Chapter 9: The Magma Cavern
By the time Link reached the base of the staircase, he found himself more than he was in the crater. Whatever he was heading to, it had to be much, much hotter than the crater itself; even with his Goron Tunic to protect him from the worst of the heat, Link felt ready to pass out. It was then he realized that he must've been traversing deep into the depths of Death Mountain, below the surface of the crater, and towards the fiery heart of the volcano itself. And naturally, it was certain to get even hotter as he continued. Still, whatever Link faced in this place would be worth it as long as he found Darunia and got his hands on another Elemental Jewel. And considering his location, he figured it would more than likely be the Jewel of Fire.
The chamber at the foot of the staircase was fairly small and contained nothing but a barred door straight ahead and two small trenches on either side of the room. Above the door there was an eye switch. However, this one was of a sort Link had never seen before. It appeared to be rusted over like the ones Link had seen in the Death Forest, but instead of the normal rusty gold color, it was enveloped in a dark grayish blue. Link merely smiled upon noticing it.
"Heh, I think I know exactly what to do here," he opined confidently.
With that, he produced his Guardian's Bow and brought an arrow to his bowstring. Using the new power Daphnes had given him, Link transformed it into a Sun Arrow and let it soar into the eye switch. The strange, dark grayish hue vanished and the switch activated instantly. Link heard a creaking sound followed by a strange trembling, and turned to see what looked like two floodgates within the trenches rising. Then, the rumbling grew louder and the room even hotter, which Link didn't even think was possible, as lava began to flow to the opposite side of the chamber. The bars on the barricaded door retreated soon after, allowing Link to move forward.
"Am I bright, or what?" Link bragged aloud with a laugh.
"Don't flatter yourself," Navi replied. "We've still got a long way to go and who knows what else will happen."
"True. I wasn't really being serious anyway. This room was simply that easy to figure out, especially compared to what I've seen so far."
Link then proceeded through the door, curious about what he would be up against next. Before he could even begin to explore the next room, however, he found himself standing face to face with the head of a massive dragon. Reacting quickly, thinking he'd just run into Volvagia's roommate, Link rolled to one side and had nearly released an arrow when he realized the dragon was made of stone.
"Smooth," Navi snickered. "It takes a real dragon to scare most people."
"Shut up," Link fired back.
Calmer, but no less embarrassed, Link examined the "dragon" more closely. It turned out to be just a dragon's head, albeit one as big as an entire real dragon, protruding from the wall straight ahead. Even its teeth had been carved out of solid rock stalactites and stalagmites. Idly wondering which were the stalactites and which were the stalagmites, Link peered into its open mouth and saw a small pedestal deep inside. On either side of the head were hands, or whatever dragons had at the ends of their arms, carved from stone bearing claws of stone that had been carved to be as sharp as the real thing. Despite knowing that the dragon was only a carving, Link couldn't help shuddering.
"For a second there, I thought I was looking at Volvagia's cousin or roommate or something," he opined, recalling the vicious dragon he fought in the Fire Temple during the dark future and giving the much too realistic statue a wide berth.
"I was almost fooled myself. Whoever carved that is one skilled sculptor," Navi agreed. "And must not mind heat much for that matter."
"Yeah. …Hey, there's a stone tablet over there in the middle of the floor," Link replied, pointing to a large square stone sitting in the center of the room. "Let's go check it out."
Navi wasn't hesitant to follow as Link rushed over to the tablet and carefully read it. Unfortunately, its text wasn't exactly encouraging. It read:
Within this Magma Cavern lies the jewel of flames
Burning with the sacred light of the gods
If ever this flow of peace shall be disturbed
The mountain's rage will consume all
"Oh no…" Link uttered. "I'm no expert on deciphering stuff like this, but I think I know what this tablet is telling us."
"W-What?" Navi stammered, already knowing it the answer was not pleasant.
"The Jewel of Fire must have once been displayed inside the mouth of the stone dragon head," Link explained, pointing to the empty pedestal. "However, it's not there anymore. That could be the reason Death Mountain is now enveloped in endless chaos. I bet this cavern was built to house the jewel, and that the jewel's power regulated the activity inside the mountain. That would explain why Death Mountain's eruptions were, well, never anything to worry about. At least, not in Kakariko and Goron City. Now, since the jewel is missing and I'll bet my hat it's in the hands of the enemy. If we don't recover the jewel, the mountain could violently erupt if we don't hurry!"
"Ah!" Navi cried, her whole body trembling. "And if that happens while we're in here, then we'll get turned into jerky!"
"Exactly. And much of Hyrule will be incinerated. Which means we have to work fast."
With that, Link immediately began considering his options. A fairly large metal door with bars in front of it stood below the dragon head. On either side of Link were two more doors. The eastern door was accessible, but the western door was sealed shut by chains and a stout lock. Above each of the dragon's hands were unlit torches. In the corners of the room were more small trenches, perhaps like those in the previous chamber.
"Well, this seems pretty straightforward. Seems like all I have to—YAAA!"
