Ura Zelda 64: The Goddess's Ocarina
The Second Shard Comes With Determination
Linika winced as she made another attempt to draw her sword. Her left arm trembled as she moved it over her shoulder and gripped the Master Sword shakily. She tried pulling the sword out of its scabbard but quickly lowered her arm with a wince.
"Ry, help me here. If I'm going to give Enki Gor a fight, I'll need to try using my off hand. Help me switch the scabbard's side so I can pull the sword out on the right side," she instructed.
"Slip your shield off," Rythern replied. Linika obliged and took the Master Sword's scabbard off as well. Rythern picked the scabbard up and flipped it around. Linika reached up with her right arm and nodded.
"Yeah, fix it here."
"How does this thing work?" Rythern muttered.
"It's like a belt. Just tighten it here."
Rythern nodded and fixed the scabbard to Linika's back. The warrior still looked angry, but she wasn't striking back at Rythern this time.
"Alright, are you ready?" Rythern asked.
"Yeah...but I'm nervous. I feel invincible when my good arm is working, but I feel like I have a crack in my armor."
"I know words can't help, but I really am sorry, Linika. I'm going to step up and do better in this fight. You won't be fighting alone."
Linika scoffed. "I'll believe it when I see it. Let's go. We need that shard."
"Actions speak louder than words." Rythern recalled hearing Link saying that once. When Link told the twins stories of his adventures through Hyrule and Termina, he recalled that he was very quiet and only chose to speak in select few words when absolutely necessary. His actions against the enemies he was fighting did the talking for him. Helping the Gorons reclaim their food quarry, helping King Zora find his daughter, helping the many troubled citizens of Termina. Link even showed them his old Bombers' Notebook and what he did to help certain people. Talk was cheap. Showing his worth by helping a couple reunite before their wedding, helping some troubled public servants and even helping the ranch with a monster invasion and bandits. The details always seemed like a far out tale to Rythern, but Linika took them as inspiration of what she wanted to become when she grew up.
"Kings can't be all talk, either," Rythern thought. He tapped the Triforce symbol on his right hand and absorbed some magic into his body. "I'm ready Linika."
But there was no answer. Linika had already gone through the door. Rythern rushed after her and caught up with her as Enki Gor lept down from a ledge.
"I've been waiting for you-goro. You may have gotten past all my traps but this room will become your unmarked graves."
Linika pulled out the Magic Hammer, which caused Enki Gor to look surprised. "You even found that? You're more resilient than I thought."
"And you're not a typical Goron. You're way smarter than the average one. What are you doing working with Zeth?" Linika asked.
"I must achieve my life's goal-goro. To find the hidden cavern on Death Mountain and help my tribe restore its population. Zeth-goro has promised me a way back home if I help him with his goal-goro. I care not for him or his ambitions. I only care for mine."
Enki Gor looked sorrowful but his expression quickly twisted into one of rage. "And I won't allow Hylians like you-goro to stop me!" He raised his arms and the whole room began to shake. Rocks began tumbling down from the ceiling and the twins had to dodge the onslaught. Linika brought the hammer up high and slammed it down as hard as she could. The shock wave startled Enki Gor and he lost his balance. Rythern countered with Bombos, which did some damage and sent some rocks flying back at Enki Gor. The sharp edges pierced his thick skin but most were thrown back by his armor.
"Zeth isn't the only one who has ambitions of getting home!" Linika yelled.
"Zeth-goro has the best idea of getting home!" Enki Gor roared back. He jumped up and burrowed under the ground. The rumbling continued and the twins looked at each other.
"Ry, try out that Quake spell! I'm going to use the hammer!"
"On my mark!" Rythern called back. "One...two...THREE!" Rythern cast down a powerful Quake spell as Linika slammed the Magic Hammer down. The simultaneous shock wave shot Enki Gor out of the ground with a dizzy look. Linika rushed up and grabbed the Master Sword out of its scabbard. Using both the Magic Hammer in her left hand and the sword in her right, Linika delivered a flurry of blows that broke most of Enki Gor's armor. She jumped as high as she could manage and twisted her body around, sending devastating blows with both weapons onto the Goron.
"ENOUGH, CHILD."
Enki Gor had a weaker body than the average Goron but it was still strong and was withstanding the blows. In a fury, the large Goron stood up and reached out, catching Linika by the throat. His grip began tightening and Linika dropped the Master Sword.
"LET GO OF MY SISTER!"
This time, Rythern didn't hesitate. He aimed his staff at Enki Gor and sent a blast of magic at the Goron. Cold winds whipped around him and started to freeze his skin.
"Keep this up and your sister-goro is as good as frozen!" Enki Gor shouted.
