A/N: Between work, being sick, and dentist visits, my writing has been slow most days. But here it is, the newest chapter!
Settle in with a drink, a snack, stretch first and let's go. Buckle up readers, we're going to Death Mountain!
Beta'd by RenegadeBladesman. Thanks for looking over my work~
WARNING: Blood and injury
Chapter Twenty-One: The Hazards of Being A Hero
Link was a little sad to leave the cosy house of the nice lady, but quests never finished themselves and he'd still only cleared one out of six palaces. Five remained and he had no clue where any of them were or what could possibly await him inside.
He set out through the town, determined to find this River Man and deliver Bagu's letter. It was just as busy as yesterday though this time Link felt no need to talk to anyone. He would find River Man on his own and only ask around if he failed. He walked past building after building over one little bridge, then two, then three.
In the second section of the town, he found a large house with an open door. It was a temptation too strong to ignore and he walked inside. It was one spacious room with four windows lining each of the long walls to let in generous amounts of light. A long table lined half of one wall and upon it was a purple blob, half the size of an adult Hylian.
It was sleeping, snoring gently and inflating and deflating with every breath. It must be harmless enough if it was in the middle of a Hylian town, so Link poked it with a finger. It jiggled slightly but settled. He poked it again, fascinated by the jiggling movements. Twice more his fingers prodded it before it awoke, almost vibrating in anger and making a squeaky little hiss.
"Let me be!" it cried. "Master is in woods N of river." With that it glared at him, glanced at the door, and pointedly shut its beady eyes.
Link left, wondering about its words. What master did it mean? Surely not Ganon - he was dead. What about 'N of river'? That, at least, could mean north of river. In that direction was the cave through the mountains that led to Ruto Town. And the swamp, with those odd ruins and the strange doll he'd found and taken. There were woods sort of north and also east that he knew of, where Bagu lived. Was Bagu its master? Was the purple blob the River Man?
The jiggly thing wasn't exactly a man. No, I'll keep looking.
More bridges, more buildings, another section of town and then nothing. The land simply ended with no bridge to fill the gap, though he could clearly see the other side a score of feet away. A small building nearby, the door invitingly open, made Link wander over and head inside. A knight, an honest-to-Hyrule knight, with proper armour and weapons and everything, was standing inside, looking bored though still attentive.
"I am the man that guards the river," he said.
River Man? Link really, really hoped so. He grabbed Bagu's note and held it out, watching as the knight read it. He had no idea what it said, he'd never bothered looking at it.
The knight looked up. "You know Bagu? Then I can help you cross."
This WAS River Man! Excellent! The knight waved him off and Link gave him a quick farewell. When he stepped outside, a bridge began to build itself, log by log, before his eyes. Bridge-building magic seemed terribly unique and limited, but Link was not going to complain about the oddly specific skill. He happily marched across when it was done, nodding absently at the sign that declared the edge of town as he walked past it.
The green grass the town lived on quickly gave way to sand as mountains blocked his way. There, almost staring at him tauntingly, a black patch of mountain that signified a cave. Link sighed, dug out his candle, and entered, his mind warning him to watch out for red Aches.
The cave was long and windy, with little blue blobs squidging along the floor everywhere. They would pounce if he got close enough, but one good jab or slice was enough to finish them off. The spear coming for him was a change of pace, but his shield caught it and it fell harmlessly to the ground, the Moblin responsible snarling and snapping like a feral beast.
More blobs, a very boomerang happy Goriya, exits and entrances between mountains, then some Octoroks and blue Aches. Link was grateful they weren't red, though the number of enemies, ledges, jumping and climbing was getting ridiculous. He was tired and frustrated and, though he hated to admit it, hopelessly lost.
The mountains had so many caves that led to sections of mountain clearings with more caves to choose from. Too many caves! And without a map of whatever this place was, Link was not hopeful about finding his way through them in any sort of timely manner.
This way, that way, monster after monster, until Link came across one of the odd contraptions that moved him between floors of the Parapa Palace. He stepped up to it and wondered if he should ride it upwards. His mind was made up for him as a low, guttural snarl echoed close by.
Link's head whipped around to see a creature he'd never seen before. It was bipedal, like a Moblin or Goriya, and wearing light armour that looked more like leather clothing except for some spikes on its shoulders. Metallic rings encircled both its wrists and ankles, and there was an odd sort of half-helm resting on its skull. Its skin was orange and scaly, the head resembling a lizard with an elongated snout that was full of fangs.
The most pressing issue Link had with the creature was the axe that it held in one hand. Its arm was pulled back, the axe ready to cleave him into two, and Link frantically backpedalled, keeping sword and shield between them. The air gave a whoosh with each swing and Link's arm shook no matter if he caught the axe on his shield, letting it slide off to the side, or tried to parry with his sword.
