"How much longer 'til we reach Rudania?" Linkle asked. From the tone of her voice, it was clear she was exhausted and sick of walking.
"It's still quite a ways," Link replied, taking out his map to confirm. They had just exited the canyon where they fought the Igneo Talus, and they seemed to be about half way between their destination and the place they'd camped out the night before.
"Ughhh…"
Breen laughed. "Relax, kid. The walking's the easy part."
"Yeah. How in the hell did you become an adventurer without getting used to a little walking?" Fin asked, sounding mildly amused.
"We've always had a horse for long distances up until this point," Link explained.
"Ah," Fin said. "Can't take them everywhere, though."
"Horses die," Russ pointed out. "Often at the worst times. Get used to it."
"You're a cheery fellow, aren'tcha?" Linkle shot an annoyed look at the bearded adventurer, but he merely grunted in response.
"Fear not, young lady," Gaile said, lightly placing her hand on Linkle's shoulder. "It may seem difficult now, but like all things in life, it gets easier the more you do it."
"You mean like fucking?" Linkle quipped.
The priestess removed her hand. "My word," she said scandalously. Breen and Fin laughed. Russ and Link grunted disapprovingly.
Link looked back at the map. "Well, it looks like there's a mining settlement just past that bridge up ahead," he said, pointing to a dark iron bridge spanning over a river of lava a short distance down the road. "Maybe we can stop and rest there for a bit."
"I suppose we could take a break for some food," Breen agreed. "Maybe we can trade some of these rupees."
"Gorons eat rocks," Fin pointed out. "What exactly are you hoping to buy there?"
"They eat other stuff, too," Gaile said. "Besides, we still have supplies left over from when we left Kakariko."
"Well we're stopping either way," Linkle declared. "I gotta get off my feet for a bit."
"I'm not gonna carry you."
"I didn't ask you to!"
After crossing the bridge, they could see the road up ahead led to the open gate of a low stone wall. Within the walls, a couple plumes of smoke were rising into the air.
"Looks like they're cooking something," Link said. "Do they need to cook rocks?" However, when he glanced at the others, he could see serious looks on everyone but Linkle's faces. "What?" he asked.
"That doesn't look like smoke from cooking fires," Russ said.
"Perhaps a building caught fire?" Gaile suggested optimistically.
"Don't know," Russ replied. "Let's investigate."
Link wasn't sure what was so suspicious about smoke and fire on Death Mountain. It would be surprising if they could go even an hour without seeing any.
But then again, there is a dragon on the loose...
When they got closer to the settlement, they could see the gates were not open, but rather they had been knocked down. Large slabs of the stone that should have been blocking the way were scattered on the ground.
"Figures," Russ grunted. Everyone drew their weapons, ready to fight in case they found anything on the other side of the walls.
"What did this? The dragon?" Linkle asked quietly as they entered the settlement.
"Dragons don't need to bust down gates, kid," Fin pointed out.
"Maybe a Dodongo, then?" she asked, sounding a little hopeful.
The settlement was a total mess. There were only a few buildings that looked to be sleeping quarters for miners and storage sheds for equipment, but many of them had busted walls or smoking roofs.
Unfortunately, they found no one alive. Instead, they found several dead bodies scattered throughout the area. Some were Gorons wearing mining helmets, others were Hylians dressed like adventurers. There were also Lizalfos among the bodies, giving away what kind of monsters were responsible for the attack.
"By the gods," Gaile said mournfully upon seeing the carnage. She stepped over to an adventurer who was lying with his back against one of the buildings and put two fingers to his neck.
"Anything?" Breen asked.
Gaile shook her head. She put her hand to his chest and saw it was covered in blood. "He was stabbed."
"It was those Lizalfos," Russ said, pointing to one of the dead monsters on the other side of the encampment. "Cunning bastards. Would be easier if it was a Dodongo."
Link glanced at his sister. She didn't appear to have any of her usual monster-hunting exuberance. She just looked upset. Wanting to comfort her, Link put his shield away so he could put his hand on her back.
"We need to find the monsters who did this," she said quietly.
"I know," Link agreed.
Breen sighed unhappily. "Alright. Gaile, you can get started on sending their spirits. The rest of us will look for any survivors."
