Chapter 19
He awoke to the rumble of falling stones and the roar of raging fires. The light of a bright star shone in his eyes, and the whole world was a confused blur of pyrotechnic explosions. He thought he saw Zelda, for just a momentary flash, her brow furrowed in dire concentration. It felt hard to breathe, suffocating, like drowning in warm water. Then his ears were ringing, and everything was slowly slipping away to quiet darkness.
There were long spells of darkness, sprinkled with fevered dreams unlike in their immaculate vibrancy and devious horror to any he had ever experienced. Sometimes he was drifting through the sky while castles crumbled all around him, and the wind blew in sick gusts like the rot of a landfill, and death loomed like a setting moon on the silvery horizon. There were moments when he would hear Zelda, like the voice of a calling bird in the distance, beckoning him to fulfill his promise, beckoning him to return to her.
It could have been ages, millennia floating through the aether. What strange adventures lie in dreams? He had heard somewhere once that a boy had dreamed a whole world up while sleeping on a boat in a terrible storm. His dream had been so powerful, it had become real. If dreams could become real, could real life become a dream? Who could really be sure what was real anymore? It didn't seem to matter much.
When his eyes opened and he felt the soft down of warm bedding he couldn't bring himself to think of it as an awakening. There was warm, flickering torchlight, and the trickling sound of water pouring from a little fountain. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, skeptical at his own lucidity. The blankets he found himself swaddled in were woven out of the soft fur of some unknown, wooly animal, their surfaces dyed with colorful patterns of angular shape, and vibrant starbursts of kaleidoscopic, geometric pattern.
The room was stone, with a low ceiling, square in shape, and centered around a pillar which bore four faces, one on each side, perpetually spraying water from their mouths in gentle streams into a small basin. The walls were carved with intricate bas reliefs depicting Goron miners, snarling dodongos, and fairies bathing in subterranean fountains.
Link pushed the blankets aside, and found that he was clothed only in a loose fitting pair of shorts, which appeared to be made of the same sort of pelts as his bedding. His chest was wrapped in a layer of gauze, and when he gently pressed it with his fingers he could feel the tenderness of a healing bruise. Had he been injured somewhere? He could scarcely remember anything.
He shifted so his legs slid off the bed, and he felt the cool stone floor under his bare feet. He tried to stand, and found his legs wobbly and unsure of the burden. Trembling, he rose from the bed and felt the groggy, listing sensation of oversleep. Suddenly his eyes were burning; his mouth dry and full of cotton. Tense pain was twisting like a creeping vine from the back of his eyes, down his neck, and into his shoulders. He staggered to the water basin, practically falling into it as he put his palms out to brace himself on its rim. Link shoved his head into the stream of one fountain, letting the cool water revive him more completely. He let it run down his shoulders and back, soaking into his wrappings and soothing his wounds. Then he guzzled it greedily, allowing much of it to fall from his lips and back into the basin, rinsing the flavor of dusty cotton from his parched pallet.
"Mr. Link!" a small, stony voice caught Link's ears and he turned to see who had entered his chamber. Toro was standing near the arched entryway, his round face peering from a gap in a curtain of polished beads which hung in the doorway. The little Goron came trotting into the room, his brother on his tail. The two of them beamed happily at Link. Link looked into their smiling faces and suddenly memories came flooding back to him of the Temple of the Heart, of Nyarlath and his magic hammer, and the terrible screams of the monstrous Biggoron.
"Toro and Doro," said Link, "It's great to see you guys! What happened? Where are Zelda and Scarlett and the rest? Are they okay?"
"Zelda is fine," said Toro, "But she's been really worried about you. Gorbu and Dad said you might not wake up, but we knew better. It's harder than that to take down the Legendary Hero! That mean captain has been really mad about it though. She keeps talking about not wanting to waste any more time here."
"Yeah," said Doro, "Her and Gorbu were talking in secret, all serious like. We don't really know what's going on, but it sounds like everyone is worried about keeping you and Zelda here."
"Wasting time?" said Link, "How long have I been asleep?"
"Well," said Toro, "We've been underground since the mines collapsed. We traveled by tunnel a long ways from Kakariko. We haven't been up to the surface to see the sun, but Dad says it's been eight days since you and Zelda blew up Biggoron."
"Eight days!" exclaimed Link, "I've been asleep all this time?"
