Cobal joined his fellow Mogmas, Ledd and Merco, outside of the temple. Under the warmth of the mountain sun, he enthusiastically recounted his overnight adventure. He told them how he took down an entire watchtower on his own, and all about the lovely and kindhearted girl he met and ultimately rescued. Ledd and Merco did not seem to buy his story. They sat with their arms crossed and took turns exchanging eye-rolls as Cobal went on and on with his story. Just as he was sharing about parting ways with Zelda, a shadow came over them.

"Hey you, pesky ground rats." Ghirahim growled.

"What's up, fella?" Cobal replied. "I don't believe we've ever seen you around these parts before." He caught sight of Ghirahim's wound. "Hey, you okay there?"

"Silence!" Ghirahim screamed.

"Someone's cranky," Cobal mumbled in a huff.

Ghirahim flicked his sword at the Mogmas.

"I order you to give me the temple key," he demanded, his free hand extended.

The Mogmas were a proud race. They did not appreciate this pushy stranger barging in on them and barking orders. They crossed their arms in a show of defiance.

"Listen, pal. We don't know who you are," Cobal began, "so we can't just be giving you the temple key, y'see."

Ghirahim stormed forward. He grabbed Cobal with his gangly fingers and tore the Mogma from the ground. As the others looked on in horror, Ghirahim dangled Cobal over the edge of the mountain. Cobal flailed and squealed desperately.

"Please don't hurt me, pal!" he pleaded as he squirmed. "I didn't mean any offense."

"The key, or your life and the lives of your friends," Ghirahim threatened.

Cobal could tell by Ghirahim's expression that he was serious. He possessed neither grace nor mercy, only hatred and bloodlust.

"Okay, okay! I'll go get the key for ya. Just put me down!"

The Mogma complied. He dug up the key and handed it over to his oppressor. They watched in terror as Ghirahim effortlessly crushed the key in his claw-like hand. He then threw the pieces at the Mogmas and issued a stern command.

"Scatter these, or I'll scatter your limbs all over this forsaken mountain for the rest of your filthy rodent friends to find."


Link landed at the base of the Eldin volcano and immediately broke out in a sweat. Never in his life had he experienced such intense heat. The midday sun paled in comparison to the heat exuded by the surrounding lava. Still, Link found himself admiring this new land. It was powerful, covered in red earth, and the mountain peak reached up to touch a perfectly blue, cloudless sky. Link started up the mountain, though unsure of exactly where he was going. Before long, he came upon a strange sight. A pool of lava surrounded a large mass of earth. In the center of the mass, there was a hole that appeared to lead underground.

"What do you think of this, Fi?"

Fi came forth and studied the area.

"I am detecting multiple underground passages through here. I am also detecting many life forms inside. It may be worth exploring, but please proceed with caution, Master."

After saying a quick prayer, Link held his breath and leapt over the lava and onto the ledge. From there, he carefully peered into the hole. It led to a deep, dusty underground cavern. Inside, he saw a gathering of unique creatures. They were far, far below him, so he could neither make out what they were or what they were doing. Link carefully scaled his way further down, as quietly as he could, being careful not to displace even the tiniest of pebbles. Once he reached a sturdy platform of rock, he leaned forward once more and listened.

"We have to do something!" one of the creatures shouted.

"What can we do? We don't know how to fight," said another.

"Yeah, we're treasure hunters, not soldiers," said yet another.

All of their voices echoed in the cavern, making it difficult to hear all of them clearly. Still, something caught Link's ear.

"All I know is, that pale fella' in the cape is bad news," one creature said plainly. "I'm afraid of what he'll do to us if he keeps hanging around here."

