Chapter Ten: Sworn Brothers

"I'll set you down here, as I can't make my way up the mountain from here," Aranel said, landing beside the stairs that led to Kakariko Village.

"Can't you just fly us there?" asked Ruto.

"Do you really want me to be chased by a mob armed with torches and pitchforks?" Aranel grinned.

"I suppose not," Ruto said sulkily.

"All right, then. Off you go!" Aranel prompted them, shooing them off with his claws.

"'Off you go'?" asked Ganondorf as they headed up the stairs. "Does he always act like a granny?"

"Don't put down the dragon," said Cassandra sternly.

Ganondorf smirked. "Of course, Your Highness."


"Why do they have to make mountains so tall!" whined Falen an hour later, as they trudged up the Death Mountain Trail.

"No one makes them tall, they just are," Lute told him.

"It's still not fair," Falen insisted.

"And it's hot," Ruto complained. "I'm getting all dried out."

"Please be quiet!" Ganondorf begged.

"I can't! I have delicate skin!"

"I'm hot, too," grumbled Link.

"You're the Hero of Time!" Cassandra said, as annoyed as she'd been with the sniffy guard. "Deal with it!"

"I don't wanna!"

"Everyone, shut your mouths!" bellowed Quinn. "If you don't stop yapping now, I swear I'll sit down right here and not budge!"

Everyone stared at him, awestruck.

"Did you just…tell us what to do?" asked Ruto.

"Yes, I did!" Quinn said, sticking his nose up in the air.

"Oh, no you didn't," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I so did."

"You didn't."

"I did. What's the big deal?"

"No one tells me what to do," said Ruto dangerously.

The next five minutes were spent trying to wrench the raging fish-girl off of Quinn.


"And here we are!" Link said triumphantly, sweeping his arms out wide in front of the entrance to the Goron City.

"Finally!" breathed Cassandra in relief.

"Civilization!" shrieked Falen, falling to his knees and bowing. "Thank you, Din! Thank you!"

Ganondorf shook his head and glanced pleadingly at Lute, who gave him a wretched look.

"Could you put him out of his misery?" asked Quinn. His hair had been partly ripped out of its ponytail and he looked extremely disheveled.

"How much are you willing to pay?" asked Ganondorf.

Quinn looked at him in horror. "You really kill people?"

"Yeah!" Ganondorf chuckled. "You thought it was a joke?"

Quinn didn't respond. He simply moved as far away from the Gerudo as was possible.

"Let's go see Darunia!" grinned Link, running into the city like a gleeful child. The others followed.

Link stood in the entrance for a few moments, looking around with a confused expression on his face.

"Uh, Link, do you know where we're supposed to go?" asked Cassandra.

"Of course I do!" Link said, dismissing her question as nonsense. He cheerfully led them through a series of stairways, and Ruto gave a piercing shriek when they entered a room filled with lava.

"Too hot!" she screeched. "It burns!"

"Let's ask for directions," suggested Lute.

"Good idea," agreed Link.

They found a Goron sitting in the stairwell.

"Oh, look! I can talk to it!" said Falen.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Do…you…know…where…Darunia…is?" he asked, enunciating each syllable of each word slowly, attempting to make himself completely coherent. "Can…you…tell…us…how…to…get…there?"

The Goron rolled his eyes. "Of course I can, idiot."

"See? Communication!" Falen said happily.

No one said anything, but Cassandra clapped in a slow, sarcastic manner.

"Thank you!" said Falen, bowing.

Cassandra groaned.

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of the Darunia's room.

Link pulled out his ocarina and played a cheerful, up-tempo song that had even Ganondorf tapping his foot.

The door in front of them slid upward, opening to reveal the massive form of Darunia, the leader of the Gorons.

"Link?" he asked, squinting at the hero.

"Yeah!"

"No way!" Darunia laughed. "Brother! How have you been?" He gathered Link up in a bone-crunching hug.

"Did he just say…brother?" Quinn asked Lute.

The prince nodded.

"How is that possible?"

"I have no idea," replied Lute.

"It's an expression of familiarity, you nitwits!" Cassandra hissed. "Don't you two know anything about foreign customs?"

The men exchanged looks.

"Nope," said Quinn.

"Honestly!" the sorceress cried. "And your father has you as an ambassador?" she said to Lute.

He gave her a smug grin.

She restrained from harming him.

"So," Link began once he was on the ground again, "do you know where the Zora's Sapphire is?"

"Easy," Darunia said. "In the Temple of Time."

"Wrong!"

"It was there the last time I was," the Goron said, looking confused.

"Well, it's not now." Link shot Falen and Quinn a nasty look.

"Sorry, Brother. I don't know where it is."

"Oh, well," Link sighed. "At least you tried."

"Glad I could be of some help!" Darunia grinned.

"Yeah, me too!" Link said, grinning as well.

Everyone else sighed.

As they trudged out, Ruto looked absolutely furious.

"What a waste of time!" she said. "I came all the way up here, and for what? To here a rock say, 'I don't know'!" She held out her pale blue arm, which was looking slightly shriveled. "Look at my beautiful skin!" she whined.

"This is turning out to be some adventure," Cassandra muttered.

"You can say that again," replied Lute.


A/N: Thank you to Miss Piratess, zeldaisthebest, Anonymous, and Malon Aniku. And Anonymous, if you get an account, I promise I'll read your work!