"Right," Gaile said with a nod. She then began making her rounds, going from body to body, waving her glowing rod over them while whispering her prayers.
Everyone else split up, but Link chose to stick with his sister. As they searched, they found several more Gorons inside one of the buildings and another Hylian outside of it, but still no living Children of Nayru.
Next to the Hylian corpse was a dead Lizalfos. Its scales were different shades of green, and both its hands and feet had sharp claws. The monster also wore an iron scale cuirass with one spiky red shoulder pad. There was a sword of simple design on the ground next to it, but the sword through its neck was of Hylian design.
"We don't have these in Necluda," Linkle remarked, looking down at the monster. She would normally be more excited to see a new monster, but this time her words sounded hollow.
"Do you… want to leave?" Link asked. "We can let the others handle this, and just go on ahead to Rudania."
Linkle shook her head. "I want to help," she said. "I think… something should be done for them, you know?" She wasn't being particularly eloquent, but Link could tell she felt strongly about this. She didn't want to hunt these monsters just for the sake of hunting them, or even for a quest. In her mind, it was just something she needed to do.
Link nodded. Looking over the bodies on the ground, Link guessed the adventurer had probably killed the monster, before being killed by another one. Although her hair was brown and she appeared to be older than either of them, he still couldn't help seeing his sister in her.
This could've been us…
Continuing on their search, the siblings eventually came to the entrance to the mines. It was a gigantic opening in the side of the mountain, lined with wooden support beams. It was dark inside, but they could see more bodies further in. "They went in here," Linkle said with certainty. "There are more of them."
Link was about to say she didn't know that for sure, but he knew she was right. If the Gorons and adventurers had won the fight, there would have been survivors there to ask about it. "Alright," Link said in acknowledgement. "Let's go get the others."
They regrouped with the other adventurers near the gate where they had come in. Gaile was kneeling on the ground a few yards away from everyone else, apparently giving one last prayer. The other three of them were waiting quietly, so Link and Linkle joined them. Russ gave them a questioning look. Link shook his head to indicate they hadn't found anyone either.
A white glow emitted from Gaile for a moment. Once it dissipated, she stood up and turned around. "I have done what I can for them," she said.
"Good," Russ said. "Last thing they need after what they've been through is to end up as Poes haunting the mountain for eternity."
"Anyone find anything?" Fin asked, tapping his spear against the ground and shifting uneasily.
"There were more bodies in the mines," Link said. "I think we should check in there for any survivors."
"Or more Lizalfos." Russ hefted his two-handed sword up against his shouldguard, looking ready to continue.
"That's a good idea," Breen agreed. "Russ, Fin, you wanna lead the way?"
"You got it," Fin said, marching on ahead. Russ nodded and followed him, as did the rest of the party.
When they stepped into the entrance of the mine, it became immediately apparent that they would be walking blindly within a few minutes. However, Gaile tapped her staff against the ground twice, and the end of it lit up brighter than any torch Link had ever held.
The gifts of the Goddess sure are convenient.
"Are we sure this is safe?" the priestess asked, looking up at the support beams lining the cave ceiling.
"Gorons are expert miners," Russ said. "We'll be fine so long as nothing's damaged."
The party followed a minecart track to start with. While the entrance to the cave was gigantic, it soon narrowed to a straight path. However, as it had been built for Gorons, it was still wide enough for at least four Hylians to walk side by side through it.
The path eventually widened once again, opening up into a massive cavern. In the center of the cavern was a raised, earthen platform. The minecart track continued over a bridge leading onto the platform, at which point it diverged into three more paths. One path continued forward and the other two went off to the left or right, each path crossing another bridge. The track going forward continued through the open mouth of an impossibly large monster skull, its open jaw held aloft by chains bolted to the ceiling. Below the bridges and surrounding the central platform was a lake of fiery lava. Link could tell his gear was protecting him from the heat, but it was still far from pleasant, especially with how unclean the air was.
"Well, fuck," Fin said with anoyance. "Which way do we go now?"
"Should we split up?" Linkle asked.
"No."
Linkle flinched as all four of the veteran adventurers responded to her in unison. "Okay, okay…"
Fin laughed, clapping her on the back. "Sorry, kid. One of the rules ya gotta learn early about adventuring is you never split the party."
