"I saw him arrive at the edge of the Midnight Dunes then take one of the more unstable side trails up to the pinnacle. He said he was going to see the Great Fairy and he claimed that he wasn't supposed to be seen by any of us. I believed him. The Great Fairy has been acting strange lately as it is… Perhaps she foresaw this and she called for aid?"
"Well, if that's true, then this freak wasn't much of a help at all… Climbed the mountain like a suicidal, flew back down, then broke down the dang flag is all he did! I don't trust him… We should just throw him in the crater with his darling monster and let him burn; he's probably the one responsible for this whole ordeal… His so-called story's all a lode of nonsense, I tell you! We ought to just get rid of him as soon as possible, before he causes any more trouble!"
"Now, Magol, let's not pull off anything hasty right underneath Darunia's nose. He's come back, you know, and he's gone up the mountain to face the beast. We shouldn't do anything without the Chief's approval first. The Chief's a good warrior, and he says he knows how to get up the mountain without getting infected, so this could all be over without even bothering with this stranger. Let's question him when he's conscious, though; just to be sure. He's an awful liar, so we don't have anything to be worried about."
The two Gorons sat shoulder to shoulder near the bedside of Ijauh, both conversing quietly in their low, gravelly voices and staring down at the limp man. The foreigner was heavily bandaged beneath his black shirt, his broken left arm rapped up in a makeshift splint. Rahami was staring pensively at his companion, Magol, who had his tattooed arms folded across his chest, scowling coldly down at the wounded traveler. Both were silent for a moment, until Magol spoke again.
"…What are we going to do with him in the meantime? What if he causes us trouble, like trying to escape, for instance?" Rahami's frown darkened. He pressed his large knuckles onto the ground and hoisted himself up into a standing position, shaking his head gruffly.
"He'll never make it out of the village, and if he does, he'll never make it down the mountain… At least not very far down the mountain… Besides, even if by some stretch of reality he DOES manage to make it down the mountain, we're still not sure what has become of Kakariko Village. I think the vapor may have reached the town already…"
"We need a miracle to get out of this one." Grunted Magol, turning to look at his friend, "Why hasn't the King of Hyrule done anything to help us, eh? …Is he still too scared to help his own allies?" Rahami said nothing, bowing his head and staring thoughtfully down at the solid stone floor. Indeed, the news of what was happening seemed to spread like wildfire throughout the entire land (save Kokiri Village, whose people usually remained ignorant to the happenings in the rest of Hyrule), yet not a soldier or messenger had neared Kakariko Village, let alone the haloed mountain. The King's help was probably staved off by his concern of infecting his own people, but that alone did not seem reasonable enough to the Gorons in their plight.
"…I'm going to bed." Magol growled dully, standing up as well and shuffling awkwardly out of the chamber. "G'night."
Rahami watched him leave, his frown still fixed in place. Magol was never skilled when it came to tolerating unfortunate matters, and the news of what was happening had meddled with his temper. With a sigh the mountain-dweller turned back to Ijauh, only to start when he discovered that the traveler was awake staring threateningly up at him. Estimating exactly how much the traveler heard, Rahami covered his alarm with an ominous frown, grumbling sarcastically: "So you've finally decided to rejoin the world of the living, I see— and it only took you about as long as it took Volvagia! I do hope you like rocks, because you'll probably be eating nothing else for as long as we're trapped in here, which may turn out to be quite a long time."
Ijauh looked for a moment like he had been slapped in the face. He gaped at Rahami for a few tense seconds before saying slowly: "…I'm trapped in Goron Village?"
"Yes, you are. The entryway to the city has been barricaded in an attempt to seal out some very nasty smog… Say, newcomer, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that smog, would you?" He placed a delicate emphasis on the last words, narrowing his eyes and leaning close to the foreigner, who recoiled slightly. With a silent gulp, Ijauh brought himself to speak, his voice much less unruffled then it had been that night out on the trail.
"Uh… No, I don't know anything about any fog, uh— Ramhead, is it?"
"Rahami."
"Yes, Rahami, that's right… Uh… No, I don't know anything at all— But my guess would be that there must have been an eruption or something, and the fog is probably just some off-colored ash—"
"Oh, really?" Rahami cut in frostily, "Then explain something to me, if you're so sure… What kind of ash makes anyone who inhales enough of it go completely haywire? I've been around ash and volcanic activity all my life, but this has never happened before. Even our chief, who is probably four times older then you and knows more about this volcano then anyone else, says that it's entirely abnormal."
The traveler shrugged, trying to appear innocent. "How am I supposed to know?"
"You were tiptoeing around the mountaintop the night that monster appeared," Rumbled the Goron, his unfathomable eyes narrowing farther. "Don't try to lie your way out of this one. No one is leaving this village until that thing is destroyed and the smog clears, but if it continues to roll down the mountain in thick waves and the monster continues to thrive, that day may not be in the near future, and there isn't any edible food down here for the likes of you."
Will he ever give up? Thought Ijauh, annoyed by the Goron's persistence. With a concealed sigh, he continued on with more lies, knowing very well what may happen to him if he told the truth. One thing was for sure; he had to get off the mountain at all costs. "Look, all I know is that when I was up near the Crater Entrance, there was this big explosion from inside. I saw a bunch of flying dirt, and that's it. I went hurtling down the mountain and into the flag where I lost consciousness. Your guess is as good as mine."
"Okay, then. Why were you going to see the Fairy in the first place, and how was the meeting set up? Surely not through post… I don't think the Great Fairy has an address."