Before Link could finish, four large, red slugs wreathed in flames descended from the ceiling, causing him to nearly stumble backwards again. Navi merely sighed irritatingly.
"Here we go again…"
"Ugh, of all the disgusting—wait, I don't need to deal with these things, the door over there's open. I'm outta here!"
On that note, Link bolted through the eastern door, avoiding the Torch Slugs. Ever since the Fire Temple, he loathed the thought of seeing even one of those things again. Unfortunately, the next chamber did not oblige him.
"Aw, say it ain't so…" Link groaned, watching several more Torch Slugs wandering the next room.
"Really, Link, are they honestly that bad?" Navi opined.
"Are you kidding me? Don't you remember being in the Fire Temple? These little monstrosities were practically all over the place! And I just think they look plain nasty. I can't stand them!"
"Sigh… Well, that's the life of a hero for you. You're always going to run into enemies you really wish didn't exist."
"True. Well, time to get to work. The trench continues past this room, so I'm assuming we're going to have to restore the lava flow here too," Link analyzed. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we end up doing this throughout the cavern. If we're lucky, doing that will help prevent the mountain from going kaboom."
"I agree. It'd probably buy us more time to find the jewel at least."
"Yeah, and the next door just so happens to be open. See ya, slug faces!"
"Link, wait up!"
Link made a dash for the metal door, but just as he approached it, a set of bars plunged down in front of it. Several screeches echoed from behind him, scorching his ears. The hero then turned around to see a Torch Slug, bearing a mouth full of sharp, slimy teeth, lunging for him. He quickly side-stepped the creature and forced it to crash into the door, spattering red gunk everywhere. Some of the gunk landed on Link's shield arm and, an instant later, he felt as if he'd just shoved it into an oven.
"Yeeoouucchhh!" he screamed, removing his gauntlet and pulling back the sleeve to see that his arm had been burned so badly that some of the skin had turned black.
"These things are even worse than before!" he exclaimed, shocked at the damage. "It'll take about a gallon of red potion to heal this!"
Before Link could make another move, however, he noticed another Torch Slug had dropped from the ceiling. This one, however, was twice the size of the others and looked at least four times as deadly.
"You slimy things just really want to annoy me, don't you?" Link angrily replied, gritting his teeth against the pain in his arm and drawing his blade. "Alright, you asked for it!"
"There he goes again…" Navi uttered as Link sliced Torch Slug after Torch Slug in half. "Be careful though! If that gunk gets in your face…"
Navi didn't have a chance to finish her sentence but, then again, she didn't have to. A direct hit to Link's face with that searing gunk would leave him blind...or dead. Fortunately, even with their new tricks, the Torch Slugs remained as vulnerable to attack as ever and, learning from his earlier wound, Link kept his shield up as much as possible. Because of the burns to his shield arm, his eyes were tearing from the pain, but Link was nonetheless able to finish off the big one just as easily as it had its underlings. Within minutes, the red gunk was practically all over the room, even in the trench. The bars blocking the metal door rose, opening the way forward. Link then groaned when he saw his sword's blade.
"And this is another thing I hate about Torch Slugs!" he opined. "Having to wipe their slimy guts off my sword! Heck, in this case, I can't wipe it off! I'd probably roast my fingers trying to."
"Now that, I do think is annoying," Navi replied.
"Yeah, especially since this is one beautiful sword I got my hands on," Link agreed. "It was as tall as me when I first got it, but the Great Fairy's Sword never let me down, just like the Master Sword. And I hate having to dirty up all these pretty colors."
"And here I was thinking the purple color and the flowers were too feminine for a macho man like you…"
"No, seriously. In fact, this sword's beauty makes me think of Zelda…"
"Heh, Zelda, eh?"
"Yes, Zelda. But that doesn't mean anything."
"Whatever you say… Hehe…"
Link merely grumbled as, for lack of something better, he scraped the gunk off of his sword on the edge of one of the trenches, sheathed it, and proceeded through the next door. The trench, as before, ran through it to the other side, except a small iron door closed off the far end. However, this time, there was no metal door straight ahead. Instead, nothing but rock blocked the way forward while the rest of the room remained empty. Link's eyebrow rose moments later.
"Okay… This is messed up," he commented.
"Well, wait, Link… Doesn't that section of rock in the middle of the back wall look a little…different?" Navi replied. "It appears to be more flat and smooth."
"…Oh yeah, it does," Link agreed, squinting to get a closer look. "This can't be natural. I don't think it's a mural either, there's nothing on it. Maybe it's some sort of door?"
With that, Link scrutinized the room for some possible way to open this so-called door, but other than the trench, the chamber was as empty as a Redead's brainpan. Or was it?
"Aha!" Link opined moments later after spotting a few large cracks on the wall opposite of the trench. He quickly approached it and made no hesitation to set a bomb at its base. After rushing away and covering his ears, Link watched as the blast blew away the rock and revealed a floor switch on the other side. The hero smiled as he rushed back over and stepped on it.