"We travel as a group for a reason," Russ pointed out.
"Right. I knew that," Linkle said, taking a step closer to her brother. "We never split up."
"Unfortunately," Link said dryly. Linkle responded by whacking him in the stomach with the back of her hand. The strike bounced harmlessly off of the leather, but she didn't seem to care.
"Well, maybe we should…" Breen began to give a suggestion, but she trailed off as she noticed something off in the distance. The others followed her gaze and spotted what she'd seen. Two Lizalfos had come out of the giant skull's mouth. The two of them moved with a hopping motion, as if they were jumping over something with every step.
"I guess that saves us some trouble," Link pointed out.
"Let's move," Russ declared.
The six of them readied their weapons and hurriedly crossed the bridge. They reached the cavern's central platform at the same time as the two reptilian monsters. The Lizalfos froze once they were face to face, making sounds of surprise. Both of them were clutching a pile of shiny objects to their chest. One of them accidentally spilled some of what they were carrying. A purple rupee rolled across the ground, coming to a stop at Link's feet.
What?
He had expected the monsters to be armed, but instead, both Lizalfos were carrying a huge pile of money for some reason.
Guess that makes this easier…
Fin was the fastest, leaping forward and stabbing at the one on the right with his spear. The monster screamed in panic and jumped to the side.
"Look out!" Linkle shouted, running up next to him. The Lizalfos that Fin had attacked spun in place, whipping its tail around at him. Linkle stepped in and blocked it with her short blade, but the sound Link heard was metal against metal. There was an iron axehead slotted onto the end of the monster's tail, which Linkle had just barely managed to protect the other adventurer from.
"Watch yourselves, they're armed," Link warned the others.
Both Lizalfos leapt backwards to the other end of the platform. They waited there, bending at the knee, ready to jump again at any time. As if in warning, they waved their tails back and forth menacingly. One was tipped with an axehead, while the other was tipped with a spiked metal ball. The monsters' forked tongues darted out of their mouths as they spoke to one another in a screachy, indecipherable language, but from the way they eyed the exits and continued to clutch their haul of undoubtedly stolen rupees, it was clear they were more interested in escaping than in fighting.
"Where'd they get all those rupees?" Link asked.
"It's a mine, genius," Linkle replied.
"Yeah, but those aren't raw gems," Link pointed out. He bent down to pick up the purple rupee that one of the Lizalfos had dropped. "See? This is proper Hyrulean currency."
"We'll figure that out later," Fin said. "Breen, ice the one on the right. Linkle, shoot the other one when it tries to run."
"With pleasure."
Breen moved to the front of the group and raised her staff. A blast of icy wind burst forth, freezing the monster in place. As Fin had predicted, the other one shrieked in fear and leapt for the bridge to the left. Linkle aimed her crossbow and took the shot. The bolt pierced its leg, causing the Lizalfos to fall on the bridge. It dropped the pile of rupees it was holding, causing much of the treasure to roll off the edge, dropping into the lava below.
Dammit.
Link was closest, so he ran to the injured Lizalfos. When he reached it, the monster thrashed about wildly, unable to stand up but perfectly able to swing the spikeball at the end of its tail. Link swiped at it with his sword, chopping off the end of the tail. The monster let out a wail, and in its struggle, it accidentally rolled over the edge of the bridge, joining the rupees in the pit of lava.
"Oof." Link winced, turning away from the sight.
"Nice work, Brother," Linkle congratulated him, appearing by his side.
"Careful," he warned. "Pick up the rest of the rupees before they fall in, too."
After collecting all of the rupees that had been dropped on the bridge, the party gathered around the frozen Lizalfos, taking the rupees out of its arms as well. "What should we do with this one?" Fin asked.
"Just kill it and take the spoils," Russ suggested. "Not like we can interrogate it."
Fin shrugged, then drove his spear through the frozen monster's head. Ice cracked off of it when he removed his weapon. He and the others then proceeded to take the Lizalfos's horn, fangs, and tail.
"Is anyone injured?" Gaile asked.
"We're fine," Fin replied, divvying up the rupees six ways. "I say we go the way these two came from," he suggested. "Where there's rupees, there's people. There might be some Gorons who still need help."