"Mmhmm," said Doro, nodding, "Me and Toro and Zelda have been taking care of you. All you've been eating is broth made from Deku roots. It smells awful, I'd rather eat the bowl, but Hylian food never looks good to a Goron."
"Where is Zelda?" said Link, "Can I see her?"
"She and that captain are meeting with Gorbu and Dad again right now," said Toro, "They just got back from the tunnels. I think they finally found the heart of Biggoron again."
"The heart?" said Link, "So they didn't get the shard?"
"They've been looking for it," said Toro, "When Biggoron blew up he fell into the mountain. We all went crashing down when the tunnels caved in, and all the Gorons who survived plus you and Zelda and your friends ended up in one of the deep mining caverns that had been closed off years ago, way below the mountain."
"No one knew where the heart had fallen," added Doro, "And all the Gorons have been busy trying to dig a route back to the tunnels, past the cave-in where everything is still the way it's always been. That captain fought with Gorbu for a long time, but in the end Dad was the only one willing to help find the heart."
"Yeah," said Toro, "And only because of Zelda. That captain doesn't get along with big brother so well. Or dad, for that matter."
"They've been looking for the heart every day since, but last night they finally thought they found it," said Doro, "They just got back, so hopefully everything went okay."
"Can you take me to them?"
"Of course," replied Toro, "Your tunic is in the chest over in the corner. Get dressed and meet us outside, and we'll take you to Gorbu's hall. That's where everyone is."
With that, Toro and Doro waddled out of the room, leaving Link alone to contemplate the curious happenings of his last eight days of unconsciousness. They had been among the Gorons all this time? It seemed odd to him. What of the Crimson Stalfos and the people of Kakariko village? Had anyone survived the onslaught of the mighty Biggoron? It felt to Link like these things had been happening all around him only moments ago, and now suddenly he was forced to accept them as week old events. What had changed in the world during his fitful slumber deep in the secret Goron tunnels?
Besides that, just where were they? Toro had said they had traveled for a 'long ways'. Didn't the Gorons have tunnels all over Hyrule, connected endlessly beneath every mountain and field like a massive, universal anthill? Where might the exodus of the ousted Gorons have brought them?
Link's head was bursting with questions, but devoid of answers as he opened the little wooden treasure chest at the foot of the furry bed and removed his green tunic. Below the garment, which someone had patched, folded, and washed, his sword and hookshot were wrapped up in a piece of white cloth. He slipped into the tunic, clipped the hookshot to his belt, and slipped the baldric over his back so that his sword could rest there. He found his boots by the doorway, and stepped into them on his way out through the beaded curtain.
He found himself in another world!
The place was like a hive, a great hexagonal city of graduated levels, each tier carved intricately from the natural stone of what had once been an open cavern. Now it was a glorious hall of cyclopean architecture, a sunless monument of myriad shining torches, twinkling from brackets clutched by godlike statues –fifteen foot Goron giants with smiling faces and sightless eyes. The ceiling overhead was made of crystal stalactites, reflecting the light of luminescent moss and refracting it into an explosive rainbow of otherworldly glitters and shines. Fountains ran with crystal water, fed from unseen geysers and rich with the smell of earthy minerals. In places the fountains fell from tier to tier, splashing musically into sparkling basins beset with priceless rubies, diamonds the size of men, and marble slabs carved so smoothly that one could not discern between wet and dry upon their glistening surfaces. Gold grouted the tiles and flecked the stone, a mere afterthought of aesthetic flair, dusted over the world like powdered sugar on a market pastry.
Amongst the tinkle of the fountains and crackle of the torches the air was humming with the voices of a thousand thousand Gorons, their footfalls lost in the tumult of laughter, shouting, and the pleasant exchanges of townsfolk in their comings and goings. Gorons were everywhere, rolling to and fro down the curved pathways, and catching grooves in the wall to travel from one level to the next. Somewhere the distant, xylophonic tapping of mining tools striking stone and dirt sounded its erratic tone to the echo of endless, empty caves deeper in the ancient earth.
"What is this place?" said Link, his eyes straining against the sparkling light to take in the majesty of the Goron city.
"Diamondhearth Keep," said Toro, "It's the secret city of the Gorons, down deep, close to the center of the whole world! Every Goron city in all of Hylia is connected to Diamondhearth by some tunnel or other."
"It's incredible!"