"Jackpot!" Link blurted excitedly as the stone door rolled to one side, revealing the way forward. Behind it was a tiny chamber that housed another lever much like the one in the crater.
"I don't know, that was a little too easy," Navi protested as Link quickly approached the lever and pulled it down. The iron door in the trench rose seconds later and allowed a stream of lava to pour into the previous rooms within moments.
"Yeah, you'd think a monster or two would—" Link began, but was cut off by a loud reptilian roar. Within the next few seconds, an Armosaur plunged through the ceiling. The armored saurian faced Link, hefting its lance and shield menacingly. Iron bars then descended in front of the door to the previous room, blocking Link's exit.
"I figured as much," Link grumbled, drawing his blade. This Armosaur had golden eyes, which meant Sun Arrows would be next to useless against it. It hadn't taken Link long to notice that his arrow stock was getting low either. He'd need to save what he had left for when they became absolutely necessary. At least he could practice the techniques he'd learned from Kelli in the meantime…but his seared shield arm would surely complicate things.
With that, Link charged towards the creature and, gritting his teeth as he did so, thrust his shield forward before it could react. Putting so much pressure on his severely burned arm made Link feel as if the limb was ready to fall right off, but the technique had worked. Dazed and nearly off balance from the shield attack, the creature stumbled backwards, only to receive at least a few blows to the chest from Link's blade. Link executed the last blow hard enough to knock the monster to the floor. When it didn't move immediately, Link leaped into the air, pointed his sword towards the creature, and finished it with the ending blow. He confidently back flipped off the creature when he knew it was finished.
"Heh, just those two techniques alone has already made this easier!" Link proclaimed happily, still gritting his teeth. "Kinda hurt though."
"Yeah, I should say so," Navi agreed. "Hey, look!"
The fairy turned to see a small treasure chest shimmer into existence on the floor next to the lever.
"Oh, that must be the key we need for that one door back in the dragon head room," Link surmised. "I would've preferred about a dozen red potions, but we should be able to solve the puzzle behind restoring the lava flow here."
"Right, let's go!"
With that, Link kicked the treasure chest open and retrieved the expected small key from within. He then hurried back to the chamber with the dragon head with Navi following closely behind him. Along the way, he watched as the lava flowed through the trench all the way back to the dragon head. They hoped that this would help to stall any eruption which the evil plaguing the mountain sought to trigger. Once Link and Navi had set foot in the dragon head chamber once again, the lava from the previous rooms flowed through the trench and into the inaccessible chamber beyond the dragon head itself. As if reacting to the lava's presence, the torch above the eastern stone dragon hand ignited. In that same instant, a large treasure chest shimmered into existence in front of the stone tablet.
"Perfect! That's gotta be the map!" Link blurted and darted over to the chest. He threw it open immediately, and, just as he'd guessed, the map was rolled up inside. The hero quickly opened it and scanned the rooms inscribed on it.
"There are three floors, and there's only two chambers beyond the next door, it seems. One of them is really small."
"Yeah, that must be where the second lever is," Navi replied as she scrutinized the map as well.
"Agreed. I wonder why this other room is so big though. Guess we'll find out soon. And…holy smokes! The bottom floor is enormous!"
When Link examined the diagram of the third basement floor, he counted more than two dozen chambers, some large, some small, spanning throughout the entire mountain.
"Dang, you're right!" Navi replied, just as shocked. "Just goes to show, the lower you go, the bigger it gets in here."
"Psh, you can say that again. Oh, and check this out. It seems once we go through the door below the dragon head, we'll figure out how to get down there. There are no other rooms up here besides what's behind these other two doors and the floor directly below us has only a single chamber, and it's under the one behind the dragon head. I've got a hunch about this, but I'll save it for later."
"Good idea. We should get moving."
With that, they avoided the Torch Slugs as before and proceeded through the locked door to the west. Unfortunately, Link was forced to halt in his tracks once again. Before him, in the large, hot chamber, were about two dozen red blocks scattered on the floor. Several surrounded the door ahead, blocking Link's way forward, though they were low enough for him to peer over and make out iron bars sealing the door on the far side. Another empty trench lined the eastern wall. Link shook his head before speaking.
"Oh boy… This sure explains things…"
"I must agree…" Navi added. "It's a block puzzle. And we all know what these kinds of puzzles are for."
"Yeah, I know. Because the bad guys like to make us jump through all sorts of hoops to reach them. Anyway, time to get started. The door is sealed off, so there's gotta be a switch for it around here somewhere. The idea is to move the blocks so they don't block either the switch or the door in the end. They're too high to climb."
"Right. I'll find the switch from up above."
Link nodded and chose to start by creating a path to the door. He then approached the nearest block and, deciding not to risk further injury to his shield arm, used his sword arm to shove it with all his might. There were at least a couple layers of blocks barricading the door. Still, Link pushed and shoved, thankful that at least this puzzle would give him a good workout. He wouldn't even be close to as muscular as he was if it weren't for all the blocks he'd pushed, rocks he'd thrown, and heavy weapons he wielded in the past. This also made him realize Kelli must be stronger than the average woman as well, since she was able to help pull him over the cliff in the Kakariko graveyard and carried a heavy shield. Still, he'd be surprised if she could move one of these monsters. They were taller than Epona, heavier than a Lon Lon cow, and Link was moving them at a snail's pace.