Gaile smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea." However, as she gazed up at the giant skeleton beast's mouth, she seemed to have second thoughts about their chosen path. "Um, the Blood Moon isn't tonight, is it?"
"Nah," Breen replied. "It's comin' up, though." She seemed to realize why the priestess had asked. "Oh, jeez. Can you imagine a Stalcreature that big?"
Linkle perked up at that. "The Hero of Twilight defeated a Staldragon in the Arbiter's Grounds," she said, never missing the opportunity to bring up one of the Heroes.
"That's not a dragon skull," Russ said, sheathing his claymore. "That's a Dodongo skull."
"What the hell? No way," Fin said, shaking her head. "They don't get that big, do they?"
"Technically, most scaled creatures keep growing until they die," Breen said. "So they'd get that big as long as they lived long enough, I guess."
"Hm. Maybe that's why dragons get so big," Link mused. "They live longer 'cause they're harder to kill."
"Well the one further up the mountain ain't gonna be living much longer if we have anything to say about it," Linkle declared.
"We'll deal with that when we come to it." Russ began walking across the bridge leading into the giant Dodongo skull. "Let's deal with the monsters here first." Sharing his priorities, Link and the others followed him.
The next few areas they wandered through did not have anyone in them. Some of the tunnels were open and cavernous, others were tight and cramped. Minecart tracks led everywhere, and complex machines and heavy lifting equipment could be found in some of the larger areas. Rivers of flowing lava were not uncommon, and small monsters like Kesse and Torch Slugs gave them only minor trouble.
However, after some searching, the party could eventually hear the unmistakable sounds of a battle. There were metallic clunks and angry warcries emanating from somewhere up ahead.
"You hear that?" Fin asked.
"Yeah," Russ agreed. "Come on."
The six of them ran to the end of the tunnel, which opened into a larger area with a paved floor. There were four Gorons there, each of whom was wearing armor and carrying a gigantic, club-like sword.
They don't look like miners, do they?
The Gorons were fighting against half a dozen Lizalfos armed with swords and spears, some of which had weapons on their tails like the ones they'd seen earlier.
"Goron brothers!" Gaile shouted, announcing their presence. "We come to aid you!"
Way to ruin our element of surprise…
One of the Gorons crushed a Lizalfos beneath the weight of his sword, then stopped to glance in their direction. He seemed pleased to see them. "Gratitude, young warriors! Come and join the fun!"
Linkle grinned. "Well, you heard him. Let's go!"
The ensuing battle did not last long. The Gorons likely could have handled it on their own, but the addition of six Hylian adventurers added a numbers advantage as well. In the end, one Lizalfos was cleaved in half by Russ's claymore, one was simultaneously stabbed by Fin and frozen by Breen, one ended up with Linkle's sword through its head, and two more were crushed by those mighty Goron weapons. The adventurers suffered only a few minor injuries, which were easily healed by Gaile.
The Goron who had spoken to them when they arrived removed his helmet and laughed. "Well fought, brothers! It was an honor bashing lizard skulls alongside you," he said joyously.
"Good to meet you," Russ said. "I trust you won't mind us collecting the spoils?" Link could tell he was hoping to get at least that much as payment.
"By all means," the Goron said, gesturing to the broken bodies of his enemies. "We must hurry, though. There are more Lizalfos left to crush over in the vault."
"The vault?" Link asked, immediately suspecting that was where the two fleeing Lizalfos had gotten all of those rupees.
"More?" Linkle asked. She was still yet to put away her sword, and Link could tell she was eager for another opportunity to use it.
"Yes. We've been hit hard down here, I'm afraid," the Goron explained. "Join us as soon as you are able, brothers. It's just down this tunnel and to the right." With that, the Goron put his helmet back on, and he and his companions curled up on the ground and rolled away.
"Gather the spoils quickly," Russ ordered. "We're following them next."
After gathering everything of value from the dead monsters, Link and the other adventurers hurried through the tunnel to join the Gorons. When they rounded the corner, they found themselves in an even more spacious tunnel. The ground was still paved, and there were statues and torches lining the walls. At the other end, they could see a great metal door which was currently ajar.