Link had failed to notice how far forward he was leaning. To his alarm, some of the rock beneath him began to crumble. Before he could pull back, it gave way completely, and the next thing he knew, he was crashing down to the warm, hard rock below, kicking up a cloud of dust on impact. Then Link found himself surrounded by a crowd of furry critters with pointed noses and beady eyes. One of them climbed onto his back, pulling one of his arms backward with one paw, and holding his head to the floor with the other. Another one held down his legs. They were sturdy beings, however, Link knew he could overpower them if he really wanted to, yet for the time being he calmly waited it out, though the feeling of so many paws on his body made him squirm a little.

"Ah ha!" shouted the creature on his back. "We got him, see? The pale caped fella!"

"What do you suppose we do to him?" asked the one holding his legs.

"Throw him in lava and see if he floats," yelled one from the crowd.

Link rolled his eyes.

"Wait!" one finally said. All others fell silent as it continued. "This ain't the guy. He's not as creepy and he's wearing different clothes." He scratched his chin with a long claw in thought. "Now that you mention it, was that other fella wearing any clothes?"

Yet another creature spoke up. This one's voice was deeper, calmer, and older than any of the others.

"I believe this one comes in peace," it said. "Unhand him."

With hesitance, they let Link go, allowing the boy to rise to his feet and brush the dust away from his green tunic. Before him stood a Mogma with long, gray hair coming out of his head, brow, and chin. In fact, he was mostly made of gray hair. Link wasn't sure if the creature could actually see him or how he managed to speak through all of it.

"I am Guld, one of the Mogma elders," the gray-haired Mogma said. "Who are you, lad?"

"My name is Link," he said, bowing his head slightly.

"And what is your business in Eldin?"

Link's deep, green eyes looked over the crowd of Mogmas. All were staring back at him in great anticipation.

"I'm just searching for my friend," he replied.

"It wouldn't happen to be that pale fella, would it?" One of the Mogmas asked in protest. "He's no friend of ours."

"No, but I know who you're speaking of, and you're right about him."

Link thought he felt a throbbing ache in his side, as he was reminded of Ghirahim's cruelty in Skyview. His hand rose to massage it out briefly as a grimace appeared on his features.

"Who is it then that you're looking for?" the gray-haired Mogma asked.

"My friend's name is Zelda, and I have reason to believe she arrived here recently," he declared.

One of the Mogma's ears perked up. His beady eyes widened, and he began bouncing from his hole in the ground.

"Zelda? Hey! I know her!" he shouted excitedly.

He burrowed his way over to Link. Emerging from the ground, he grabbed Link's hand with both paws and shook it enthusiastically and repeatedly.

"The name's Cobal," he said proudly. "I ran into that pretty lady friend of yours just last night."

Link's heart leapt in his chest. Though he tried to contain himself, a genuine smile broke through. Link knelt down to meet Cobal's gaze.

"Where? When? Is she safe?"

"Ah yeah, I had to save her from some of those Bokoblin jerks," Cobal waved his paw as if it were no big deal. Some of the other Mogmas groaned at him, which he casually ignored. "She asked me to take her to the Earth Temple, so I did. Not sure where she went after that. Then that other guy threatened to throw me off the mountain. He broke the temple key and made us scatter the pieces. It was awful!"

Link's expression turned grim and serious. He rose to his feet and looked over the Mogmas. They peered up at him expectantly. His heart ached for them. Silly as they were, Link could sense their collective fear over what, or whom, had invaded their home. He hesitated at first, but after taking a moment to compose himself, he spoke to the crowd in a loud, commanding voice.

"His name is Ghirahim," he announced, meriting some gasps from the Mogmas. "He will harm you if he can. He claims to be some kind of demon lord. His goal is to get to Zelda," Link paused as his voice caught in his throat momentarily, "which is why I have to find her… quickly."

"He's not laying a claw on her while I'm around!" Cobal declared. "She's something special, that girl."

"She is," Link agreed quietly.

"How can we help you?" Guld asked.

"I need to get to the temple."

"But without the key, you can't get in," Ledd chimed in. "Unless we can somehow squeeze you through a tunnel..."

"Then we'll find the pieces and reassemble it," Cobal replied, pounding his clawed fist on the ground.