"That's what Zelda said, too," said Toro, "We've always heard stories about it, but we never saw it before a few days ago when we got here. I guess it's okay, but I don't understand why they put all this food everywhere if you can't eat it. When we got here, dad got mad at me cause I tried to bite a ruby off of one of the fountains, but why would anyone leave a perfectly tasty ruby just stuck to the side of a fountain anyway? Doesn't do anyone any good there, does it?"
"Everyone is down there in the palace," said Doro, pointing down to the lowest level of the city. Twenty levels or so below them, at the center of the massive, hexagonal city, a structure of tall columns and sparkling gemstones stood like a glowing monolith, the stamen of the city's stony flower. "All the big brothers from every tribe have a hall in the palace. That's where Gorons gather when something has to be decided that affects more than one tribe. It's a long walk without rolling, so we had better get going."
Link followed the two young Gorons on an odyssey through the strange city, each new sight of Goron life and culture catching Link with such wonderment that he scarcely felt the passage of time. Here was a rock-man smashing up geodes and serving them in slices like a carved up melon to passersby for two rupees a piece. The customers munched on the little slivers of sparkling gem happily, their stony teeth tinkling and crunching on the stones like a grindstone crushing shattered glass to glitter powder. Young Gorons cheered as they watched scampering rodents with bomb-shaped tails race along little carved tracks of stone, every so often one of them detonating from the excitement and showering the onlookers with loose rubble. In the window of one of the thousands of apartments which lined the stone walls, the carcasses of giant reptilian things were hanging. Fires smoldered from within bright furnaces inside, where curious artisans watched the scales of the beasts crackle and change from cool green to searing red. They passed some old Gorons, who sat up to their chests in baths of boiling mineral water, their metallic shoulders rusted and their mountainous foreheads capped with greying stone, looking like snowy peaks towering high above the smoky surface of the rolling water.
When they reached the palace, Link got a better look at its splendor. The entire structure seemed carved from a single giant crystal, its marble columns and granite archways added subsequently and serving no structural purpose. There were many people coming and going through the sparkling hallway the young Gorons led Link down. These Gorons were less mirthful and frivolous than the ones on the tiers of the city. They strode with purpose, and a look of solid determination in their beady eyes, and many of them wore bristling 'beards' of quartz or other gemstones. Their backs were more cragged and spiked than many of the other Gorons Link had seen, and they wore the hardened look of warriors upon the frowns of their flat faces.
"Death Mountain Hall is just ahead," said Toro, "It's called that because our tribe is the Death Mountain tribe, even though Death Mountain was mined away ages ago. Lots of the other big brothers were mad about our tribe mining Death Mountain to the ground, but Gorbu says that they were just jealous that the Death Mountain tribe had grown so rich. I guess we aren't anymore though, now that the mine is gone. We don't even have a home to go back to now."
They had passed through the sparkling hall of the palace and Toro led them into a side hall where the ceiling was a little lower, although still a good twelve feet over Link's head. Here another beaded curtain led to a double stairwell, each flight flanking a carved fountain of crystal water, beset with faces similar to the ones which had fed the basin in Link's sleeping chamber, although much larger. Toro went skipping up the stairs ahead of Link, unable to contain his excitement as he burst into the room. Link could not see who Toro was talking to at the top of the stairs when the little Goron said, "Dad! Everyone! You'll never guess who woke up!"
Link emerged on the top of the stairs looking into a room full of stone chairs situated around a giant diamond which was set into the floor like a table. Directly across the table from him was Scarlett, garbed in a Goron tunic and clutching a silver goblet in one hand. She was sitting next to a large Goron with a beard of white quartz. Her crimson eye went directly to Link, and she cracked a devilish smile as soon as she saw the boy.
"Well look at what the wolfos dragged in," said Scarlett.
Suddenly the nearest chair, which had its back to Link up until that point, spun around smoothly to reveal Zelda sitting there. She was garbed in a gown of startling white, a shirt of silver chainmail over it, and a circlet of fine gemstones on her brow. She screamed with girlish excitement as she saw the boy, launching herself from her seat and sprinting across the room to throw her arms around him. She began to kiss his cheeks and run her hands through his blond hair, touching him as if she had to make sure he was really there.
"Oh, Link!" said Zelda, "You are awake! I am so happy to see you!"
"Hi, Zelda," said Link, blushing brightly as the girl showered him with affection, "It's good to see you too. What's been going on? Has it really been eight days? Did you get the shard of the treasure?"
"Yes, Link, it has been eight days," said Zelda, "We were all injured by the fall when the Temple of the Heart fell apart. It was only because if my magic that we were able to survive at all. You were unconscious when the bombs went off so you got thrown around worse than the rest of us. We were afraid you would not wake up.