"So that's the vault," Link said, knowing few other things would have doors like that.
"What's it doing in a mine?" Linkle asked.
"Most Goron settlements are underground," Russ explained as they made their way past the statues. "To them, having a mine connected to one of their cities is no different than us having a farm or a fishing lake next to one of ours."
"Oh, right. The whole 'rock-eating' thing. Gods, that's weird," Linkle commented.
As they got closer, they could once again hear battle sounds. The door was barely open, but when the adventurers went to push it open further so they could more easily enter, they found it much too heavy to move. Nevertheless, they slipped inside.
The scene in the vault was chaotic. The room looked like a massive pit filled with a lake of treasure. Gorons, a few Hylians, and a great number of Lizalfos were running around ankle-deep in rupees, gold, and assorted artifacts. Some Lizalfos burrowed into the piles of treasure as if it were dirt, popping out for surprise attacks on their opponents. Several Lizalfos with wings were flying through the air as well.
Lining the edges of the pit, stretching from the floor to the high ceiling, were little nooks carved into the stone walls. These openings were filled with treasure chests, suits of armor, and other rarities, along with just enough room for a Goron to stand. Stone ladders appeared to be the intended way to reach these treasure areas, although some of them had been knocked over in the fight. At the far end of the room was another giant Dodongo skull, although it was significantly smaller than the one the adventurers had passed through earlier. There was also a small stone statue atop the skull, appearing to depict the one who had killed it.
All the adventurers, even the priestess, stopped in their tracks at the sight of so much treasure. It became easy to understand why those Lizalfos had simply grabbed as much as they could carry and ran for it. Link was certain of one thing.
We're gonna get a huge reward for this.
"Looks like kind of a free-for-all in here," Fin commented, observing the battle. "What say we join?"
Linkle was the first to enter the fray. She pulled out her crossbow and shot one of the winged Lizalfos out of the air, hitting it in the left wing and causing it to plummet into the treasure pile. "That was an Aeralfos!" she pointed out excitedly to no one in particular.
Link was glad to see her eager attitude had returned to her. Back outside of the mine, the aftermath of the battle they'd stumbled upon seemed to have dampened her spirits.
Yet somehow being in the battle itself is exciting?
But he had no time to question his sister now. As the others rushed off to help the Gorons and the other Hylians, Link stuck close to Linkle. A Goron several yards away picked up a Lizalfos and tossed it. The monster landed near them and rolled over by their feet. Link was quick to thrust his sword down into it, and almost in sync, his sister did the same.
"That one counts as mine," Linkle said.
"In your dreams, Elle."
They weren't given much time to argue. An Aeralfos swooped down from behind them, kicking Link in the back of the head. He fell forward into the treasure pile. Linkle shrieked, then pulled out her crossbow, shooting at her brother's assailant. She missed, but knelt down to check on Link. "Brother, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," he replied. "What really hurts is not being able to pocket all these rupees." As he spoke, he lifted himself up and dusted himself off, knocking rupees out of the folds in his leather armor.
"Well, at least if you die here, you'll get your dream death of dying on a pile of money," Linkle quipped.
Link chuckled at that, but did not deny it. Lifting his head up, he saw Lizalfos climbing into the openings in the walls. Some of them would take the first valuable thing they could find and try to escape, only to run into a Goron intent on stopping them. However, some were acting odd. One of the lizard monsters opened a treasure chest, leafed through its contents, then chucked a pair of expensive-looking golden bracelets behind it before moving on to the next one. Several others were exhibiting similar behavior, focusing on treasure-hunting rather than fighting, but also being oddly picky about the treasure.
What the hell are they doing?
He turned to his sister, intending to share his observation with her. However, his thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a giant, spiked metal ball hurtling towards them. "Look out!" Diving forward, he tackled his sister to the ground. The spikeball landed past them with a menacing thud. When the two of them scrambled back to their feet, they saw the metal ball was at the end of a chain, which its owner yanked on to retrieve it.
"What the hell?" Link said aloud when he saw what was pulling on the spikeball. With its large size, heavy build, hunched-over posture, and full plate armor, he thought it was a Goron at first. But then he noticed the scales on the few exposed parts of its body, and the horns on the sides of its head that weren't attached to its helmet. "Elle, what the fuck are we fighting now?!"
