Ch. XVI

Snowhead Struggles

When the Gorons in the Goron Shrine finally woke up, the Elder had arrived to speak to Link.

"Darmani, I am glad to see you have soothed my child's sadness. I am grateful for your help. Now, I shall assist you in clearing this blasted blizzard!", he said.

Link knew that the blizzard must have come from some temple or dungeon that had been corrupted by dark magic, and knew what to ask for.

"Do you have a temple or a dungeon nearby that has recently become filled with monsters or with a curse?", Link asked curiously. The Elder, Rhyolite, looked surprised at Link's acute guess and confirmed his suspicions. Snowhead temple, the place of worship for the Gorons, had become impossible to access. A massive blizzard had been covering the temple for more than a week!

Later, when Link was rolling towards Snowhead temple, he "looked" back at his new companions. Two gorons had been assigned to assist in the taking over of the temple. One was named Dacite, and he had an impressive stone mustache covering his upper lip. The other Goron, Granite, had a fierce demeanor, and muscles the size of barrels! Both new companions rolled behind Link as he traveled to the temple. With these new companions, and the replenishment of supplies, Link was confident that he would clear the temple before the three days were up.

When the quartet of Gorons, Link, and fairy arrived at the entrance to a wide valley, a massive blizzard was spinning around them. Link had to shout over the sound of the shrieking winds.

"Are we at the temple? Where is it?". In response, Dacite pointed to a spot inside the valley.

"Brother Darmani, the temple should be in there, but I should warn you about what happened last time.", he shouted. "Last time?", Link thought. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Dacite continuing his speech.

"The last time you came here, you were pushed off the cliffside and onto the rocks below! That is how we thought you died! This time, please try not to die!", Dacite shouted over the wind. Link nodded and looked into the valley. As he gazed into the flurry of snowflakes, he saw something brown that contrasted with the blinding white of the snow around him.

"What is that over there?", Link asked Granite. The fierce Goron looked to the spot that Link had pointed to, and his eyes opened in surprise.

'Could that be Brother Biggoron? What is he doing at the temple?"

Not knowing how to answer, Link shrugged in reply. It looked like another Goron was trying to stop the blizzard too. He looked closer, but he noticed something very strange. Biggoron was sitting in front of the temple, and he wasn't moving except for his massive chest going in and out. As Link kept on staring, he heard a rhythm to the wind whirling around him, and he let out a gasp of surprise. The enormous Goron was causing the storm with his massive exhaling!

Once Link told the two other Gorons, there was much head and chin-scratching. Neither knew why Biggoron would cause the storm that threatened the Gorons. Tatl, who had been bickering with Granite, suddenly spoke up to Link.

"Hey, "Darmani", why don't you just play the Goron lullaby to make him fall asleep? Good grief, can you use your rock-filled head for once?"

The now humbled Link pulled out his ocarina, which promptly turned into a set of drums. He cracked his knuckles with a sound like grinding boulders, and he began to play. As Link played the newly learned song, he immediately felt more at ease. By the time he had finished, his two Goron companions' eyelids were drooping dangerously. All of a sudden, the whistling wind stopped, and only one sound could be heard in the silent mountains: snoring.

Link shook his companions back awake and rolled down the thin bridge to the temple. He could clearly see the enormous Goron in front of him. "He is as tall as the entire temple!", Link thought. Granite rolled in front of Biggoron and stood up as straight as he could. He then walked over to the snoring Gorons ear and bellowed:

"Wake up you rock-brained shale eater! What are you doing here!" Biggoron woke with a start at the bellowing in his ear.

"Ah, what's going on?", Biggoron cried. He stood up and rubbed his eyes. He was as tall as the mountains around them! With some shuffling, and cursing from Granite, Biggoron moved out of the trio's way. Finally, Link could enter the icy depths of the Snowhead Temple.