"Hey, Link! Back here!" Navi called moments later just as Link was working on the final layer of blocks before the next door. He looked up to see Navi floating over the northwestern corner of the room.
"Alright, just give me some more time here…" Link replied and continued moving the blocks. Unfortunately, by the time he'd made his way to the barricaded door, he realized he'd pushed the blocks to where they prevented Link from reaching the switch even more so than when he'd started. This left him puzzled for a few moments, but he smiled again soon after and snapped his fingers.
"Aha."
Link then went to the opposite side of the nearest block he'd pushed and returned it to its original position. He did the same with one other block that he'd set in the switch's path afterward. Though he had now boxed himself in an area that included the barricaded door, he could now access the blocks he needed to move in order to reach the switch. There wasn't enough space for Link to move any of the blocks far enough for him to get through, but he knew exactly what he was doing. All he did next was push a block directly below Navi and soon enough, a popping noise echoed from behind it.
"Ah, that's what you were trying to do!" Navi realized, descending back to Link.
"Yeah, when I noticed the way the blocks were positioned over here, I figured it wasn't that I had to press the switch directly. I had to put a block on it," Link replied with a smile. "But…why isn't the door opening?"
"Up there!" Navi exclaimed, gesturing towards an area above the door. A stone panel was sliding open to reveal another rusty eye switch. This one, however, was the normal yellowish color, unlike the switch from when Link first entered the cavern.
"Ah, clever."
Link quickly made his way back to the door, produced his bow, and fired a charged arrow directly into the eye. Upon its activation, the bars on the door retreated, allowing Link to move forward. He then proceeded through to the tiny room that was shown on the map.
"How's your arm?" Navi inquired as they crossed the threshold.
Link drew back his sleeve, seeing that the burns still looked nasty. Most of his arm was either too pink or red, leaking blood and puss, while some patches of skin had turned as dark as overcooked chicken. The parts that were too pink or reddish hurt as if hot nails had been driven into his skin but the patches of skin that had turned black didn't hurt at all.
For some reason, however, Link was convinced that this was not a good thing.
"That...doesn't look good," Navi opined, sounding worried. "Maybe we should go back to Kakariko for some red potion, maybe twenty or so, and then come back."
"We don't have that kind of time!" Link retorted. "If we find a healing fairy, that will probably do the trick."
"Okay," Navi replied, her tone suggesting she wasn't convinced.
Beyond the door, another iron door closed off the end of the trench while the lever was on the opposite wall. The only light that illuminated the room was a fairly large torch on the north wall. Without hesitation, Link grabbed hold of the lever and pulled it down. The iron door in the trench rose, revealing the flowing lava behind it. It freely flowed into the previous room, allowing Link to retreat back to the dragon head chamber once more. He had to push one more block in order to leave the previous room, but he arrived just in time to see the lava flow into the room ahead. The torch above the western stone hand ignited, and finally, the door below the stone dragon head itself opened, the bars on it rising until they completely vanished.
"Bingo! Now that we've got lava flowing through both trenches, we'll see if my hunch from earlier is correct!" Link proclaimed. He eagerly barged through the door in hopes that what he suspected he'd find in side was really there.
This room, as the map had depicted, was small. The two trenches from the earlier rooms met to form one large trench near the center, which then sloped downward into a curving spiral. The lava flowed into the large trench and down towards the lower floors. Hanging on a metal hook on the wall nearby was a long slab of metal. Link grinned confidently and rushed over to it.
"Just as I thought! We have to use the lava to reach the bottom floor!"
"W-What? You don't mean slide down it like you're snowboarding, do you?" Navi blurted nervously.
"That's exactly what I mean! Metal doesn't normally float though. Unless…"
Link then knocked on the metal slab and the sound that greeted him was one he recognized immediately from over seven years of blowing things up.
"It's hollow! Of course! Man, this is going to be awesome!"
"L-Link, wait! I don't think this is—!" Navi protested. Link, however, paid no attention and plucked the slab from the wall. Navi grabbed onto the end of his hat, murmured something to the effect of "we're all gonna die," just before he swung the "lava-board" under his feet and leaped into the lava river.
"WOOOHOOOO!" the hero shouted raucously as he slid downward on the lava. This was the first time he'd ever had fun in quite awhile. Navi, however, struggled to hang on to his hat and only squealed in fear as bits of lava splashed everywhere. Unfortunately, she soon noticed flaming rocks plunging through the ceiling as well as jagged ones protruding from the lava.
"Link! W-Watch out!" she cried.
"Oh! Phew, that was close," Link replied after he'd swerved to the left to avoid a flaming rock and then jumped over one sitting in the lava.