"We managed to locate the shard last night and recover it from the caves it fell into. The heart reacted to my blood just fine and we found the shard inside. We think that it must have solidified in the Waking World when Biggoron came back from the dead."
"That's great!" said Link, "So at least we were able to get it. What about the Stalfos? Is everyone okay?"
"We aren't sure," said Scarlett.
"The Hylian army showed up not long after that giant Goron fell into the mountain," the voice was Zig's. Link turned to see the pirate sitting in one of the stone chairs around the diamond table, "The Stalfos was forced to make a retreat. I watched the whole thing from the hills just clear of the mine. They appeared to have made it away, but I lost communications as soon as they got out of range. I had to hide in the foothills to avoid being caught by Hylian forces."
"Yes, luckily I was able to use magic to communicate with Zig via the same spell that lets him communicate with the Stalfos," said Zelda, "With the help of the Gorons we were able to guide him underground and meet up with him when we were out searching for the heart."
"Well, that's good news," said Link, "Sounds like the Stalfos got away without any trouble, and everyone is okay, right? Wait, where's Gwen…"
"Ms. Gwendolin is fine," said Scarlett, "She is acting as an emissary at the moment, in the meeting hall with Gorbu, the leader of these Gorons. They are pleading our case with the Goron Brotherhood."
"Our case?" asked Link.
"Well, it turns out the Death Mountain tribe are somewhat black sheep in the Goron family tree," said Zelda, a worried look crossing her soft features, "Many of the Gorons of Diamondhearth are upset about the sudden influx of refugees. They are saying that the collapse of the mines was inevitable, and that the Death Mountain Gorons should have known better than to mine so extensively."
"Aye," said Scarlett, "Gorbu has been fighting to get us some support from the Brotherhood, but as things stand now we're on the brink of being tossed out into the tunnels and left to fend for ourselves. What's more is that unless we find a way to the surface that's outside of the Hyrule border we run the risk of coming up right into Nyarlath's arms. There's no way we can hail the Stalfos under those circumstances either, since we would have to use more conventional means than magic. There's no way we can guarantee being within range to communicate. Besides that, we've already wasted too much time down here in these caves. We need a ride straight to the next temple if we're going to keep up this crusade of ours."
"So what do we do then?"
"We wait," said Scarlett, "There's nothing else we can do. The Goron tunnels out of Diamondhearth are a maze, completely unnavigable to any besides those who built them. It's up to the Gorons whether or not they will send us where we need to go."
"Well, if they want us gone anyway why don't they just help us out?" said Link, "Goron tunnels are supposed to go everywhere, right? So why don't they just point us in the right direction and get us out of their hair?"
"It is not that simple," said Zelda, "Some of the Goron patriarchs are calling for a war with Hyrule based on the attempted genocide at the Temple of the Heart. Even those who do not agree with the methods of the Death Mountain tribe will not forgive the harvesting of Goron hearts. Gorbu is trying to explain to the patriarchs that Hyrule is no longer being controlled by the royal family, but his pleas are falling on deaf ears. Most Gorons care not for the specifics of Hylian politics, and who sits on the throne of a Hylian kingdom is of little concern to them."
"It's of little concern to me either, so long as we are granted passage to the Temple of the Soul," said Scarlett, "Of course, as with all things concerning these tribal types, there's a big spool of red thread to cut through where that's concerned as well."
"As I've told you before, Captain," said the rough-looking Goron who was seated at the table, "You should be more respectful of Goron tradition. Outsiders have never ridden on the Gogoru Highway before."
The massive Goron rose from his chair, standing a full nine feet, and tromped around the table on boulder feet to greet link. The huge stone-man gave the boy a grin of shattered diamond, and offered one monolithic hand in friendly welcome.
"It's good to finally meet you, brother!" said Boro, "I can't thank you enough for looking after my little ones. Put 'er there!"
Link immediately regretted putting his hand in the rock-man's giant palm. His fingers were like abrasive, windswept desert stone, and they closed vicelike around his palm to shake him like a shifting fault line. He felt as though the whole world had vibrated with volcano force, and he had to rub the life back into his fingers when the huge Goron finally let him go.
"Oh, you're welcome," said Link, still rubbing his fingers, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"I'm Boro, Toro and Doro's father, and former foreman of mine 42-C of the Death Mountain Gorons," said Boro, "But you can call me brother! We're sworn now, after all. The lot of you are honorary brothers of the Death Mountain tribe."