Wow. He's not giving up until I tell my whole freaking life-story to him… Thought Ijauh, before he answered in a casual voice: "Well, that's confidential—" He stopped mid-sentence once he saw the lethal expression Rahami was wearing. After a short pause, he continued hesitantly, "…Well… The Fairy works in mysterious ways sometimes… We… conversed through a magical gossip stone she gave me last time I was here… Awhile back. She promised me a new magic creation of hers so that… I would… Have… A… mm… Better… Chance… At winning a tournament being held abroad— In my homelands. B-but I wasn't supposed to let anyone know because she doesn't like people clamoring up to her demanding weaponry."
Rahami scowled. The hesitant, almost desperate way Ijauh had told his obvious lie was definitely not convincing. There was no way any of this could be true, and yet, as much as he hated to admit it, he could not prove it false with the sources he had at the moment. Observing a flash of defeat in the large being's eyes, Ijauh carefully slid his hand into the pocket of his black pants, gripping something concealed there. Without a word of farewell, Rahami turned around and started towards the door, bearing in mind what action he should take next. The best thing to do to confirm the foreigner's dishonesty was to go to question the Great Fairy herself, but that would be near impossible, for the only rout to her was outside…
There was a clatter behind him, and as he spun around in alarm, a great wrench of pain shot through him from the pit of his stomach. With a muffled cry, the mountain-dweller stumbled back into the wall, hand moving automatically to the source of the sting. His large fingertips meant the leathery hilt of a dagger now embedded in his girth. There was a cold chuckle somewhere above him, and over the sound of his own thundering heart, Rahami heard Ijauh speak up in a cold, mocking voice. "Just wait till your pathetic 'Hero' gets over here. That's when the real game begins."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH—…?"
The cry of shock and anger tore from Link's throat as something pelted out of the stall and threw itself at his neck, managing to get a hold on him in his shock and knocking him backwards. Had Link not first seen what had jumped at him, he would have reflexively broke the thing's grasp and sent it flying across the barn, but he did nothing of the sort. His scream of anger ceased almost as soon as it had started; yet his abrupt silence did not leave the barn quiet. The memorable laughter of a young girl was now sounding somewhere in his right ear.
"LINK!"
He had not heard that voice in over twelve years. Shocked and dazed, the shepherded lay on the hay-strewn barn floor as the familiar form crawled off him to stand next to his head. Hazily, as though he didn't quite believe what he was seeing, he gazed up into the vivid green eyes of Saria, the Kokiri from his past who had, within a dozen years, had become nothing more then a dusty memory to him. He blinked several times, still convinced he had wondered into a freakishly real daydream. Another familiar voice cut through the silence, this one deeper then Saria's, more womanly and smooth, with a note of sarcasm in it that was very recognizable.
"Uh… Are you gonna get off the floor, or do we have to get a doctor in here or somethin'?"
Slowly, Link tore his gaze away from Saria, half expecting the little girl to disappear, and focused instead on the tanned, striking face of the Sage of Spirit. Nabooru, her arms laden with golden bracelets and her fingers adorned with rings, was leaning against the stall door, one brow raised, staring down at Link, who still hadn't found his voice.
Saria giggled again. With a tired sigh, the Gerudo moved forward, took Link's hand and hoisted him upward again. He was still rather shaken, but now at least he knew they were real. They were here in Toaru. Two Sages in a small village far from their Temples! His head began to clear up, getting over the initial shock their presence had thrown upon him. After a moment of waiting for his two visitors to say something, Link decided to speak up, and he was surprised to find that his voice sounded sharp. Almost cold.
"…What are you doing here?"
Both Sages looked taken aback at his unfeeling tone, and before Link could repair it, Nabooru snorted mockingly. "What, no 'Hello'? Oh, fine then. Obviously you didn't get our letter. Saria, are you sure this is our Hero of Time?"
Link fleetingly remembered the letter lying on his kitchen table, wishing desperately that he had opened it. Saria looked kindly up at him, her emerald eyes gleaming. "Yes," She said, "This is him. You can't find that face anywhere else." Though, She thought to herself, he does look different… Since when did his hair go brownish?
Brushing these thoughts from her mind, she continued. "Link, we bring critical news from Princess Zelda."
Link's throat seemed to constrict. For a moment he took in the information and, with a horrible plummeting feeling in his stomach, realized that they hadn't come for a petty joy visit as he had, at first, foolishly assumed. They had come with news about Hyrule's newest dilemma. …Well, why else would they even consider talking to me? He thought dejectedly. I guess it's true, then… My friends can only come see me when they need me to loose some limbs in battle for them. I should have guessed as much…
"A monster has been unleashed on Death Mountain," Said Nabooru, cutting into his overemotional thoughts, "and it's apparently the source of a fog that has really been messing up the Gorons. If the beast ventures farther then the mountain, it won't only be Hyrule that'll get infected or killed by it, believe me. This monster isn't big, or so we've heard, so it can't possibly be too dangerous so long as you stay clear of that fog… Link, we need your help on this one. We wouldn't have bothered you if it wasn't vital."
"What does the fog do, and how do you think I can destroy the monster?" The callous tinge was in his voice again, and he mentally cursed himself for living in such a gossipy town for seven years.
"Well," Saria said slowly, as though she'd just been yelled at, "We haven't exactly seen the monster yet. Only Darunia has, and we haven't gotten word from him since he reached the pinnacle of the mountain. It was so strange. He was suddenly just cut off mid-sentence. And as for the fog—"
"Can we talk in your house, Link?" Nabooru cut in harshly. "Your pony doesn't seem to like us, and those goats are throwing dirty looks at me."
Short chapter, but noticeably livelier then the last one… I think. Thanks to the four people who reviewed! It means a lot. Please review with your thoughts again; I enjoyed reading them!
I was planning on taking the story down in October because for one, very few people make it past the first paragraph of my writing here at home, and I seriously wasn't expecting anyone to read this.I thought that leaving it up would be pointless. But if you think I should keep it up, then tell me in a review and I will.