Immediately upon seeing the figure in the distance, Ruto darts behind a wall. She cranes her neck in attempt to get a better look around the corner while attempting to stay hidden.
Standing near the entrance to Kakariko Village was a creature short and round. Its footsteps were heavy and it swayed with each step. Rocks adorned its back and its skin was a crackling sandy color. Atop its head was a single blond tuft of hair delicately styled into a swirl. Every once in awhile it would stop and poke at the ground, presumably examining a body or maybe some valuables left behind. Only once did it speak, exclaiming loudly, "of course he did!" after nudging something around with his foot.
A few more moments pass and the creature turns to look directly at Ruto, "I know you're there."
The statement startles her, "who are you?"
"I'm Link of the Gorons. And you're Ruto. At least I know what an ally looks like when I see it. I'm surprised to see you here considering you didn't respond to my letter," Link approaches Ruto, his eyes locked firmly onto her.
"I'm glad to meet you," she responds, straightening up, "I'm glad Zora's Domain can find safety within your walls."
"You don't need to be formal," he says with a chuckle. Up close his eyes sparkle with enjoyment. He extends a hand to Ruto and waits for her to accept the gesture. She responds with a handshake and laughs lightly.
"How about we head back to Goron City; where it's warm and not so depressing," the Goron says, turning his back to Ruto. He begins walking towards the gate separating the mountain and the village without waiting for a response.
The mountain looms over the two, its towering presence making Ruto feel powerless beneath it. Snow is spread as high as she could see; only stopping near the top which is heated by the active volcano. Water runs in small streams down and past the two.
"How far away is this place?" Ruto asks, stepping over rocks that Link crushes beneath his feet.
"Not too far. It's dangerous though; lots of monsters that like to jump out at ya'," he says with a laugh. He moves heavy but swift, his feet crushing rocks and stones beneath. He wears no shoes.
"How many of your people are left?"
"You'll see when we get there," he says with a wink. Ruto rolls her eyes and continues up the mountain.
Past them begins to fly boulders twice the size of Link. They crash down a path seemingly carved by years of similar once falling.
"This is quite dangerous, don't you think?"
"It's not a problem. They only get someone every few months," a light chuckle escapes his mouth.
"Months?"
As Link turns the corner out of the path of oncoming boulders one barrels past him and nicks Ruto. She tumbles quickly towards the ledge separating her from life a messy death. Before she can even let out a sound her feet fly past the side and she's left hanging on the edge.
"You got it, Ruto?" Link shouts from afar. His voice is significantly more distant than is possible to hear her.
Her hands grasp tight, muscles straining in her arms as she pulls her way back up onto the path. Rocks move beneath her fingers and with one final surge of energy she throws herself up onto safety.
"You got it?" He asks, much closer now. His eyes widen at the sight of Ruto damaged on the ground.
"Yeah I'm good, a rock nearly got me but I'm fine."
"Well, I'm glad. We're almost back to the city. I can get you looked at there by our best doctor."
The two ascend the final stretch of mountain before the city's entrance. Still lingering behind, Ruto looks anxiously around, wary of more falling rocks. Above the entrance is a large overhang of stone. Piles of slush collect around rocks which sit around the opening. Almost deafening sounds ring from within the cave.
The two enter, Link leading and Ruto trailing close behind.
The entrance opens to a vast circular room. In the center is a stone displaying a magnificent ruby suspended by rope. Around the perimeter is the highest level accessible to residents of the city. Several rooms trail off from each side. Beneath is several more levels, each presumed to contain about the same number of extra rooms. Deep within the city on the bottom level is a massive pot and a grand door engraved with runes that only a Goron could understand. Around each level hundreds of both Hylians and Gorons swarm. They rush about, many coming precariously close to falling to the bottom level. Shouts extend across the entire city.
"This is my place. Well, I guess Darunia's place, but it's really mine."
"You lead all of these people? Why are there Hylians? Are you allowing them to stay during the attacks?" Ruto asks, staring in awe at the vast community below.
