there's a reason why I'm here! We-" Visions held up his hand commanding silence.
"I have no choice. If he truely can stop the mist, I must give it to him." Visions said after a bit. The Goron
closed his eyes as if very weary of the world. "I wish we could wait for Harvester."
"You don't have to give it to him! Show him Link!" Derek suddenly had the attention of everone there. Link scratched
the back of his neck and let out a nervous laugh.
"What do you want me to show him?" Link asked. Derek sighed and smacked his forehead with his left hand.
"Anything! Just don't let Visions think that we can do nothing while this is happening!" Link shrugged and then
snapped his fingers. Link took out one of his masks and put it on. Visions jumped back as did Bern at the sight of
old age magic twisting over the youth. It swirled as Link let out a silent scream and then a blinding flash of light
enveloped the boy's form. When Visions looked back, a Goron warrior was standing before him. To Visions utmost
surprise, the Goron asked him a question.
"Which way is this Flora Temple of yours?"
Disclaimer: Don't own Link yet
To be frank, Link expected something more. It was just an empty storage unit and two ways out. Link walked up to the one on the right and sighed.
"Are we there yet?" Cera asked from under Link's hat. Link let the two fairies out by removing his hat fully. Navi and Cera circled the storage unit before returning to Link. "There's nothing here!" Cera said with a pout. Navi and Link sighed together.
"Let's go." Link put his hat back on. Cera and Navi went back under Link's hat as he walked through the right exit. When Link came up, he felt strange for some reason. When the blackness cleared from Link's vision, he heard a strange pop. Link landed hard on his rear aboveground.
"Link?" Link cleared his vision to see Derek! Link took a quick recap of his surroundings. Instead of the grass knolls of the sandy beaches and rock cliffs, Link saw nothing but mist.
"Derek?" Link asked trying to see through the fog. Suddenly, a hand shot out from behind Link causing him to jump up. Link rolled away and unsheathed his sword.
"Link! Was that you?" Link lowered his sword and sighed. It was Derek! Link then reprimanded himself for being a scaredy cat. Link then poked Navi and Cera in his hat.
"I'm here Derek! Cera, go and see if you can make him out in this mist." Cera did as she was told and vanished into the mists.
"Over here Link!" Cera shouted.
"Watch that light bug!" Derek growled at Cera. "-and would you stop circling me like a buzzard! It's annoying." Link stifled a laugh as he navigated his way through the mist. Link was rewarded with an annoyed version of his friend Derek of Neutral City. "Would you call her off? She's as bad as a vicious guard dog!"
"Who are you calling a VICIOUS GUARD DOG!?!" Cera bellowed in his ear. Derek gave a yelp and quickly covered his poor ringing ears.
"Come on Cera. We'll need him to be able to think if we want to reach Giro safely." Link said in a tired tone. Cera nodded but gave Derek a bop on the head for his insult. "Where is this city anyway? Zirain said that it would be nearby." Derek surprised Link by grabbing onto his shoulder and began to guide him through the mist.
"Don't worry about it. I've been in this area so often I could do it in the dark." Derek said with a grin.
"That's not comforting!" Link growled. "The fog's so thick that it might as well be night!" Derek laughed at Link's correct statement. It was true, one wouldn't know if it were day or night in the pea soup fog. Derek smiled at the memories when Taro and Zirain visited Misty Mountains.
"You can never tell here. Actually, it's not usually this bad in the main rings around the city. I just hope that the city isn't as bad as this." The pair of humans and fairys walked onward and uphill through the fog.
"How much longer is it?" Link asked a little impateint. "If I trip once more, I swear I'll bellow bloody murder for my feets sake." Link joked. Derek sighed and then stopped suddeny almost making Link trip over him.
"We're here!" Derek said in a neutral tone. Link frowned at his tone but decided to look anyway. What Link saw made him gasp in surprise.
'How in all Hyrule did I miss that!?!' It indeed was a rare sight. A rock wall about the size of the Deku tree popped out of nowhere. The fog was so thick that he could barely see the top.
"We have to go to the right. When the fog isn't this bad, you can see the rocky gardens that the Goron culitivate. There is also a mine and a quarry that can be seen from the gates of the city." Derek said tromping on a well worn path.
"How big is this place Derek? I don't even think I've ever seen the Goron race build anything this huge before." Link asked to the boy who was leading him like a dog would do to a blind man.