Even with these deadly obstacles, Link still enjoyed himself as he continued avoiding rocks left and right and making his way down the curvy lava river. Still, Navi continued to shudder. One wrong move, and Link could be turned into ashes. How the heck was he not scared or worried? Then again, Link hardly feared anything. He was a warrior who'd battled all manner of giant monsters and many evil villains, after all. And, of course, he needed to have some fun once in awhile too, even if he was on a quest to stop evil.
After what seemed to Navi like an eternity and a near-death experience all rolled into one, the two finally reached the base of the river, with Link making another flying leap out of the lava and onto the floor while Navi was slouched on his head. He then set the slab of metal up against a nearby wall, an ecstatic grin on his face.
"Woooo yeah! That was even more awesome than I thought it would be!" he opined. "Who knew part of a cursed dungeon could be so much fun?"
"Link, seriously?" Navi retorted, flying off of Link's head. "We were so in danger back there! It was scary!"
"Yeah, but it was still fun! In fact, I had such a blast, I wish I could go back up and do it again!"
At that, Navi merely froze where she floated and then fell to the ground. Link merely shrugged as he picked her up and stuffed her under his hat. He then took a look at his next set of options. There were two doors on either side of the lava river's end, which closed off in the shape of a dragon's tail, which was carved into the wall, as well as legs. Each of the dragon legs had a flight of stairs carved into them that led to a bridge over the river. The eastern door was sealed off by bars while the western was accessible, which meant Link's next path was obvious. However, he didn't believe for a second that the remainder of the dungeon would be easy. Dozens of chambers were still unexplored, and he hadn't even found the compass or the main treasure yet and, despite his confidence that he'd find a healing fairy, he was still worried about his burned arm. Plus, the Death Forest had proven to be a challenge despite that it was only the first dungeon. In Link's past adventures, the enemies and dungeons he explored grew progressively more difficult and the Death Forest was far deadlier than he would ever have guessed. Still, he'd triumphed in all of them, no matter how hard they were, and that said enough.
As Link continued exploring the cavern and checking the map, he noticed that there was a sort of pattern to the rooms on the lowest floor. Behind each of the two doors in the room where the lava river ended were two more doors, both leading into series of rooms that circled around the entire dungeon, though neither side linked to the other to complete the circle. At the northernmost point on the map was a large, oval-shaped chamber, which was probably where the dungeon's boss lurked. However, the map showed no clear entrance to it. This puzzled Link, though he figured the answer would appear to him later on.
Link pressed on, encountering creatures both familiar and new, and eventually realized something strange, something impossible.
He felt cold.
"That...c-can't be," he blurted aloud, yet some sort of chill wound its way up and down his spine.
"Are you shivering?" Navi inquired, disbelieving as she finally emerged from Link's hat again.
"Yeah, d-don't ask me w-why," Link replied, bewildered.
Navi flew close to Link's head, so close she could literally touch him, and then flew back as if burnt.
"You're spiking a fever! It has to be those burns, they're getting infected. Are infected, more likely!"
Link shivered again, and not just from the fever. Even if he did take Navi's suggestion and leave to find some red potion, he couldn't surf up the lava river. He wasn't sure if a healing fairy could remedy his condition completely, but he had to find one fast. If he didn't, he was done for.
Not long after locating the compass, Link halted in his tracks while his jaw dropped. Before him stood a vast maze comprised of flaming walls. Enemies likely lurked in the passageways as well. Though traversing this chamber probably caused Link to sweat by the gallon despite his fever chills, he carefully made his way to the end while avoiding as many patrolling Armosaurs, Dinolfos, and Fire Keese as possible. He was forced into a few battles, but prevailed fairly easily thanks to the skills he had learned from Kelli as well as from his own past experiences in this quest. It would have been easier had Navi been able to fly above and find the exit, but thanks to the numerous Fire Keese, it was too dangerous. This hadn't stopped the brave fairy from trying though; she was all too aware that, sooner or later, Link's infection would affect his ability to fight.
Several rooms, small keys, and battles later, Link found himself at the northernmost end of the western side of the dungeon, which was the last chamber before he'd have to head back to the dragon tail room. It was a fairly large rectangular room with a large pillar sitting in the near center. Behind it was a gigantic pool of lava and, on the far side, was a small platform with yet another metal lever. However, it wasn't the lever that caught Link's eye the most. It was the frightened Goron locked in a metal cage on top of the pillar. Unfortunately, before Link could attempt to free him, a pair of deep chilling cackles echoed throughout the room. Link whirled in the direction of the sound and beheld a pair of stone wells from which erupted gouts of flames.
From those gouts emerged what looked like a pair of bombs with arms and legs.
This is just about the last thing I need, Link groused inwardly.
These too were another bad memory from the dark future. Unnatural flame began to gather about the strange explosives, stretching and bending to form an imitation of a human silhouette. They were Flare Dancers. Link recalled that these creatures danced in circular motions as they attacked and that the explosives at their core were their weak spot...and that those same explosives were live. Link remembered these creatures from the Fire Temple, but he never had to fight two of them at once. What's more, one of them was enveloped in navy blue flames while the other clothed itself in golden flames. Of course, Link easily guessed why.