"Yeah, I offered to take them in while stuff was going on. They're gonna leave once these attacks stop," he says with a glint in his eye, "let's go to the throne room. It's quieter and more suited for what information I'm about to share."
The two descend towards the lowest level. As the pass through each floor citizens begin to whisper and watch as Ruto passes.
"We're here," Link says. He lowers his voice and begins whispering words near the door. After several moments the rock begins to rumble and eventually collapse into the ground revealing an exquisitely decorated throne room.
The two enter and the door shuts behind them, "so before we get down to business, are there any questions you have about this place?"
"It's not about Goron City, but how did you know who I was? I've never seen a Goron before, and I assume you've never seen a Zora," Ruto says, taking a seat across from Link's throne.
"I just guessed," he says, "how many people do you oversee over at Zora's Domain?"
"About two hundred, give or take a few. Our population dropped significantly right when this all started"
"Ah, us too. There's about fifteen hundred here, much less than what used to be," he says. Ruto nods, expecting more. Link's hands fidget in his lap, "you ready to hear who I think is doing all of this?" Ruto scoots close in preparation.
"I've been watching these Hylians a lot recently, not only because they're temporarily my people, but because I'm also curious myself to hear what's been going on. A lot of them talk about a powerful guy who resides over at Hyrule Castle. They say he's got an army big enough to overtake anything you or I could ever prepare."
Ruto frowns at what he said, "I've heard that before."
"From who?"
For a moment Ruto hesitates, "a friend close by."
"You don't need to keep secrets from me. We're allies," he says, reminding her of his statement from earlier that day.
"She lives at Lon Lon Ranch. She-"
"Lon Lon Ranch? I didn't know people were still there."
"She told me they recently set up there. Apparently attacks have been occurring longer than just a month because they've been there a few weeks and the ranch was obviously abandoned for much longer than that."
Link nods, "how many people are there?"
"I'd say about a hundred. They're all just trying to survive," Ruto says.
"Do they have an army? What if they get attacked?" He asks, each question pushing further.
"I have no idea if there's an army there; I was only there for a night."
"Very well. I know a little bit more information, but you have to promise not to spread it past these walls," he says, lowering his voice more than before, "I've seen the guy who does it."
Ruto freezes and stares intensely at Link. "He's tall, and thin, and wears thick clothes made from layers and layers of fabric." Her body tenses up, muscles tightening. "He likes to stick around for a bit after attacks from what I've heard, just to make sure there's no survivors."
"I've seen him," Ruto says, her eyes wide with fear. She shudders.
"I'm surprised he didn't see you," Link says, chuckling lightly, "but that's all I have for you. Sorry you came all this way to just hear things you already know."
"Oh no, it's fine. I'm glad to know that I have a friend in this terrible world," Ruto says, relaxing.
"Of course. The more people I can befriend, the better prepared we'll be for an attack at any time. Speaking of prepared, I can house your Zoras if you'd like to stay some place with more people. I'm not saying you're unprepared, it just sounds like there's significantly less living over at Zora's Domain than there are here. We could certainly manage to house you and your people."
Ruto ponders over the offer for a moment, "I'm sorry, I think Zora's Domain is just better suited for us. It would be incredibly difficult to make the appropriate accommodations."
"I understand fully. Keep the offer in mind though," he says, smiling.
"Would you like to spend the night? I can put you up in a private room if you'd like."
"That would be great," Ruto says, smiling, "I don't think I can brave the mountain in this state."
"Oh, I completely forgot. I'll take you to the nurse and while you're there I can get someone to prepare your room."
And with that the two stood. Link leads the way through the door, pulling a stone lever hidden nearby to open it.
Link reappears in the doorway, soon after the Nurse completes Ruto's checkup, "I've set up your room, if you're ready to head over there."
The two quickly leave the infirmary and head up to the top level once more. Link leads Ruto through several twisting corridors back to a room secured by a stone door similar to Link's. He pulls a lever, which was out in plain sight, and the door rumbles open.