The thing was relentless and didn't seem to tire. Link, already tired from wandering and fighting, was not pleased with this. When it drew its arm back for another swing, the teen shot forward and made a deep slice across its chest. He stepped back, waited for another opening, and repeated the manoeuvre to great effect.
Whatever the thing was, it was strong, sure, but not exactly smart.
Link was fine with this.
A couple more strikes saw it defeated and Link gave a series of stretches as he moved on, the lift completely forgotten. With his luck, where there was one axe-wielding monster, there were half a dozen more at least. He groaned but plodded on.
Another exit into mottled daylight due to a small section of trees that created a tiny forest, leading to a small sandy clearing hemmed in by mountains, with more cave openings to choose from. Link sighed and picked a direction. And then regretted it as a wave of heat swept over him, the air heavy and hard to breathe. The cave floor was at least eighty percent lava, glowing brightly with the lifeblood of the earth and making the place a health hazard in more ways than one.
A bridge spanned the cave a good dozen feet above the fiery river. The ceiling came down at various points and Link wondered if he'd have to duck while crossing. There was nothing to do but find out, so he stepped onto the bridge, shield and sword at the ready, and strode forward.
He really appreciated his shield as a rock shattered on it. Link saw flashes of white and heard little thunks on the bridge. It was a familiar routine and Link turned, bringing his blade down to smash a skeletal fish. He found it supremely unfair that these things could live in water and lava.
The trip across the bridge was not as bad as the one over the river purely because this bridge was a bit shorter in length, but the low points of the rocky ceiling, the lava dripping off the fish, their rock attacks and charges all added up to a tense and frustrating experience. He was glad to reach the other side but almost screamed in annoyance as he exited to another clearing. At least this one only had one other cave to choose from, so he stomped over to it with ill grace, cursing the mountainous maze as he went.
This one had no lava that he could see, or feel, and he sighed at the cooler air that brushed over his skin. The heat had left it feeling tight, though the cooler air was helping. He jumped down a few ledges and was knocked flat on his back by a blue blob impacting his skull. The Bot, the name coming to him after a moment, jiggled in place, eagerly ready to pounce again.
"Is some higher power laughing at me?" Link grumbled, scrambling to his feet. The Bot leapt and the teen sliced it in half out of the air. Another one followed but was quickly dispatched. The next thing to come at him seconds later was an axe, twirling handle-over-blade through the air. He raised his shield, barely in time, but the axe kept going as if the shield didn't exist, slicing clean through a small part of the top rim, leaving an inch long V shaped chunk missing.
I'm so glad no part of me was behind that bit of the shield, he thought in horrified disbelief.
His shield was useless against whatever threw the axe, but he wasn't completely defenceless. Link used his Shield spell, turning his clothes red, and went on, ducking another axe. The culprit was now visible, and Link seethed. It was like that axe-wielding long-snouted lizard, but this one had red scales and a seemingly infinite supply of shield-slicing axes that it was happy to toss in his direction. It stepped back when he stepped forward, carefully keeping a certain distance between them.
Unlike the orange-scaled one, this one seemed to be in possession of a functioning brain.
Link ducked, dodged, weaved, and jumped every axe that was flung, making his way closer and closer until he slashed the wretched creature across the chest. A slice was left in its leather armour along with a relatively shallow cut. He growled, almost matching the one the monster gave and swung again, leaving a deeper gash. The beast scuttled backwards, throwing several axes in quick succession to keep the tenacious Hylian at bay.
The teen was too fast and closed the gap again quickly, leaving a third wound. This dance of bodies and weapons continued for some time. The monster was tough, taking hit after hit and only going down after a good six slashes that left its chest and stomach a bloody, gory mess.
Panting, the hero inspected the missing chip of his shield and frowned. That might affect the whole shield's integrity and he'd have to replace it as soon as he could. That required leaving this place and so on he went.
Another clearing, another cave, more enemies. Though he was thankful to see a Goriya and some blue Aches. His thankfulness died a swift death at the sight of an orange-scaled lizard with an axe. It was easier to deal with than the red version and was defeated in short order.
Another cave, a handful of red blobs called Bits, two orange lizard things. Yet another cave, a handful of the blue Bots, and two more orange lizard things. Link was tired, sore, sweaty, hungry, and thirsty. He wanted to be out of the mountains yet also curl up and not move for half a day. Minimum. He forced his feet to keep plodding on and exited the cave.
It was not a little mountain-hemmed clearing.
I know this place!
He had been in this area several times, especially during his quest to defeat Ganon and save Princess Zelda. Well, the only one he'd known about back then. Having two Princess Zeldas was going to be awkward and confusing. Link was back in familiar territory and if he was right, there should be a water source a short distance away in that direction.
The teenager gulped the last of his water, pleased to be able to fully satisfy his parched throat for the first time in hours. He took his now empty canteen to the water's edge, glad that his memory hadn't failed him, and dipped it in. A ripple appeared a few feet away and a Zora's head popped up, making Link smile.