Link, along with his new companions entered the temple to the sight of an empty room, with curves spikes like a ribcage decorating the walls. The group of Gorons passed through the room and walked through the long halls of the icy temple. No sound came from the large rooms they passed by, only the sound of the whispering wind and the sound of the Goron footsteps. Dacite carried a massive stone tablet that had Snowhead temple's interior carefully carved into its surface. The two Gorons native to the mountain stayed silently respectful within their hallowed halls and only spoke to tell link where to go. This was quite unlike Gorons, and this made Link nervous.

As the group turned yet another corner, they encountered a surprise. A massive lizard-like creature was huddled up against a small fire that was crackling with an orange flame. After noticing the Gorons, it snarled and left up to grab its sword. In mere moments, the lizard-creature was splattered across the wall from a mighty punch from Granite. The fierce Goron had moved so quickly that Link simply stood in surprise at the gory sight in front of him.

"Stupid Dinalfos. They should know better to be here in the mountains. They are cold-blooded! And I mean that literally. Something very strange must be going on if Dinalfos are coming so far North.", he growled. Link nodded to affirm his idea and began to walk further down the twisting hallways.

After several encounters with monsters, the group began to get warier.

"Why are all of these monsters invading our temple? This has never happened before.", Dacite growled softly. He had been a great help to Link, as he managed to slay a monster that had almost gotten the jump on him. It was the first of dozens of Black Boes that had attacked the group, and the dimly lit temple did not help their vision. After finishing rolling to the top of a wide staircase, they came to the final door of the temple. It was a massive door, large enough for two or three gorons to enter side by side. It was carved with complex geometric patterns and Goron script but had no apparent handle.

Dacite frowned as he gazed at the door.

"There is no handle, no lock, and key, how do we get in here Brother Granite?", he asked. Granite looked intently at the door, then suddenly looked down at his feet. He smiled for the first time, showing off his brick-like teeth.

"Ah, I think this is a door that was made to open in the old way. It must be a pressure door!", he exclaimed. At Link's blank look, he seemed exasperated.

"You of all people should remember these! They are all over the ruins that you used to explore when you were just a small pebble!", he explained. Link said

"Ah, I remember now.", and nodded his head, but he still had no idea of what the door did.

Granite curled himself into a ball, and he launched himself into the air with a mighty grunt, he rolled as he fell back down, and he slammed into the ground with nearly half a ton of force! As he stood back up, the door ground upward until it slid into a recess in the wall. Dacite grinned and slapped Granite heartily on the back.

"Of course it's you who remembers your history. I can remember the time that you once ate your homework as an excuse to get out of class!", he laughed.

"It wasn't my fault that the instructor chiseled our history lesson into a stone slab. I have no regrets! It was delicious!", Granite grumbled, but he had a grin on his face again.

A whoosh of cold air came from inside the room that Granite had opened, and it dampened the mood quite a bit. Link cleared his throat, and rumbled:

"Well, I think we should go see what is in there. I would bet a Dodongo Cavern rock sirloin that whatever is cursing these peaks is a giant." Link had spent enough time with the Gorons of Death mountain that he could copy some of their mannerisms and expressions and was putting them to good use in his new Goron form. With a loosening of limbs that sounded like boulders cracking and popping, the trio walked carefully-or as carefully as gorons can walk, into the final room

Upon entering the massive room, Link saw roughly carved rock walls curving to the right and left. It was very different from the rectangular stone blocks that had filled the rest of the walls of the temple. Before he could ponder too much on the question, a thundering noise came from the right, and the three temporary companions dove out of the way of… something?

The machine-and indeed it was one- that had almost trampled the trio had four legs and a pair of razor-sharp horns. It was constructed out of layers of sheet metal in different states of disrepair and had a human-like face. It had a word scrawled across its side in Goron script, and Link was surprised to see that he could read it-if just barely. It spelled out G-O-H-T. Link had a few lessons on how to speak Goron, the Gorons native tongue when he stayed with Darunia after slaying Volvagia.