"They had to build the walls for protection from the mist and since the trade rout had been cut off. Visions has been trying to made a blacksmith of sorts here. Not many things are being made though. No gorons here have that natural talent for making swords or such. They do make fine armour and sheilds."
"Who is Visions?" Link asked curious. Hoping it was the right question to ask, Link was rewarded with a smile from Derek.
"Visions is a sort of the alliance leader here. They call him Visions because he always had plans or visions of what the future should be like for his people. I think you'll like him. Visions is a big fan of warriors of any sort so smile when I introduce you and he'll butter up to you like you wouldn't believe. By the way, he's the one you have to talk to about getting the pendant." Derek then asked a stupid question in Link's opinion. "Ummm... You do know what a Goron looks like right?" Link let out a bark of laughter.
"Know what they look like! Are you kidding!?! I'm a blood brother to Darunia of Hyrule!" Link said through his giggles. "Have you already forgotten our talk in the inn? Really..." Link said with a grin on his face. Derek blushed beet red but no one was there to see it because of the mist.
"Sorry. It's just that we've been separated for almost five days. Since then, I've been so busy worrying about Misty Mountain and the pendants. What the Blazes!?!" Link almost stepped on Derek's heel when he suddenly stopped dead in the road.
"What's wrong Derek? I can't see a thing with this mist." Link asked. There was a sound of metal upon metal as Link drew the gilded sword. Derek's hand suddenly gripped Links hand tighter.
"Put that away. That's not the reason why I'm shocked." Link's puzzled frown was lost in the mist. Link did as Derek obeyed and put the sword away.
"What's the matter then?" Derek seemed to hesitate to answer the question.
"I can't find the bridge to cross the moat. It's like it's been broken. I stepped on peices of wood." Link and Derek had the same line of though, something had definitly happened here.
"Should we try to cross anyways?" Link asked the misty figure in front of him. If the fog had not been so thick, Link would have seen Derek shake his head.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Derek knew the lay of the land better than Link and Linkknew this. Link was then startled when Derek suddenly let go of Link's hand. "Bern! Bern! You old bomb brain! Are you there!" Derek suddenly yelled. Link felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck at Derek's language. Link was even more surprised when there was an answering shout.
"Derek! Derek! Is that you?" Derek's answer was a smile that no one could see and a slight shake of his head.
"You bet it is! If you want the five ruppies I owe you, you had better tell us another way to get in!" Link barely contained his laughter. So Derek was a betting man was he?
"Wait there you scamp." Was the returning bellow. Link then felt Derek take his hand again and relaxed a bit. A little later, a rope was thrust into Link's hand.
"Tie that down to something. Climb up after me." Derek ordered. Link sighed when he couldn't find anything to tie down to. Then Link thought better of it and just held the rope while Derek climbed up it. Link waited for the rope to go slack and he saw something he could use. Derek saw as the rope was suddenly dropped. "Link!"
"Comming!" A small squeak answered. Derek blinked at the unfamiliar voice. That was when Cera and Navi came out of the fog and into the safety of the City.
'What are you doing Link?' Dereks question wasn't answered right away. First, there was the sound of rustling. Next, there was an odd whirrling sound that Derek didn't recognize. Then, a small pop sound echoed and a small deku scrub came shooting out of the mist latched onto a pair of pretty pink flowers. The scrub landed beside Derek without any trouble.
"That was fun. I didn't think you had launching flowers here too." Link said in a deku voice. Derek sighed and shook his head. With that being said, Link pulled off his mask and became a human boy once again.
"You're lucky that Bern was checking in." Derek said as he ruffled Link's hair. Link felt a strange feeling well up inside him. He had made note of it when he had woken up to find that people were worried about him, but that was the only time that Link had felt this strange feeling.
"Checking in? Oh, you mean he's telling his superiors that we're-" Link never got to finish the sentance. A Goron that looked suspiciously like Darunia boomed up the nearest towers steps and barreled into Derek.
"Derek! My boy! How's one of the great hero's of Neutral doing." Link jumped back in mock horror as the strange Goron suddenly had Derek in a bone crushing bear hug. Link wasn't about to get away though as a Goron behind him stopped his escape.
"*Gasp* Hello Visions." Derek managed to gasp out. Link blinked in surprise, this Goron was the alliance leader.