"And what of the Bokoblin?" Guld inquired. "They have been swarming the mountain, and we are incapable of fighting them."

"Psssh, you all might be incapable. I fared pretty well against them last night," Cobal said, inspecting his claws.

The others groaned at him once more.

"Leave them to me," Link said confidently.

This seemed to satisfy everyone. Several Mogmas joined Cobal in aiding Link up the mountain. They were repeatedly faced by hoards of Bokoblin which Link fended off quite easily, with Cobal cheering him on through every battle. There came a point, however, when they approached an encampment with another large watchtower, on top of which stood Bokoblin archers armed with bows and arrows. A river of lava flowed freely behind it. Together, Link and his companions hid behind a rock, peering out to look for a way through the camp and over the lava.

"Drat," Cobal whispered. "The land used to be connected there. Those vermin must've bombed it." Scratching his chin, he looked up at the watchtower. After a moment of thought, he snapped his fingers. "I got it! Link, can you protect us from the red guys up top? We'll handle the rest."

Link nodded his head and charged into the camp. Dodging arrows, he defeated the Bokoblin on the ground. Then, following Cobal's lead, he shielded the Mogmas from a barrage of arrows as they approached the watchtower. As he had the night before, Cobal dug his way around the tower, making the ground weak and unstable. Then, everyone pushed, and with their combined strength, they managed to topple the tower. On its side, it now served as a makeshift bridge (albeit an unsteady one) across the flowing lava below. Link and Cobal quickly started across, but were soon halted by a new threat. Before them stood what appeared to be another Bokoblin. However, this one was much taller, thicker, and looked far meaner. It also carried a large weapon and a heavy shield made of thick wood.

"Yikes! A Moblin!" Cobal shrieked, hobbling on his stumpy legs to hide behind Link.

The new foe jumped onto the bridge, making its instability all the more apparent. Link swung the Goddess Sword at the beast and was met by its massive shield. The Moblin did not even recoil. In fact, it appeared to be sneering. It countered, swinging its blade wildly. Link ducked underneath it and caught sight of a large space between the creature's legs.

"Cobal, run underneath him," he ordered.

Cobal did not hesitate to follow Link's instruction. As Cobal crawled between the Moblin's legs, Link ran forward and with one leap, planted a foot firmly on the Moblin's shield. With another leap and a rather impressive twist, he landed behind the Moblin and once again stood between it and Cobal. Before the creature could turn around, Link thrust his blade into its back several times. The Moblin let out a cry of defeat. However, before it faded into a cloud of dark malice, it turned around, gave a final, ugly sneer, and stomped its enormous foot into the flimsy wood of the bridge before disappearing completely. The force caused much of the structure to snap in half, and both sides of the bridge quickly slid toward the lava. Survival instinct took over as Link scooped up Cobal in one arm and dove toward the other side of earth. Time itself seemed to slow down as the bridge fell and burned in the lava below, with Link and Cobal soaring through the air. Link caught the rocky ground with his other hand. His body slammed into the rock, forcing a yelp of pain. Cobal slipped from under his arm, but he caught him again by the tail at the last possible second. Link winced. His arms, shoulders, and chest burned as his body was literally being stretched to its limits. The other Mogmas watched helplessly from the opposite side.

"I'm too young to die!" Cobal screamed. "Link, you gotta get us up, pal, or we're both toast… literally!"

With an exasperated shout, Link used every ounce of strength he could to fling Cobal up onto the land. Cobal, in return, grabbed Link's arm and pulled him up. Once safe, the two collapsed to the earth, trying to catch their breath.

"Wow, you really are something," Cobal said. "I can't believe we survived that."

Link simply nodded his head, feeling a bit too overwhelmed to respond otherwise. After a minute or so, he felt well enough to rise to his feet.

"The temple isn't too far off," Cobal beckoned. "The others will tunnel up another way and meet us there, and then we can get that key put back together and rescue Zelda. Let's go, time's a-wastin!"