"Hello!"
"ረጎክጕ! ፕዘቿ ጊዐዪል ዘልሀቿ ጌቿቿክ ረዐዐጕጎክኗ ቻዐዪ ሃዐሁ ቻዐዪ ዕልሃነ!"
Link blinked before his face settled into a confused frown. "Days? Did Impa or Princess Zelda not tell you I was away travelling?"
"ሃዐሁዪ የዪጎክርቿነነ ዕጎዕ, ጌሁፕ ነዘቿ ሠልክፕቿዕ ሁነ ፕዐ ፕዪሃ ልክዕ ቻጎክዕ ሃዐሁ ልክዕ ዘቿረየ ዐሁፕ ጎቻ ሠቿ ርዐሁረዕ."
"That girl," Link said in a tone of fond annoyance.
"ዕዐ ሃዐሁ ክቿቿዕ ዘቿረየ?"
The teen shook his head. "I don't think I'll be by the water for long and where I'm going is probably no place for a Zora. I just came through a bunch of caves with lava, and I'd hate to see what that place would do to one of you."
The Zora did not look happy with that. "ሠዘልፕ ሠጎረረ ጎ ፕቿረረ ፕዘቿ ዐፕዘቿዪነ?"
"I really appreciate you all looking out for me, but you can all go back to your daily lives. I'm sure I'll see some of you sooner or later, and you can tell the princess that I'm fine. Say hello to everyone for me?"
"ጎፕ ጎነ ክዐፕ… ነልፕጎነቻልርፕዐዪሃ, ጌሁፕ ጎ ሠጎረረ የልነነ ዐክ ሃዐሁዪ ሠዐዪዕነ," the Zora said.
"Thank you so much!"
The Zora smiled, ear fins twitching, and nodded, bidding Link farewell before vanishing beneath the surface.
Link stood up with a groan and set about finding whatever bits of firewood he could scrounge to purify the water later. When he turned back around, he saw a section of land next to the mountain cave he'd left from that he didn't recognise. Now he knew where he was going next.
With a decent amount of wood collected he set about his usual camp chores after checking that the area was monster free. There was a large rock and a cave, neither of which held any appeal. Link didn't want to enter another cave for a good few hours at least, and was determined to have a nice long sleep after that ridiculous maze system of caves.
He had a decently safe space, a foraged meal, and a full canteen and more of newly purified water. Link curled up by his little fire and used his arms as a makeshift pillow. Sleep claimed him quickly, exhaustion tugging him deep into the void.
A good night's sleep, one where he didn't rise until the sun was nearly at its zenith, did much to restore his energy and mood. The sight of the cave still didn't please him, so he set about getting more firewood, purifying more water, and foraging for a decent lunch.
"ረጎክጕ!"
The hero's head whipped around towards the water at the shout, and he jogged over. A Zora was on the shore, shifting from foot to foot, and holding a bundle in their hands. They perked up once Link was close, and their ear fins wiggled as they smiled brightly.
"Hi! What's the shouting for?" asked Link.
"ጎ ዘልሀቿ ል ኗጎቻፕ ቻዐዪ ሃዐሁ!" the Zora said happily, holding out the bundle.
Link took the bundle and almost dropped it as it tried to slide out of his fingers. It was wrapped in something that was liberally slathered in a waxy substance, making it quite resistant to water. "Wow, for me? From you?"
The Zora shook its head. "ክዐ, ቻዪዐጠ ሃዐሁዪ የዪጎክርቿነነ. ነዘቿ ኗልሀቿ ዐሁፕ ጠልክሃ ቻዐዪ ሁነ ፕዐ የልነነ ልረዐክኗ ጎቻ ሠቿ ቻዐሁክዕ ሃዐሁ."
"She really is too kind. Thanks for delivering it. Oh, here!" Link gently put the bundle down and fished about in his bag, pulling out a chip of marble stone from Parapa Palace. It was mostly white and light grey, with darker grey and black streaks running across it like veins. Lin would have loved it, but this Zora deserved something for its services. He held it out, hoping the Zora liked it.
The stone chip was carefully taken and inspected before it softly ran the chip over its large lips. It gave a happy gurgle and grinned. "ል ኗጎቻፕ ቻዪዐጠ ቻልዪ ልሠልሃ! ጎ ሠጎረረ ጌቿ ፕዘቿ ቿክሀሃ ዐቻ ጠልክሃ. ፕዘልክጕ ሃዐሁ, ረጎክጕ, ልክዕ ጎ ሠጎነዘ ሃዐሁ ረሁርጕ ዐክ ሃዐሁዪ ፕዪልሀቿረነ!"