"Boro has been wonderful to us, Link," said Zelda, "He has housed us this whole time, and paid for our food, which is quite expensive down here in Diamondhearth. If it were not for him then Gorbu may not have even believed us when we told him that we were not working with Nyarlath. Of course Gorbu recognized me as my father's daughter once I sang the royal lullaby."
"Thank you, Mr. Boro," said Link, nodding at the Goron, "But what is the Gorgor… the Gorro.. the…"
"The Gorgoru Highway?" said Boro, "It's a secret transportation network that spans all of Hylia. Gorons have used it for millennia! It can take you clear from one ocean to the next in a matter of hours. Very efficient, but also very delicate. It can be… eh… finicky about who rides it. And where. And how."
"Finicky?" said Link, curiously, "That's strange you talk about it as if it were alive."
"Well, it is!" said Boro, as if it should have been obvious, "See, the Gorgoru Highway is…"
"I'll be eroded to a pebble!" shouted a voice somewhere down the stairs by which Link had entered, "Those rock-headed, gravel-eating, sedimentary silt lickers! Nothing but coal for brains, the lot of them. Why, if I were a hundred years younger I'd have a mind to pick out all their hearts myself and string 'em up for holiday lights!"
A Goron as big as Boro, with a crusted crown of jade protruding from the temples of its rocky head, came stomping up the stairs with its shoulders rolled forward in aggressive brooding. Behind the rock-man Link spotted the Lithe form of Gwen, her head held high and her pretty face unreadable as she listened intently to the angry rambling of her companion.
"I don't believe it! Ten thousand years of sensible business relations, and in one rocky slide it's all buried. Fools don't know what it is they're risking!"
"Big brother!" said Boro, stepping forward to clasp hands with the newcomer, "I judge by your demeanor that the Brotherhood was less than amenable?"
"I tell ya, brother," said the other Goron, clasping hands with Boro and bashing their forwards together with a crash that may have shattered the bones of a fleshier creature, "These Diamondhearth folk are hard-hearted. It's not looking good. If things go on like this, there will be a coalition forming to march on Hyrule in a matter of weeks. They want blood for the harvesting of our people's hearts. Word has been sent as far as the Gibdo Pyramids. Patriarchs are going to be coming in from all over the world to talk about what we do next.
"They just don't see it. If we go to war with Hyrule now it will be burning our bridge with Hylians all over the world. You think any kingdom is gonna wanna trade with a race who has a reputation for marching in and taking over? If only I could make them see, King Ambrose would never have done those things to the Gorons! He is my sworn brother. I knew right away that some other, more sinister force was responsible for attacking us. And here I have Ambrose's own daughter to testify to the fact, and what do I get? Deaf ears! Naysay!"
"They still mean to start a war?" said Zelda, "Gorbu, this cannot be allowed to happen. Hyrule has suffered too much already. Did you tell them of our quest to return my father to the throne? If we are successful, Hyrule will pose no further threat to the Gorons."
"I said all of that to them, dear Zelda," said Gorbu, glancing sorrowfully at the girl. For a moment, the brimstone of his demeanor softened, and his little black eyes looked sad as they beheld the princess, "Whether or not they heard me, I cannot say. They have suspended the motion to attack for now, that's the only silver lining. They await the other patriarchs. We won't convene again until every Big Brother in Hylia comes to Diamondhearth."
"For me, that carries all the weight of a pebble," said Scarlett, "Let the mountains and the castle crash into one another until both crumble to the sea, only give me a ride away from this lowest of pits. Ms. Gwendolin, do not neglect your captain. What news of our passage from this realm?"
"Captain!" said Gwendolin, saluting, "The Brothehood has agreed to grant us passage on the Gorgoru Highway. We are to leave Diamondhearth as soon as possible and not return. The Highway can carry us directly to the resting place of the Temple of the Soul."
"Aye, now there be some good news!" said Scarlett with a cheer, "Finally, out of these bat-infested caverns and back into the sun. We'll be ready to go within the hour."
"Just like that, huh?" said Zig, "They must really want us gone if they're willing to just grant our request, no questions asked."
"I'm afraid that's true," said Gorbu, "The Brotherhood is extremely disturbed by your presence in Diamondhearth. Some of the patriarchs even called for your arrest and execution, but I was able to remind them that that isn't how real Gorons do things. It took some arguing, but they're going to let you all go. The only condition is that you depart immediately."