"It does my heart well to see you again Derek." Visions said as he let go of the gasping teen. "You couldn't have come at a worse time though boy. You actually came up the mountain in the heaviest mist that I've ever seen! Oh! You brought a little friend from Neutral. Is he your paige?" Link had to blink a few times to get what he meant.
"He's not my servent!" Derek said in mock horror. "This is Link. He's the hero in green that everyone's talking about."
"Hero in green? Sorry boy, I haven't hear anything about a hero in green. Our gossip lines have been cut off as the fog is too thick for anyone to get through. That's the trouble I'm talking about." Derek had gasped at Link not being heard of in town and looked even more agast when he heard that no one else had gone up the mountain.
"You've got to be kidding me! The Flower Festival is supposed to be tomorrow! What are we going to do without the festival?" Derek said in an anguished voice. Visions gave a sigh in Goron.
"I wish I knew boy. I know how much you like the Flower Festival. That's not the only flaw in the stone. The mist hasn't gone down yet and that means the quarry and mine have been shut down as well as the smiths. We can't send word to Harvester explaining our plight because of the mist. It's almost covering the inside of the city! And to top it all off, the last batch of Glowgreens won't bloom! It's a real mess here!" Visions looked truely depressed. Link noted all the trouble might have been caused by one factor; the mist.
"Where is this mist comming from? I don't think it's natural to have this much mist on any mountain this time of the year." Link asked Derek. To Link's surprise, it was Visions who answered.
"You have a good eye squirt. This mist is produced by the Flora Temple at the summit. It was originally used to hide the Goron race from the Dondogo's. For some reason, they all disappeared when the trading route was closed. Now, we have to contend with the mist." Derek then decided to put his two cents in.
"The mist also lets the Gorons grow their rocky gardens that they are so proud of. People flock from all over Hyrule to see their gardens at the flower festival. It won't be the same here." Derek's sad sigh made all present look a little gloomy.
"At least we have a good feast prepared for tomorrow." Link was startled at the Goron who said that out of the blue. Link recognized the voice as the one who was bantering with Derek. Bern was it?
"Sir!" Link had trouble keeping his balance as a small blur about his size came rushing past him. When the world had slowed down, Link saw the assailant as a young Goron boy. Visions took the paper the boy was holding out and read the paper. "Bye!" Link braced himself as the boy slammed into him again and this time, Link nearly sat down trying to get the world to stop spinning.
"What the blazes!?!" Link blinked as the world went back into focus.
'At least I know where Derek got that saying from.' Link though with a wry grin on his face. Then Link noticed that the Goron leader was angry, very angry. Link had never seen a Goron look like that before. Visions face looked like it was a miniture volcano ready to blow. Link gulped down a lump in his throat and pitied the poor fool who had angered the Goron.
"What's wrong?" Derek asked taking the note from Vision's tightly clenched hands. Link jumped up on the wall's ledge to read over Derek's shoulder. The note read:
Greetings Visions,
We both know the point of this letter so I will be brief. Harvester cannot help you and your people are in
an uproar about the festivals imminent cancelation. They demand that you hand over the pendant to the
one that stops the mist and saves the festival. I will persuade the temple to stop making the mist if you
bring me the pendant at tomorrow's sunrise at the quarry. If not... well, suicide isn't the only option left to
you after discracing your people for the first time in a thousand years.
Soaran
Link nearly choked on the signature. Derek looked like he was ready to explode. Derek turned to Visions so fast that Link almost fell off the wall.
"You can't give into him! Visions, there's a reason why I'm here! We-" Visions held up his hand commanding silence.
"I have no choice. If he truely can stop the mist, I must give it to him." Visions said after a bit. The Goron
closed his eyes as if very weary of the world. "I wish we could wait for Harvester."
"You don't have to give it to him! Show him Link!" Derek suddenly had the attention of everone there. Link scratched
the back of his neck and let out a nervous laugh.
"What do you want me to show him?" Link asked. Derek sighed and smacked his forehead with his left hand.
"Anything! Just don't let Visions think that we can do nothing while this is happening!" Link shrugged and then
snapped his fingers. Link took out one of his masks and put it on. Visions jumped back as did Bern at the sight of
old age magic twisting over the youth. It swirled as Link let out a silent scream and then a blinding flash of light
enveloped the boy's form. When Visions looked back, a Goron warrior was standing before him. To Visions utmost
surprise, the Goron asked him a question.
"Which way is this Flora Temple of yours?"
Disclaimer: Don't own Link yet