"What does GOHT mean?", Link gasped, short of breath. The two gorons looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, I've heard theories about that thing for as long as I can remember. It's used to help perform an entry ritual to enter the ranks of the Goron army. From word of mouth, I have reason to believe that its name stands for Giant Oncoming Hazardous Technology. Heh, It probably stands for something else though. You've fought this guy to enter the armed Goron forces, right?.", Dacite said.

Right as he finished speaking, the trio felt hoofbeats hitting the ground like earthquakes. Goht barreled past them once more, but Link made up his mind. He curled into a ball and began to roll towards the mechanical monster. Its giant hooves kicked clods of dirt out with every step, but Link swerved out of the way of everyone that came his way. Of course, it helped that Tatl, his fairy, shrieked at him every time a clod shot past him.

As Link rolled even faster, he came head to head with the mechanical menace, and he swerved hard into its side. At his mighty slam, it swerved to the right, but still STUBBORNLY? Kept on running down the well-worn track. Link grinned in excitement. Knowing that he could hurt the mechanical monster was comforting to hear. He put on more speed, and soon he raced by his goron friends who stood in shock at the massive speed that he was going at. It was only a few moments later that Link realized what had happened. As he had concentrated on his rolling, he had somehow willed his magic from the weave of magic that was everywhere around him, and he had pushed it into his body. Now he was going at speeds that shot past the rather surprised-looking GOHT!

It was then that Link made his mistake. Surprised at the influx of magic coursing through him, he didn't realize how much of the ethereal essence he had used. Link suddenly felt exhausted as the last remnants of magic poured out of him, and his reflexes became as loose as the boulders at the tip of death mountain. He tried to turn from the wall looking in front of him, but his strength was gone, and only his momentum kept him going forward. He got closer and closer, until-CRACKK! Link found himself dazed and on the floor. His eyesight was fuzzy as he gazed at the massive GOHT barreling towards him, but he just couldn't find the strength to roll out of the way.

Suddenly, as if by magic, the running mech was slammed into a wall. Link blinked and looked on with clearer eyes as he realized what had happened. Two boulders had slammed into GOHT. Wait, not boulders… It was Granite and Dacite! Link wearily stood up as the two Gorons did their best to un-assemble the still kicking GOHT. As Link made his way to the pair, Granite slammed his fist into the metal and yanked out a shining gem from the beast's core. It was a menacing purple, but as the group of Gorons and fairy watched, it crumbled and revealed a tiny heart-shaped jewel.

Tatl was the first to speak.

"It's a heart container Link!", she called. The two Gorons lifted their eyebrows as she said Link's real name. Tatl realized what she had said, but it was too late.

"Hrggmm.", Dacite grumbled, "I knew something was wrong with you, Brother Darmani. What is going on? You have been acting strangely, and you seem to not recall much of your life here in the mountains. Now, your strange firefly is calling you Link. Who are you?". Link blinked in shock and confusion. His goron companions had found him out?

With a sigh, and grumbling of a headache, Link explained his situation as best as he could to the Gorons in front of him. He explained his quest, him meeting Darmani's ghost, and Link creating the Goron mask. There was sadness and sorrow in the two Gorons eyes when Link was finally finished, but there was a fierce determination behind it.

"You might not be Darmani, but you are certainly a Goron hero in my eyes, Brother Link.", Granite stated. Link sighed in relief, as he didn't know how the gorons would react, but he was glad that they were not angry at him.

An idea suddenly raced across Link's mind, and he put both of his hands to his head and lightly pulled. With another round of vertigo in the last few minutes, Link morphed back into his normal body and was relieved that he felt much less pain as he shrunk and his skin softened. With Link's story only affirmed by his actions, the Gorons simply nodded and began to walk away.

"We will see you at the Goron Shrine, Brother! And don't worry, your secret is safe with us!", Dacite called back.

Now alone, except for his fairy companion, Link gazed at the heart container in his hand. He carefully slipped it onto the necklace that he had retrieved from Odolwa, and he immediately felt relief fill his body. For a moment, he had the urge to hold the heart container up in victory, but he fought it down. Link shook his head and walked steadily towards the carved face of GOHT, but a faint voice caught his ear.