"You. Wish." Linika barely got the words out. Her airway was starting to get blocked but she mustered up her strength and raised her left hand. The Magic Hammer was still floating and moving with her hand movements. She flung the hammer right into Enki Gor's face, smashing his eyes and nose hard. His grip loosened and Linika brought the hammer down again. This time, she knocked some teeth out of his mouth. Enki Gor finally let her go and she fell to her knees, coughing and gasping for breath.
"I can't see! I CAN'T SEE!" Enki Gor was now in a panic. He flailed around and tried to gain a sense of his surroundings but it was no use. Linika had crushed his eye sockets. The head of a Goron was the most vulnerable part of a Goron body.
Suddenly, he felt something piercing through the front of his body. Something sharp and powerful. Linika had picked her sword back up and drove it right through his stomach. She pulled it out and drove it back in again, this time through his chest.
He couldn't believe it. All his goals, his research, his time put into helping the Goron tribe...it was for nothing.
Linika sheathed the bloody Master Sword and knelt down. As she began to pull the piece of the Triforce of Wisdom out of Enki Gor's body, the Goron cursed.
"My life goals...I only wanted...to find...Turtle Rock Cavern..."
"Did you say Turtle Rock Cavern?" Linika asked.
"It was said...that Gorons...are born there...but no one...in my tribe knows...where it is...our population-goro...is fading...I only wanted...to help Gorons...live again..." The pain was becoming too much and Enki Gor coughed out some blood.
"So it was you...you're the one who left behind all of that material in Goron City." Linika slowed down and got closer to Enki Gor's ear. Rythern watched in amazement as Linika put her hand on his head. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. But I can give you some words that may bring you peace in the next life. My brother and I are from the future, thirty years from now. In our future, the Goron tribe is thriving in great numbers. And it's all because they found Turtle Rock Cavern...thanks to you."
"They...found the...turtle-goro?" Enki Gor asked weakly.
"Yes. The chieftain was worried about the tribe's population and decided to investigate what you were researching. He learned about the cavern that you had discovered and ordered the entire tribe to search the mountain. It took a while but they found it. It was located near the top of the mountain, hidden by naturally formed walls from the magma. Once it was discovered, they also found old instructions left by your ancestors for how to produce offspring in the cavern. The Goron tribe has been thriving since then. And they...even erected a carving of you with your name at the entrance in order to commemorate your help in finding their new sacred grounds."
Linika finished pulling the Triforce piece from Enki Gor's body. Tears were pouring from Enki Gor's ruined eyes. He knew his time in this life was over. But right here at the end...he received the greatest news he had ever heard.
"Child...thank you...the turtle...lives..." Enki Gor slowly passed away as the twins were transported out of the Palace of Earth. As he died, a smile etched itself on Enki Gor's face and stayed there as his body turned to stone.
Rauru watched as the twins materialized themselves in front of him. He held his hand out and the second shard of the Triforce of Wisdom joined the first one. The holy trinity was closer to being finished.
"So the second Evil Sage has fallen. Well done."
"I wish it didn't turn out that way," Linika said. "I can't believe that he was the one who discovered that Turtle Rock Cavern was real. Gorons used to think it was just a story. But he was so determined to prove it was real that he allowed himself to be swayed by Zeth...just so he could go home."
"Why did you tell him that they commemorated him? You know that's not true," Rythern chided his sister.
"Because I'm going to make it true when we return home. I'm going to see the chief and tell him about Enki Gor and ask them to commemorate him. I feel like it's the least that could be done for him. That Goron only wanted to help his tribe and he put his whole life on the line to do that."
"I'm proud of your determination," Rauru said. "And that determination will carry you both far. Linika, please approach me. I can sense your arm is in distress. Allow me to fix it for you."
"That would be great," Linika groaned as she walked forward. "That battle was definitely a close call."
Rauru gently touched her left shoulder. Linika could feel the pain leave her arm. She lifted her arm up above her head and rotated it around. "Wow, thank you!"
"It is no problem. Do go on. The residents are eager to see you again."
"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Linika said. Rythern was about to chide her again when his own stomach rumbled. "Haha, sounds like I'm not the only one!"
"Shut up, Lin," Rythern grumbled as his stomach protested once again.
Gosh, I am so sorry. I only wanted a brief break but that was a lot longer than I expected. I've had a lot of personal things going on and my head was just not in a good place to write. I finally picked this up again.
I can't predict when the next chapter will be out but I'm absolutely determined to still see this to the end. I'll be getting a break from work really soon to recover from a surgery and I'd like to spend the time on more of my creative efforts.
I hope everyone's enjoying Tears of the Kingdom! I haven't been playing it. Actually, I'm playing my first playthrough of Breath of the Wild. It's taken me a lot of time to get into it but I'm definitely attached now. Once I finish BotW, I plan on picking up Tears of the Kingdom.
Happy adventuring!