The navy blue one would likely go down easily if hit with Sun Arrows, but what if its partner tried to protect it? Link recalled Kelli mentioning that sun and moon monsters often worked together because, much like the Sky Guardians, they were more vulnerable when alone. Luckily, Link hadn't forgotten the Flare Dancer's other weaknesses. Though it was an explosive in itself, it was also vulnerable to them. The Megaton Hammer, a Goron treasure Link used in the dark future, as well worked on them as well, but of course, the hero no longer possessed it since he'd gone back in time.
"That means either Sun Arrows or bombs," Link decided and then smiled afterwards. "Or both."
Link reasoned that he should attack the navy blue Flare Dancer first. He snatched a bomb from his bomb bag, lit the fuse and was about to throw it when, suddenly...he couldn't breathe properly. Vicious coughs began escaping his mouth
The sudden shock of it sent the bomb tumbling from his grasp, where it landed right at his feet.
"AIIIEEE!" Navi screeched.
Acting quickly, and narrowly avoiding getting blown up, the little fairy sucked in a deep breath and blew with all the might her tiny lungs could muster. By some act of providence, it was enough to blow out the bomb's fuse.
The Flare Dancers, however, were quick to capitalize on their sudden advantage. Link, his hand shaking from his near miss, tried to chuck another bomb, but these particular Flare Dancers turned out to be much faster than their counterparts from the Fire Temple, and they evaded the explosive easily. Worse still, whatever had suddenly struck Link was getting worse. Breathing became progressively more difficult and he could feel blood pounding in his ears like thunder. The two Flare Dancers danced around the stone wells they'd emerged from and around Link as well, trailing hot flames behind them, which Link had trouble avoiding due to them igniting constantly. To complicate matters, the two Flare Dancers often danced around each other as well, with the golden one shielding its partner.
Redness flashed in Link's vision and something was frothing at his mouth; he was running out of time. But then, he beheld his salvation. He readied his Guardian's Bow and took aim, but not at the Flare Dancers...
He aimed at the undetonated bomb he had dropped, which the Flare Dancers were heading towards.
It was tricky shot under the best of circumstances and, with his lungs gradually failing him and those flashes of red incessantly blocking his vision, it seemed impossible.
But, then again, the word 'impossible' meant very little to the hero who once held the Triforce of Courage.
Link released the arrow. It grazed the bomb's shell, sending sparks everywhere, and one of those sparks relit the fuse. The explosion subdued the golden Flare Dancer and Link quickly began firing Sun Arrows at the navy Flare Dancer. He was only quick enough to get in two hits, but it was a start nonetheless. Link might have congratulated himself, but all that came out of his mouth was a frantic gasping.
"Link?" the imprisoned Goron shouted, finally taking note of the hero. "Link, it is you!"
Unable to shout back, Link could only gesture for the Goron to wait.
"Ohhh, please hurry!"
Link certainly hoped he could hurry, otherwise neither he nor the Goron would be leaving. He wasn't sure how long his failing vision would avail him, and rather doubted he could manage a lucky throw with his bombs. But, maybe he didn't have to. Pulling out one of his bombs, he bit down on the fuse into it until only a bit of it was left. Then, he rolled it into the path of the golden Flare Dancer and released another arrow. Again, his aim held true and the bomb went off directly under his foe. A second hit from a charged arrow impaled the Flare Dancer's explosive core into the stone wall. A second bomb, lit and rolled to the trapped core, finished it off for good. However, Link couldn't rest yet. The navy Flare Dancer still remained and it had grown quite angry at the defeat of its partner. It now began dancing furiously while cracking flaming whips in all directions while its trail of fire burned even more aggressively.
Link was forced to jump out of the path of one of the whips. The red flashes were getting even worse now and his lungs burned as if he'd been holding his breath for the past hour. It was easy to notice, however, that in its rage, the navy blue Flare Dancer sometimes danced wildly in one place, an odd but fortunate occurrence. Link could barely aim with his vision failing but, luckily, he no longer had to. Link fired a salvo of Sun Arrows, unable to see if any hit the mark, but then he was rewarded by the sweet sound of the Flare Dancer's explosive core...well, exploding.
Link's legs buckled under him, sending him crashing to the floor. His lungs had now been completely cut off from air. He was dimly aware of Navi and the trapped Goron both calling out to him, but could discern no words. The redness was now blackness, and it was getting darker and colder and everything felt so far away.
Then, he felt something cool and smooth touch his face. A potion!
With what strength he had left, he uncorked it and brought it to his lips. Navi, squeezing herself under the bottle, tilted it up so that the liquid flowed down his throat. In an instant, Link was on his knees, vomiting up the viscous fluid that the infection had filled his lungs with, and which had nearly killed him. Once the floor looked greener than Link's signature tunic, he sagged against the stone well, his lungs and vision finally clear, and simply enjoyed being alive.
"Um, hello?" the Goron called out.
"Well, duty calls," Link declared to no one in particular, rising to his feet.