"Here it is," he says, leading her inside. Past the doorway it opens into a small room. A bed dressed with white sheets and a pillow, a table, and a stone chair are the only pieces of furniture. The walls and floor are both made of uneven grey stone.
"Thanks so much," she says, stepping past the Goron and towards the bed. Link nods and exits the room.
Sleep came quickly. Her eyes fell shut just moments after she reached the pillow.
Yells. Sudden, terrified yells.
Ruto shoots up from her bed, body dry and crackling. The walls are throwing dust into the air and the room is shaking. A low rumble continuously drones.
She throws her legs over the edge of the bed and uses the banister as a way to steady herself. Rocks on the floor jump around, the door quivers in its spot.
"There's an attack!" Someone shouts from outside. Ruto immediately begins to gather her things. Her hands fly at a furious pace, water collecting at the corners of her eyes.
The room begins to grow even hotter, the air heavy and dry.
"Ruto you need to hurry!" They shout, still from beyond the door.
Ruto's heartbeat begins to race past what was already quick. Her teeth clench together and tears stream from her eyes.
"They're here! We're going to die! Ruto you need to leave now!"
From beyond the door come screams and the sound of metal colliding with rock. For several moments the fight outside can be heard and then only the rumble of the city can be heard.
Terrified to exit, Ruto grabs her things and retreats to a corner, pulling the stone chair in front of her. The door opens.
Heavy footsteps crash over the deep hum and head towards Ruto. Beneath the chair boots come to a stop. A hand grabs the back and begins to pull the furniture away. Ruto looks up to meet the eyes of the one before her and a gasp escapes her mouth. He raises a hand and-
Ruto shoots awake, sweat covering her entire body. The sheets are drenched. A sigh escapes her mouth and she sits up. A loud knock comes from the door.
"Ruto, are you awake? I need to speak with you before you leave," someone says, it sounds like Link.
"I'll be out in a second," she responds, pulling herself out of bed. In a haze, still shook from the dream, Ruto gathers what little things of hers were spread about the room and she exits.
"Hey," it was Link, "are you headed out?"
"Actually," Ruto says, "can we meet downstairs one more time? I want to discuss a partnership between our places."
The two head to the lowest floor with little problem, most citizens appeared to still be asleep. Ruto and Link take a seat as they did the day before.
"So, what's up? What do you want to discuss?" He asks.
"I was wondering, you can say no of course as I know you're incredibly busy here, but I was just curious if you'd like to come back to Zora's Domain with me. You could take the opportunity to see how many people I have, we would both be safer travelling together, and we could discuss future plans on possibly moving my people here," Ruto says. Link nods slowly and begins to fidget.
"I need to think about it. What would my people do without their leader?" the Goron asks.
"I'm not sure about that one; possibly appoint a temporary leader? Do you by chance have a second in command that could take your place while you're gone?"
"Of course I do, but they've had no time to learn all of my duties. What if something goes wrong?"
"You'll be gone for a week at max," Ruto says. Link nods.
"That's true. I'll need time to prepare though if I do agree to go; as much as a day. Would you be willing to stay another night if I decide to return with you?"
"Of course. I could take the time to learn about Goron City and the mountain itself," Ruto says.
Link fidgets quietly for a moment, his eyes drifting about the room. "I think I'll do it."
Ruto smiles, "thanks so much."
"Of course. Your room should still be as you left it this morning."
Ruto spent the day exploring the city and meeting its residents. Many times they questioned why she was around or what she was and often strange looks were sent her way. She almost fell off the second to the top floor, as well. Not much time was spent outside as snow was falling heavily each attempt that Ruto made to explore the volcano. She returned to bed early.
Upon waking Ruto rises from bed, gathers her things once more, and exits the room. Outside Link was already waiting, a bag of his own thrown over a shoulder. His eyes were full of excitement.
"You already to go?" Ruto asks.
"One-hundred percent!" he responds.
After one more moment of checking everything was packed, the two exit Goron City and enter the outside world yet again.