Smoldering Mines

Link was given a tunic woven from thick red cloth, which they claimed would help him on his mission. On the chest was a symbol oddly resembling a paw; the Goron emblem. There was an odd tenting covering his face, extending down from a red pointed hat. His legs were also covered by the odd tenting. It felt cool inside, almost cold.

He had now found himself venturing through a cave, in the direction of the Goron Mines. The single greatest source of metal in all of Hyrule, which had been cut off as of late.

He kept his sword at his side, unsure if there was going to be monsters. And as he walked, he felt tempuratures rise. He now realized the suit would protect him from the heat.

Minutes later, he came into a bright opening. The space was a big cavern, with a very bright source of light taking up half of the room. It became very hot inside. Link took a few tentative steps forward and gasped, seeing a bubbling pond of lava, fire shooting up in random directions, threatening to burn him alive. There was a solid metal bridge crossing over the lava, and Link sprinted across it, afraid to get burnt somehow.

There was lava everywhere in the next room, falling from waterfalls, shooting up like geysers, and lakes of it. He avoided it at all costs, sheathing his sword, completely forgetting about monsters. He crossed metal bridges and climbed ladders, jumped over brooks of the molten substance, and dodged shooting fire. It was very dangerous, but he managed to cross through the next few rooms unhurt.

The machinery throughout was impressive as much as the lava. Magnets and huge claws, and automatic lines of pickaxes, and oh-so much more. He was beginning to understand why this place used to be so popular. It had all the best equipment for gathering metals and precious stones to be taken back to black-smith's and jewerly shops in Hyrule.

Finally, Link arrived at a mine cart, facing a dark and long tunnel. There were several more doors as well, but Link had a hunch the mine cart would get him to the traitor's layer first. He climbed in and pulled a little lever, sending the cart flying through the darkness. Link cried out in surprise.

The cart flew through the darkness, over small hills and down steep cliffs. Link held on with all of his might, nearly being thrown out on several occasions. Finally it came to an abrupt end, sending him flying into the wall.

He landed with a thud and groaned, feeling the need to puke, although he did not. He stood up on shaking legs and looked ahead to see another door. He passed through an came out into another lava-filled room.

There were several large slugs composed of the lava crawling towards him slowly. He found no need to pay attention to them, so he merely cautiously strolled by them with one hand rested gently on his sheathed sword.

He screamed as he felt a burning sensation shoot through the tenting over his legs. He jumped and rolled over, looking at his red and burnt leg. He turned to see the slugs breathing gusts of fire at him.

He groaned and stood up, drawing his sword and slicing one in half. Apparently they were made of some kind of magic, because instead of the lava burning through his sword, he sliced it clean in half. He turned his attention to the others and dispathed them one by one, make sure not to get burnt, although it was hard with his hot ankle.

Eventually all of them had died, and he turned his attention back to his wounded leg. Part was swollen, and it was seeping fluid. The entire thing was hideous, and it burned so badly, for a fleeting moment he thought of turning back.

You can't turn back. You killed your friends and you know it. You deserve this, you know. said a far-off voice in his head. He looked around, but saw no shadow. He moaned and stood up slowly, his ankle killing him. He had to limp through the rest of the room, which proved to be hard with his burnt leg, but he managed to pull through just to come out into another lava-filled room, and this time, instead of having to dodge lava, it was just a straight path to the door. Easy, albeit the fact there were at least twenty of those wretched fire-slugs crawling towards him, spitting out fire.

He cried out and swung at one, killing it and knocking it into the lava. He stabbed another, and cut one directly in half. He hacked and slashed and jumped and rolled, avoiding their flames and killing them. After a short, but deadly struggle, he had managed to kill all of them, so it was in to the next room.

He was in a small square space with a switch on the wall. He pressed it, seeing no other way forward. The metal floor lurched beneath him, lowering itself. Link had heard of these 'elevators' but never imagined he'd actually ride one! The shaft stopped, revealing a heavy metal door. The boy opened it and passed into a large room, with lava falling from the sky into different puddles. The temperature was way up. Link found it hard to breath.

At the end of the room was a massive stone door. Huge statues and boulders were in front of it, keeping it sealed shut.

Guarding said door was only more fire slugs. With a warlike howl, Link took them all on with his sword, swinging it around, killing most. He was sure to dodge their breath of fire, not wanting to be burnt like his ankle had been.

He stabbed one and flung it into the crowd of others, confusing them long enough for him to take out half with mighty blows from his weapon. A few of the remaining retreated into the lava, so he quickly killed the rest, and turned his full attention to the door.

"Damn, how am I getting through this?" he mused, making a feeble attempt at pushing a boulder aside. He found a smaller statue and began to push and push with all of his strength. He managed to move it out of the way, but the door was still mostly covered with the obstacles. Link tried to move another statue, but it was proving impossible. He groaned in annoyance. So this was the end of the line. All that for nothing. He sighed and decided to head back. He had killed all of the fire slugs, or so he hoped, so it wasn't like coming back would be a problem. He was hoping the Goron elder had some form of way to remove the stone blocking the door.

"You've gotta be kidding..." he mumbled as he left. The elevator didn't go up when he pulled the lever, "Great! I'm stuck"

"Yes you are." a far-off voice agreed.

"No..." Link said in disbelief, turning to see the shadow, sword drawn. "Let the elevator work! What are you doing here?!"

"I was the messanger that made the Gorons so angry. The Goron traitor heard you coming, and he is most angry. Yet amused that they'd send a weakling like yourself."

"Leave now! You are really pissing me off! You forced me to kill my friends, and you have made my father probably hate me! You're putting me through hell - leave me alone!"

"Can't." it said simply.

"Die!" Link roared, drawing his sword and swinging it.

The shadow vanished. Link's blade bounced off the ground. A sudden sharp pain shot down his back. He cried out and rolled over. The shadow had gotten behind him and had cut his back.

"You're pathetic."

The distressed boy let out a roar in fury and stabbed at the thing. He vanished. Remembering last time, he spun quicklyy and swung. His blade hit the shadow. It fell back.

"Better than last time... Alright, you may access that elevator. But be warned, the mines will be much worse when you get back."

Link spat at his feet and left.

A/N: Not the best update, but, at least it is something. I'm trying hard, but I have other stories and other things to do. By the time the fire temple is complete this story will really start to go somewhere. In the mean time enjoy.