Link was alone again within seconds as the Zora dived back into the water and sped away, likely wanting to show off the gift to their friends. He shrugged and finished his foraging, munching on a bit, then walked up to the cave and entered with a sigh.
He could immediately tell that this cave was different. There were pillars with carved decorations on top, only as tall as him, set a short way into the cave. His appraisal of them was interrupted by an axe whirling through the air. A red lizard thing was there, arm already back to throw another. The now-familiar dance ensued with Link emerging victorious.
Two Lowder skittered at him, and he took them down without batting an eye. A short tunnel led to a spacey cavern and Link huffed, grip tightening on his sword and the straps of his shield, eyeing two red Aches up high warily. One released its clawed grip on the rocky ceiling and fluttered swiftly down. Link lunged, taking no chances, and swung his blade with zero finesse, just wanting to kill it before it touched the ground and transformed. His sword connected and the Ache disappeared. Through the small puff of smoke left behind he could see the second Ache only inches above the floor. A second later an Acheman was standing there and shooting fire at him.
What Link wouldn't give for a shield that could stop axes and Acheman fire!
Once that was dealt with, he ran into some ledges, a few bouncy things, an orange lizard thing, more Lowders, another contraption that he didn't feel like dealing with, and some Octoroks. This cave was one of those that seemed to be infested with monsters. After the Octoroks were gone there was nothing, just a blank wall. With a sigh, Link spun on his heels and went back to the contraption, taking it down into the depths.
Now he had a choice of two directions. Last time he went left he'd run into a dead end, so he went right. There was something on the ground that periodically became spiky. It was too low slung to even stab it with his sword. Thankfully it wasn't very big, so he jumped over it, nearly taking an axe to the face as a red lizard thing, that he really wanted a name for, stood on a ledge above, already aiming another axe.
There was another spiky creature, a few Octoroks beyond that, then nothing. Another dead end. Something glinted on the floor and Link picked up a bottle with some type of potion in it. He wasn't sure what it would do, and he didn't want to risk ruining his whole day by recklessly gulping some down, so he packed it away and went back, going the other direction he'd dismissed before.
And ran straight into a red scaled axe thrower. Link decided to vent his anger on the monster with every swing of his sword. Quite a bit of blood splattered the cave before it vanished into smoke and a marginal weight lifted off his shoulders. A corner opened up into a large cavern that was a dangerous mix of lava and pillar-like platforms.
Link leapt from pillar to pillar, hyper aware of the lava that was more than eager to turn him to ashes in its inescapable embrace should his feet slip. Be like a jumping Tektite! he told himself. Then he remembered the numerous Tektites he'd seen over the years bounce themselves straight into others, into walls, over the edge of ledges…
That mantra died a swift death.
He poured all of his focus into judging distances and how much power he put into each jump, along with how much traction his boots had. He made it across without incident except for one jump he'd almost fallen short on. Link had madly pinwheeled his arms and thrown his weight forward, avoiding a gruesome fate by inches. Even a little spiky creature hadn't proved a problem as it hurled itself off the edge in its zest to reach him. He'd given it an absent wave as the lava swallowed it.
Once he left the lava behind, the cave turned into a tunnel, long and low, giving him a couple of feet of space above his head. An orange axe wielder guarded the tunnel, though Link made relatively short work of it. He liked to think he was improving, especially when the tunnel opened up into a cavern with a red one.
It, too, was defeated, and Link's confidence was on the rise. There was a platform made of carefully hewn stones, decorated with carved pillars over twice his height. On a ledge just beyond the platform was a hammer, just resting there. It greatly reminded him of all the random tools and weapons he'd find in a dungeon, so he reached out and grabbed it, baffled but pleased to have something else.
Now to figure out what to do with it.
A/N: Zora translations:
Link! The Zora have been looking for you for days!
Your princess did, but she wanted us to try and find you and help out if we could.
Do you need help?
What will I tell the others?
It is not... satisfactory, but I will pass on your words.
Link!
I have a gift for you!
No, from your princess. She sent out many for us to pass along if we found you.
A gift from far away! I will be the envy of many. Thank you, Link, and I wish you luck on your travels!
Easy hint for Death Mountain? Always go east. Link, of course, doesn't know this. Poor boy doesn't even know he was wandering around Death Mountain of all places lol Give the boy a map!
Those orange and red lizard things? Those are called Daira. In-game your shield can't stop their axes - they'll go through it like it isn't there. I think only the Reflect Spell works? The Shield Spell will reduce damage taken though. Link doesn't have the Reflect spell yet, so he gets to play the world's sharpest, deadliest version of dodgeball in the meantime.
Aye, the Zora make an appearance! Look at them, working with Princess Zelda! All for Link, mind you, but progress is progress~
As always, progress of the next chapter is posted on my profile page and updated as I write.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We're slowly getting through Z2 and then on the way to LU. Please consider leaving a review - feedback is precious~!