Linkle appeared to be that odd mix of terrified and excited. "A Martelfos," she said, readying her sword. "I've read about these ones."
"That's great and all, but how do we-?" Link and Linkle dove in opposite directions as the spikeball hurtled towards them again. As he got back up, Link saw a Goron with a large club-sword approaching their attacker. "Elle, get back," Link instructed. "We should let the Gorons handle this one."
"No," Linkle said. She backed up as she was told to, but she switched to her crossbow, preparing to keep fighting. She loosed a bolt, but the monster didn't seem to notice as it bounced harmlessly off of its helmet.
"Elle, leave it to the Goron-"
"Yahhhh!" The Goron raised his sword and charged, but he did not get far. The Martelfos swung the chain and released it, sending the giant spikeball straight into the Goron's chest. As big as the Goron was, he was knocked backwards, causing him to roll down into the treasure pile.
Link sighed and stepped in closer to his sister, holding up his shield despite knowing it would do nothing against a weapon like that. He quickly glanced around the room, seeing if he could spot Breen. Magic would probably do better against an enemy such as this, but the sorceress was busy fighting with a fire-breathing Lizalfos several yards away from them.
"You said you've read about these ones, right?" he asked Linkle, hoping to draw on her knowledge of monsters. "How do you kill it?"
"Um. Uhh…" Linkle smacked the palm of her hand against her forehead a few times, as if trying to jog her memory. A moment later, the two of them were forced to dodge to the sides once again as the bulky Lizalfos swung its ball and chain at them.
"Elle!"
"The tail!" Linkle cried as they got back up and regrouped.
"What?"
"The way their armor is designed, the back of it has more gaps than the front. There's a big one by the tail, and two more under the arms."
Link could see where this was going, and he didn't like it. But, he knew his sister was not going to back down from this fight, and at least the other monsters were leaving them alone, probably too smart to get near this one while it was swinging that big metal ball around.
Unlike us.
"Alright. I'll hold its attention. You get behind it," Link ordered. "Move in as soon as it throws the spikeball."
"Right," Linkle agreed with a nod, putting her crossbow away. Then she took off running, trying not to lose her balance in the sea of treasure as she ran around the circumference of the circle, outside the range of the monster's ball and chain.
Once Linkle was almost in position, Link took a few steps closer to the Martelfos, then banged his sword against his shield. "Come on!" he shouted, hoping to goad it into attacking.
The monster grunted, accepting his challenge. Letting go of the chain, it sent the giant metal ball hurtling straight at Link. He tripped as he frantically moved to get out of the way, but he remained safe as the spikeball smashed into the ground behind him. Hoping Linkle could get to it in time, he looked and saw she was already running at its back, sword drawn.
Will that even be enough to pierce its scales?
However, that did not end up being the problem. As if expecting the attack from behind, the Martelfos pulled the chain back part of the way, then suddenly yanked it and stepped to the side, sending the spikeball at Linkle.
"Elle!"
"Oh, fuck!" Linkle, too, was just barely able to dodge the attack. The metal ball missed her, instead slamming into the massive Dodongo skull that was on display, cracking its jaw bone. The force of the blow also knocked down the statue that was on top of it, sending it crashing onto the pile of rupees below.
The Martelfos looked at Linkle, then flinched and made a noise like it was just realizing something. It then charged towards her, which caused Link to panic.
"No!" Link cried, taking off running. The monster was big, so he hoped it would be slow. If he could get to it in time, he could stab it through one of the weak points in its armor before it got to Linkle.
"Ahh!" Linkle shrieked, running out of the way. Strangely, the monster did not follow her. Instead, it ran straight for the statue that had been knocked over.
Link stopped at a safe distance. Linkle ran back and nearly collapsed against him, panting from the sprinting she'd just done.
What the hell is it doing?" Link asked.
"What's what doing?"
The Martelfos bent over and grabbed something off of the statue. Lifting one of its arms, it held up a small wooden bow. Then it let out a roar. It was louder than Link expected, and both he and his sister had to cover their ears. Much of the fighting in the room stopped, and many other Lizalfos began screeching and roaring. An Aeralfos swooped down and took the bow from the Martelfos, then flew back towards the vault's exit. Most of the other monsters acted similarly, grabbing whatever treasure they could get their scaly hands on and attempting to flee from the Gorons and Hylians they were fighting.