"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?" Navi demanded, trying to sound angry but unable to keep a clear note of relief out of her tone. "Well, that Goron tossed you the potion so, yeah, you should help him."
Link hardly needed a reason to help someone in need, but he knew Navi was right. He snatched up the small key dropped by the deceased Flare Dancers and unlocked the Goron's cage.
"Oh, Link! I don't know how to thank you for rescuing me!" the Goron cried with relief. "I'd have gone crazy if I had to sit in that cramped cage for much longer! Not a piece of rock sirloin in sight!"
"Yeah, I bet," Link agreed. "I figured I owed you for the potion anyway. Still, none of the other Gorons told me anyone was missing besides Darunia."
"Oh, they didn't know I came here. I was with Big Brother before I got captured. He wanted me to hide a secret treasure that he thought you should take with you when you came. No one else knows I'm here because this information was to remain a secret. He must've thought you'd need it or something and wanted to make sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. All I know about it is that this treasure was placed under our protection by the king of Hyrule not too long ago. Why, I'm not sure."
"I see. But what happened to Darunia? And how did you get in this cage?"
"That…I'm not sure of either. I remember being with Big Brother one minute…then in here the next. It's weird."
"Huh… Well, what of this treasure of yours? Do you still have it?"
"Oh, yeah. Apparently, the monsters in here don't give two pebbles about it. And as Big Brother ordered, I'm giving it to you."
With that, the Goron produced a gadget that, at first glance, resembled Link's hookshot. Only, instead of a hook, it had a claw, and where the trigger for launching the claw was, a slider was built into the gadget above it.
"Big Brother said it's called the Grappleshot. It's a sort of advanced hookshot that I assume someone developed at Hyrule Castle, since you know, the king gave it to us. Anyway, like a hookshot, it can pull you towards places or pull things towards you. If you change the slider's position, according to Big Brother, you can also use it like a grappling hook. Latch its claw onto something above you and swing to your heart's content. You could also kick anything in your path while swinging, if you want."
"Oh wow, that's definitely what I call an advanced hookshot!" Link commented as he took the Grappleshot. "Don't worry, I'll use it well."
"Glad to hear it," the Goron answered. "Before I leave though, I see you still have some potion left."
Link glanced down at the bottle the Goron had rolled over to him and noticed that it was still half full.
"Were you injured?" Link wondered. "If you need the rest of it, it's yours."
"No, no. Let me show you a trick that'll come in handy. That wound, where is it?"
Link rolled up his sleeve to reveal his burned shield arm. Despite the potion Link had drunk, it didn't look any better. Then, to Link's surprise, the Goron took the potion and poured it onto the wound. Link watched, dumbstruck, as the potion foamed and hissed and then vanished...leaving his arm looking as good as new.
"Wow."
"Some of the monsters these days can inflict poisoned wounds or burn even us Gorons. That's plenty bad news but, if you pour a potion onto such a wound, it'll clear it right up. Keep that in mind, in case drinking the potion doesn't do the job. And now, I really should get out of here. Or else I'll be monster lunch. I'll see you later, Link! Please help Big Brother!"
"Don't worry, you can count on it."
After the Goron departed, Link turned his attention to the pool of lava. The first thing he did was toss his old hookshot in it. There was no point in keeping it when he had just gotten an even better item that could do the same thing and more. Link then moved the position of the Grappleshot's slider, changing the setting from 'pull' to 'swing' and aimed it for a jagged rock protruding from the middle of the ceiling. After launching the claw into it, Link swung himself over the pool of lava and landed safely on the platform where the next metal lever was.
"Wow, that was fun! I can't wait to kick around some monsters with this baby!" he opined excitedly. "I wonder what this lever does, though…"
"Yeah, me too," Navi spoke up just as Link was about to pull the lever.
"Navi! I owe you big for getting that potion into me."
"Well, since you're not going to stop giving me heart attacks anytime soon, I'll take a gossamer sundae at the Titania Cafe next time we're back in Castle Town."
"Done and done. Well, time to find out what this lever's for. Maybe it'll unlock that other door in the dragon tail chamber."
"Probably."
Link then took hold of the lever and pulled it down. A small rumbling noise then echoed throughout the area. Now, Link was sure it allowed him access to the eastern side of the dungeon. However, the bars blocking the door couldn't have made all that noise. Perplexed, Link quickly made his way back to the dragon tail chamber. He discovered that returning through the previous rooms was a lot easier thanks to the Grappleshot. Many jagged rocks protruded from the ceilings, allowing Link to swing over certain obstacles that had been difficult to navigate on foot, including the maze room. Once he arrived at his destination, excitement filled his mind.
"Navi, look! The tail! It opened a little bit!" Link pointed out, noting the split down the middle of the tail. It reached halfway towards the lava river below it. Link surmised, that if it opened completely, the lava would continue to flow through, lengthening the river more. And, that would mean what, exactly?
"Hey, you're right! But what happens then?" Navi wondered curiously.
