Chapter 13

Goron mines, year 132

Gruth thumped down the twisting, dark, dusty tunnel, following the shiny mine cart tracks on his left, holding a glode torch high. The small Moblin had been sent to explore the mines and find out if they went anywhere. Ever since his tribe had arrived and killed the Goron miners, some of them were searching the caves to see if they made a suitable new home.

They hadn't thoroughly searched all the tunnels yet, but Gruth didn't see the point in continuing. There was nothing down here but rocks, tracks and mine carts. He entertained himself by humming old Moblin songs and kicking rocks down through the black pits here and there.

"Get your head out of the clouds and back underground!" Gruth's supervisor always said in a rough voice. Just yesterday he had added: "You're supposed to be attentive down there, and I'm responsible for anything you find or don't find. If you find something interesting, it'll make me look good. If you don't find anything, I'll appear incapable. Now, get down there, and don't come back up until you've got something!"

Gruth's eyes watered in anger and frustration as he pictured the Moblin's greedy, bloodshot eyes boring holes in his head and felt the droplets of saliva hit him as the beast spat out the words. He angrily slammed his foot into a head-sized chunk of debris and sent it careening toward the wall. It shattered after colliding, and suddenly the sound of hollow stone grinding against metal rang through the tunnel.

What was this? Gruth peered through the darkness at the wall, rubbing the moisture from his eyes. There was a crack in the wall. Not a rough, broken crack, but a smooth, straight crack. It went up about six feet and then formed a ninety degree angle, went sideways two feet, and then angled again and went into the ground. A doorway?

Gruth cautiously approached it, and then put slight pressure on it with his hand. The rectangular slab of metallic stone swung to the side, scraping against the dusty floor. On the other side of the small doorway was a small, circular room, about ten feet in diameter. Metal stairs with no railing lined the wall, spiraling out of view up the shaft. He looked around a few moments, then lifted his foot to the first step.

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Just what was it that Tael did to put Link in such a bad mood? Link couldn't put a finger on it. It was almost as if the fairy's presence were a wet rag slapping him in the face until he escaped.

Don't think about wet rags, Link ordered himself. His throat was just about ready to shatter with the next breath. He wasn't keeping track of time, but his last drink of water had been in the south castle ruins. Tael, on the other hand, seemed to be doing fine. I'm going to kill him if he says one word.

"Link? Turn right here." That was it. That was why Tael was so annoying. Always telling him what to do. Why didn't he realize Link was capable of handling things himself?

"I don't need your help," he grumbled, thrusting one foot in front of the other mechanically as he angled to the left. Tael didn't seem to be following him.

"There's water," Tael said quietly. Link stopped, and his thirsty side won over his prideful side. Maybe this was the reason he hated Tael. He was always correcting Link, AND he was always right, too. Link gritted his teeth in embarrassment and spun around, trudging back through the cave and turning down the other path, keeping his eyes from meeting Tael's.

It didn't take long before he spotted movement at the base of the left wall. Tael's light bounced off the ripples on the small puddle and flashed into Link's eyes. The instant he saw it, Link dove at the little spring. Cupping his hands and slurping up the water greedily, he didn't notice the slight taste of mildew and dirt he was stirring up. In a normal situation he would have refused to drink it.

"Link...get up. Someone's coming," Tael whispered, just loud enough so only Link could hear it. Link froze long enough to hear the crunching of rocks and hoarse whispers, then silently stood and started making his way in the opposite direction. With every sound he made, he bit his lip, wincing, but the Moblins never seemed to hear. Around the next corner, the mountain of rubble from earlier bathed in the soft bluish light from the shaft. It was odd how bright it seemed, when before it had been incredibly dark.

I wonder how long we've been underground, he thought to himself, before suddenly realizing he was standing in the middle of the doorway. He quickly scooted to the side and looked for another passageway. A doorway hid behind a small pile of rocks, so he stumbled through it before the Moblins poured into the cavern. Somehow he had to find a way out of there...

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Pyrobia, year 132

King Dakami drummed his fingers on the armrest of his throne, watching the 20-something Moblin struggling to hold back his emotions. The creature had been caught emerging from the secret entrance to the mines in the back hallway of the palace, and was now being questioned.

"So...you say you had nothing to do with the death of one of our miners? What were you doing down in the mines?" Dakami asked.

"I'm not lying! I didn't mean to hurt anyone! If it had been my choice, none of that would have happened!" The Moblin winced as two Goron guards pressed their spears to his side.

"You haven't answered my question."

"My tribe was forced out of their homes in the forest. We found the caves and figured they would make a good city. If it hadn't been for the miners." The Moblin's voice broke, and he struggled to continue. "I was born into the army with no choice. I was ordered to kill, and to ignore an order meant a torturous death. It was not my choice! Please, let me go and I promise we'll leave you alone!"

King Dakami thought a moment, scratching at the stubble on his chin. His eyes moved toward the guards holding the small Moblin.

"Kill him."

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"Link, do you think there are any other ways out?" Tael asked quietly.

"I don't KNOW," Link snapped back, still looking over his dusty, torn boots. They had decided to take a break after a while and he was sitting on the edge of an empty mine cart. The tracks followed the tunnel over the edge of a hill a few yards away.

"You don't have to be so testy," Tael replied, sitting and swinging his legs on the corner opposite Link. "I don't see why you're always like that."

"Maybe you haven't noticed, but we don't really get along. You need to step back and let other people think for themselves for once."

"Yeah? Well, you need to stop running headlong into trouble without even thinking. Without my suggestions, you wouldn't be -"

"Here right now? What's that supposed to mean? Are you saying I would be somewhere worse by myself? Who was it that got the so-called 'help' of a crazy old guy who doesn't know what he's talking about? Who even got me into this whole thing anyway?" Link almost yelled at Tael. Tael sat silent for a few minutes.

"I'm sorry, Tael. I didn't mean to explode like that. You've helped me get out of a lot of places. Will you help me find a way out of here?"

"I don't have anywhere else to go," Tael mumbled.

A flash of shadow flickered across Link's vision, and he barely had time to raise his shield before something came smashing down on it and the clank of iron rattled his bones. He had fallen backwards into the mine cart, and suddenly he felt it accelerating slowly down the tracks. His head jerked upright and he saw Dark Link hopping into a cart set on some tracks running parallel to his.

He noticed an increase in the acceleration and twisted around, hot air blowing in his face as he hurtled down the tracks into utter darkness and pure terror.