"Then we do not have a choice," said Zelda solemnly, "If it is the wish of the masters of this stronghold that we must leave, then leave we must. It is with a heavy heart that I part from you though, Gorbu, not knowing if peace between our people remains secure."
"I know how you feel, dear Zelda," said Gorbu, "But fret not. There's still fire in this old heart. As long as Gorbu is Big Brother to the Death Mountain Gorons then there's hope for the future. I won't just let those rock heads make things worse."
"Alright!" said Scarlett, "Let's not waste another minute then. Ms. Gwendolin, accompany me to our chambers. We're gathering up nothing but the necessities. We travel light. You kids get whatever paltry things you can carry and we shall meet you at the entrance to Gorgoru within the hour."
Scarlett and Gwen left on clicking heels, fresh energy in the Captain's step. They all watched her go, and Gorbu waited until the sound of the pirate's footfalls were completely out of earshot before turning to Zelda with a grim look on his rocky face.
"Princess, it is well that you should leave this place before tensions from the other tribes escalate too far, but I beseech you to reconsider your route of travel," said the old Goron, "The place you seek to go is dark and perilous, not a place for the living to dwell. That ancient necropolis lies far from any kind of civilization or settlement, and if you were to go missing there no one would even know. The Gorgoru can take you nearly anywhere in the world. Why not travel somewhere safe and lie low while things blow over here? There is no need to deliver yourself from one danger to another."
"I appreciate your sentiment, my honored brother," said Zelda, bowing respectfully, "But I must continue on the path laid out for me. Just as your place is here by the side of your tribe, I am compelled to find a way to stand at my father's side again. May we meet again during happier times."
"I understand," said Gorbu, gently clasping the Princess' shoulder with one massive, stony mitt, "Be safe, and may you always stand on solid stone. Boro will take you to the Gorgoru. You must forgive me, but I have other matters to attend to. Housing my displaced brethren has presented challenges of its own, and I am needed to oversee the negotiation of building new living spaces in some of the outer tunnels."
"Goddess be with you, brother Gorbu," said Zelda, curtseying to the Goron.
"Goddess be with you, Zelda," he replied.
"Come on then," said Boro, moving to the stairwell with Toro and Doro on his shoulders, "I'll show ya how to get to the Gorgoru, and how to make it work. This will be a historical moment- the first time in known history that outsiders have ridden. I'm a little jealous that I won't get to go with you. I haven't ridden the highway in a hundred years!"
"Well, Link," said Zelda, turning to the boy, "I am sorry this is all happening without you having a chance to get your bearings, but it looks like we are off on another adventure already. Are you ready to go?"
He realized, looking into Zelda's eyes, that he hadn't really had the chance to be excited about anything since the morning they had ridden into Kakariko on horseback more than a week ago. Link saw that familiar sparkle in Zelda's blue orbs, and it made a thrill jump up his spine. Suddenly he was reminded that there was a future to look forward to, and the ache in his shoulders subsided as his weariness was replaced with the euphoric allure of undiscovered things waiting on the golden horizon.
"Alright!" said Link, pumping his fist enthusiastically, "You can count on me. Let's go!"
They were walking down the sparkling hallway which led out of the crystal palace, back into the busy urban life of Diamondhearth, when Link remembered he hadn't finished asking Boro about the Gorgoru highway.
"Mr. Boro," said Link, tapping the hulking Goron's stony elbow.
"You can call me brother, brother!" said Boro, merrily, "We're sworn now, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," said Link, "Brother Boro, I was wondering, what was it you were saying about teaching us to use the Gorgoru? Something about it being finicky?"
"Ah, yes, well you gotta get the hang of positioning the feeder," said Boro, conversationally, "Too far and it will lose its direction, too close and the lug just settles down and keeps on eating. You gotta get it at just the right spot to keep him running. Just about the same as the gap between each set of legs."
"Um," said Link, unsure of how to proceed, "What keeps on eating, exactly?"
"Oh, but of course, you wouldn't even know about them!" said Boro, with a hearty guffaw, "Well, perhaps it'd be easiest to just show you. You know what they say: 'a gossip stone is better seen than heard'."
So they followed the Goron and his young through the twinkling city, deep and secret by the heart of the world. As they went, Link's mind was all abuzz with wonder at what strange beasts might lurk in the depths of Gorgoru and how many sets of legs they might have.