"I don't know, but I think we'll find out after clearing the eastern side of this floor. There must be one more lever back there!"
"Yeah, it's just like what we did upstairs, only on a larger scale! And the eastern door is open now too!"
"Thanks to the last lever I activated. Now let's get going. We take too long in here and the others might worry about us."
With that, Link quickly proceeded through the eastern door. Still, he was right. This was a huge dungeon compared to what Link was used to, but what else could one expect when they explored the depths of the largest mountain in Hyrule? Link could only hope that Kelli, King Daphnes, and everyone else in Kakariko understood this. Otherwise, the king's health might decline further, and Kelli would be stressed over not only the disappearance of Judo, but Link's absence as well. Despite this, Link was confident that they knew better than to not have faith in him and he proceeded through the remaining rooms at a reasonable pace. He'd already had a near miss from that burn and the subsequent infection and another such mistake was something he couldn't afford.
Several chambers, small keys, and more monsters later, Link arrived in the room just before the final chamber. According to the map, a tiny room was beyond this one, and the compass indicated one last treasure chest sealed away in it. The final lever was nowhere to be seen, which meant that it, too, was behind the next door. However, a giant pool of lava stood in Link's path and floating upon it were small, round platforms. Above the gaps between these were more jagged rocks like the ones Link used as Grappleshot targets. The solution was clear, but Link feared that crossing wouldn't be as easy as it looked. Even so, he immediately produced the Grappleshot and fired it at the first rock. Just as he'd begun swinging across to the first platform, however, a Red Bubble, which was a bouncing, flaming skull, soared over him.
"Yow!" Link cried, ducking to keep from being burned again. "I figured as much…"
"Me too. Be extra careful!" Navi warned.
"Yeah, yeah, I know…"
Though the process was fairly slow, Link eventually made it across after another close call with the Red Bubbles. He quickly barged through the door, and smiled confidently when he saw that his earlier surmise had been correct. The familiar gold and blue treasure chest sat nearby alongside the last lever. Link approached the lever first and quickly activated it. As before, a rumbling noise echoed throughout the area, indicating that the dragon tail must have opened completely.
"That ought to do it," Link spoke up afterwards. "But I still don't know how to get to the boss room…"
"Yeah, this is weird," Navi agreed. "…Hold on, check the map again."
"…Well, I don't know what good it'll do, but alright."
Link then produced the map and unrolled it again. His eyes widened instantly at what he saw.
"I don't believe it! A path to the boss room appeared! And there's a glowing mark on the dragon tail room!"
"Exactly! The lava river must now lead all the way to the boss!" Navi surmised.
"Well then, let's grab the boss key and finish up!"
With that, Link quickly retrieved the golden key and rushed back to the dragon tail room. Now that he was nearly finished exploring this hot cavern, his heart began to race. All he could think of was a refreshing dip in Lake Hylia once Darunia was safe and the Jewel of Fire was found. In fact, Link actually hoped the next dungeon would be somewhere in the Ice Cavern at Zora's Fountain, or at least somewhere a lot cooler than this place was. This had been the case in both Termina and his first Hyrulean quest. As Link continued wiping sweat from his brow and forehead, he finally entered the dragon tail room once more, and hopefully for the last time. As Navi predicted, the tail was now completely open and lava freely flowed into the newly revealed passageway. In addition, a small metal raft was now floating where the bridge to the other side of the river used to be. A propeller was attached to its backside while a lever had thrust up from the surface. Like the metal slab Link used to slide down the previous stretch of river, it had to be hollow.
"Well, time to take care of business," Link opined and climbed aboard the raft. He then switched the propeller on.
Though the trip was shorter than and nowhere near as fun as the slide down the other stretch of lava had been, Link didn't care this time. He just wanted to find Darunia and the Jewel of Fire as soon as possible. The hero wasn't hesitant to jump off of the raft when he arrived at the tiny chamber containing the massive door to the boss room. Link then took a deep breath, inserted the boss key into the large gold lock, and entered.
This chamber was massive. It was the largest room in the cavern, but of course, that was to be expected. The boss almost always turned out to be some giant monster that needed a lot of space. Still, this room appeared to be even too big for one of them. That is, unless it was a smaller creature who could use the open space to maneuver. Scattered about the large chamber were stone pillars with many jagged rocks hanging above them. Obviously, Link would need to make good use of the Grappleshot here. However, this wasn't nearly what caught his eye the most. The hero froze where he stood when he spotted a giant black horse that was more than twice the size of Epona sleeping atop the lowest pillar. On its forehead was a dark red horn while spots of the same color lined its backside. It lacked a mane and tail, or so it appeared. Just as soon as Link took another step, however, the beast awoke and nearly instantly spotted him. Almost without warning, flames erupted from its body, revealing its hidden mane and tail. Bright wings also protruded from the creature's back as well as its ankles and horn. Its golden eyes glared viciously at the astonished Link as it breathed flames out of its nostrils and soared right towards him, a ferocious neigh escaping its mouth.
This beast was Flarecus, the Ignited Winged Unicorn.