"Help us!", Link heard. He spun around but was not able to identify the source.

"We're up here!", the voice called again. Link peered into the darkness of the ceiling, and he was surprised to see at least a dozen fairies hanging in a cage!

"Hey!", Tatl cried, "Those are fountain fairies! They must come from the Great Fairy of Wisdom!". With a brief nod, Link unloaded his bow and arrow from his bag, aimed, and carefully shot the rope that connected the cage to the ceiling. Miraculously, he managed the shot on his first try, and the fairies escaped the cage. With a brief conversation with Tatl, the fairies flew towards the exit and out the door.

"Those stray fairies are going back to their spring, and they told me that we should expect a gift when we are done. Can we just grab that mask now?", Tatl griped. It seemed she didn't seem to be a fan of waiting around. Complying with Tatl's command, Link strode to the fallen GOHT and touched the mask it was wearing.

With a flash, he and Tatl appeared on top of a massive column in a vast, empty space. Strange bubbles floated around Link, and mist obscured the distant horizon. Through the mist walked an enormous giant, much like the first one that the pair had met, with deeply tanned skin, and a wild mane of green hair on its head and upper lip. With exacting care, the giant bellowed a single word:

"G...U...A...R...D...I...A..N...S…". Tatl and Link were speechless just long enough for the giant to slip back into the fog.

"H-hey, wait! Aren't you going to tell us what that means? Are you guardian gods?", Tatl yelled after the retreating giant. Before Tatl could get herself too worked up over the noncompliant giant, the pair appeared back inside the temple as fast as they had arrived into the strange… Where had they gone?

Shaking his head, Link scooped the mask off the mutilated mech and stuffed it into his pouch. Thankfully, the pouch had been a gift from Saria that could hold a seemingly endless amount of equipment without gaining a single ounce of weight. Otherwise, he would have had to have a horse carry… Link tried his best not to show his grief at losing Epona, but he had no time to grieve ever since he had taken on the quest of saving Termina. His breath shuddered as he took in deep breaths, trying to fight off tears as he remembered all of his memories and experiences with her.

Tatl saw Link's badly hidden grief, but did her best to pretend to ignore it. He seemed to be having a bad time, and she knew that sometimes people just wanted to be alone. After a few more moments of rest, Tatl piped up.

"Well, now we're done with two temples! Only four left to go, right?", she tried to say cheerfully. Link did his best to discreetly wipe a tear from his face, and he nodded once more. Once the duo had left the temple, it was a matter of minutes until they reached the Great Fairy Fountain of the Snowhead mountains.

Upon entering the dimly lit fountain, the two companions layed eyes on the Great Fairy of Wisdom. She was languidly floating in the air, but when she noticed Link, her eyes perked up.

"Oh, it's you! I was wondering when you would finally show up. I've got a new prize for you.". The Great Fairy had begun talking excitedly, but her voice shifted to a more sultry tone. Link gazed uncomprehendingly while Tatl blushed at the Great Fairy's words.

"Oh Great Fairy, please bestow an appropriate gift to my friend, Link.", Tatl said. She glared pointedly at the Great Fairy when she said appropriate and coughed once.

With one more flirtatious smirk, the Great Fairy reached a hand out into the air and wove back and forth in a pattern. With a final swish of her hand, she blew a kiss towards Link, and green light enveloped him. Link Suddenly felt his connection to the Weave of magic increase by a huge amount! He was aware of every inch of his body, and his senses seemed to sharpen as magic flowed through his body.

Link could barely remember thanking the Great Fairy as he left soon afterward. His mind seemed to have filled with cotton as his magic stores expanded, and he knew he would have a headache later. Only with a reminder from Tatl did he place the Goron mask back on his face. His body stretched and contorted, and a few seconds later he had turned back into his bulky Goron form. And not a moment too soon.

"Brother Darmani! You have done it!", a voice bellowed.