As a Lizalfos tried to run past the siblings, Link clotheslined it with his sword. Linkle took out her crossbow and shot one of the other runners in the back.
"What the hell is happening?" Linkle called out over the noise.
"I don't-"
The Martelfos roared again, except this time, it was to announce that it was charging. Holding the ball and chain in its arms and bent over so its horns and helmet would ram anything in its way, it ran forward as fast as it could. Link and Linkle got out of its way and watched in awe as it trampled a few of its own companions in its haste. None of the other Hylians or Gorons dared to get in its way either.
Soon, every Lizalfos had either escaped or been killed as they tried to leave. Link stood where he was, dumbfounded over what they had just witnessed. However, the Gorons seemed to view it as a victory, raising their arms and cheering. Many of the adventurers joined in as well.
"Are the two of you unharmed?" Gaile approached the siblings, stepping over a dead Lizalfos with a squeamish look on her face.
"We're fine," Linkle replied, still slightly out of breath.
The other members of Gaile's party regrouped with them soon after. "Glad to see you all made it," Fin declared, resting his spear against his shoulder and looking rather triumphant. "Guess we sent the monsters running, huh?"
"...I don't think so." Link was staring at the toppled statue. Before elaborating, he trudged over to it, kicking gold and jewelry out of his way as he did.
"What d'you mean?" Breen asked as the others followed behind him.
"Didn't you see the big one that roared?" Link asked.
"They all roared," Russ pointed out.
"Yeah, but the Martelfos was the one that started it," Link explained. "You saw it too, right, Elle?"
"Yep," his sister agreed. "We were fighting it before it roared and ran away. We would've beaten it, too."
"Hmm." Link was pretty sure they were going to lose, but he didn't bother saying it. When they reached the statues, he examined it more closely. "The Martelfos grabbed a bow off of this statue after it fell off the skull," he said, looking up at the giant Dodongo skull. "It handed it off to one of the winged ones, and then they all took off."
"That is certainly a strange turn of events," Gaile said. "Could you lift up the statue, please? I am curious who it depicts."
Seeing it up close, it was clear that the statue was of a human, not a Goron. But, as it was currently face down in a pile of treasure, its identity was unclear. Link and Linkle each grabbed one of its shoulders and pulled it upright. Once it was standing up, they stepped back to view it.
"A lot shorter than I was expecting," Link admitted.
"It's a kid," Breen said. "Who is that? Why was it on top of the skull?"
The statue appeared to be a young Hylian boy. He was wearing a simple tunic and had a small sword and shield on his back. He stood in a fighting stance, and was holding a bomb over his head with a look of fierce determination on his face.
The sound of rustling treasure alerted the adventurers to others approaching them from behind. "Aw, they knocked over Buster."
Turning around, Link saw three Gorons. The one who had spoken looked upset, and he was glancing between the statue and the top of the skull, as if thinking about how he would get it back up there.
"Hmm…" The Goron standing in the middle was a few feet taller than the others. He wore heavy iron boots, gauntlets, and a helmet, and he appeared to have metal plates bolted onto the rocky exterior of his back and shoulders like an unremoveable suit of armor.
"Buster?" Linkle asked. "Who's that?"
The other shorter Goron chuckled. "Well, don't you know? This is the legendary Dodongo Buster!" he declared. "A brave young fairy child who ventured forth from the forest two hundred years ago to aid the Goron people."
"The way the story goes, one of the largest of our mines had become overrun with Dodongos, including this King Dodongo right here," the first Goron explained, gesturing up to the giant skull. "But the Dodongo Buster suddenly appeared to slay the beasts and save our people from starvation. He became the sworn brother of the great Chief Darunia, for whom Rudania is named."
"Don't they teach you this stuff in school?" the other Goron asked.
"I must have slept through that class," Link said. "And she never finished school," he added, tapping his sister on the shoulder.
"Shut it," Linkle replied. "Wait. You said he was a fairy child? Another Kokiri? Like the one who gave us this quest?"
"Of course," one of the shorter Gorons said. "The Kokiri are friends to the Gorons. They make the most beautiful music. I've visited their forest three times now."
"We have been there as well," Gaile said. "It is truly an enchanting place."
"Ugh," Linkle moaned. "We have got to go there," she said, turning to her brother pleadingly.
"We can go there next," he promised, even though he was not sure he would be up for another journey that was quite so long after this one.
The giant Goron took a few steps forward, supporting himself with his knuckles pressing into the ground. The adventurers parted down the middle to let him through. Bending down, he took the statue in hand and turned it around, examining it. "Where is the Dodongo Buster's bow?" he asked.
"The Lizalfos took it," Link replied, glad to be returning to the matter at hand. His curiosity had been piqued, and he was hoping to find out why the monsters might want to steal this Kokiri hero's bow.
"Ah. Brave Hylian adventurers, this brother is called Darongo. He is the guardian of this treasure hold," one of the other Gorons said, belatedly introducing the bigger one.
"Yes…" the treasure guardian replied, still turning the statue over in his giant hands as if searching for damage. "This incursion has been most disturbing. It will take me forever to record all that has been stolen from us."
"Why would they take this bow of his?" Russ inquired. "Is it of any value?"
"It is a historic artifact," Darongo explained. "The Dodongo Buster himself gave it to Darunia."
Linkle gasped loud enough to draw everyone's attention to herself. "That was the Hero of Twilight's bow!" she said so excitedly that her voice was high pitched and cracking.
"What?" Link asked. "Why would it belong to the Hero of Twilight? He just said it belonged to someone else."
"But the Hero of Twilight borrowed it," Linkle quickly explained. "When he came to Eldin to retrieve a piece of the Fused Shadow, the Gorons lent him a bow that once belonged to a hero of the past. He used it to defeat Chief Darbus, who had been corrupted by the Fused Shadow."
"But monsters wouldn't give a shit about that," Fin replied. "Is it valuable? Powerful? Perhaps enchanted in some way?"
The giant Goron shook his head. "Not to my knowledge. It was a simple wooden bow, albeit of a rather unique design."
"Odd," Breen said, putting her hand to her chin. "Well, it must've been a coincidence that they left when they did, then," she decided. "They realized the fight was lost, so they took whatever they could get their hands on and ran. The bow just happened to be close by."
"But the Martelfos ran through an ocean of gold and rupees to get to it," Link said, not seeing how Breen's explanation made sense.
The sorceress shrugged. "The bow was on a statue that was kept higher up, like the more valuable treasures," she said. "The monster probably assumed it was more valuable than the loose change on the floor, even if it didn't understand the historical significance."
Link scratched his head. "I guess…"
"What were the Lizalfos doing here, anyway?" Fin asked, tilting his head up at the Gorons.
Linkle gasped excitedly. "They weren't here for themselves. They were collecting treasure for the dragon," she declared. "Lizalfos worship them as gods. And dragons like to hoard treasure."
"That is probable, unfortunately," Darongo agreed, nodding his disproportionately small head. Turning around, he faced the room. "Hylian adventurers!" he shouted, getting the attention of everyone else in the vault. "I understand you all came here to hunt a dragon. I am giving you a secondary task. Return the treasures that have been stolen from my people. I will see that you are suitably rewarded."
A cheer went up as the various adventuring parties around the vault shouted their agreement.
Linkle grabbed her brother's arm and bounced excitedly on her feet. "This quest just keeps getting better!" she said. "We must retrieve the Hero's bow at once."
Darongo lowered his head. "I suppose you have all earned something already for aiding in our defense," he said, turning to the other Gorons. "Brothers, distribute a modest sum of rupees amongst our Hylian guests. Then return to taking inventory."
"Yes, brother," the two of them said, pounding a fist against their chests.
After collecting their reward, the six adventurers left the Goron vault and returned to the mines, heading back the way they came.
"Looks like we have even more reason to hunt that dragon now," Russ stated. "And we're behind schedule, especially if there were other parties ahead of us that didn't get sidetracked here at the mines."
"We'd best hurry, then," Breen agreed. "Let's head to Rudania and see if we can get the latest information on the dragon's whereabouts."
