Chapter 6
"Dodongo's Cavern"
Once we'd managed to pay for our room with the last of our collective money, a grand total of one hundred fifty eight rupees and some promises we didn't intend to keep, we left the Inn to search out Darunia's throne room. Goron city was bigger than I'd first thought when Danita helped me carry Link here, and I looked around for the first genuine time, and, really, Gorons were pretty amazing architects. Not the brightest tulips in the garden, but, all the same.
We walked past a mirror, and I had to suppress a scream. I could feel myself pale and my jaw drop. My hair had totally escaped the hairband, and I looked like I had an Afro. Link and Arli had simply stared at me, can you blame them? Their stares dissolved into laughter as I licked my palms and ran my hands over my hair in a vain attempt to smooth it.
"You're both assholes. Did you know that?" I said.
"Sticks and stones" Link said. Only, one thing was wrong.
His lips didn't move.
I turned and stared at him with my mouth agape as he said his thoughts. And I continued staring at him until he asked me what was wrong.
"Y-you said, "sticks and stones" t-twice" I stuttered.
"No he didn't," Arli said, looking from me to Link and back again, "What the hell did I just miss?"
I looked at Arli, then Link, then Arli again.
"He did!" I said, "Only the first time, his lips didn't move!"
"Right, of course," He said, disbelief obvious in his voice.
His expression spoke of a sense that things weren't quite right and screamed of genuine confusion and distrust of the situation. I returned the expression. Link didn't move, save for his mouth. He opened and shut his mouth in the same way he had in the forest. I still thought he looked like a codfish.
"I thought "sticks and stones" before I said it," he finally said.
"So, what? You guys can talk with your minds?"Arlimand said.
He laughed like it was a joke.
"Dunno..." I said slowly, "Let me give it a try."
'What now?' I thought.
'No clue' Link's thoughts rang in my head.
Arlimand just stared at us as if expecting something.
"Well Darunia's throne room is right over here!" Arli said, sounding more than a little freaked out.
"Right" Link and I said in unison.
Not sure what to say, or much less think, Link and I just followed Arli to the stone door to Darunia's throne room in complete silence. We took three flights of stairs. One up, and then two down, which lead us to a veranda of sorts on the bottom floor of the city. Darunia's room was straight ahead from the passage we were standing in. I recognised it by the symbol on the door. All Gorons were tattooed with the symbol on both arms. It was supposed to have meant 'Strength', but I guessed it meant something more akin to 'Dumb Muscle'.
"So that... flute... thing" Arlimand said to Link, "Let's see if it works, but let me plug my ears."
"It's an Ocarina," Link said offendedly.
"Sorry, I'm not musically inclined. Never was given an opportunity to learn" he said apologetically.
I was kind of surprised that this former slave knew the word "inclined". My train of thought was cut short as Link began to play, and Arlimand and I clamped our hands over our ears. I could still feel the music down to my core, and I started to feel sleepy, but I shook myself awake to keep me on my feet. Sure enough, the large stone door opened to allow us entry.
"YOU MAY ENTER" a voice boomed, loud enough for me to hear it with my hands over my ears.
Link took the Ocarina away from his lips, pocketed it, and stuck his pinkies in his ears.
"Ow" he lip synced.
"Let's go before he yells again," Arlimand suggested.
Link and I nodded in unison and started off in much the same manner. There were five steps that lead to an alcove which made up Darunia's throne room. The room was lit by two large torches, and in the center of a back wall stood a chair that carried the largest Goron I'd ever seen. No wonder he was the leader and Big Brother of all Gorons...
"What the heck?" Darunia yelled, making my ears ache, "When I heard the song of the royal family, I thought their messenger had arrived! Not some wimpy kids!"
Arlimand looked offended at the word wimpy, yet seemed more interested in the throne itself. If I'd thought the Business Shrub had pissed me off by calling me "little girl", the whole scenario paled in comparison to the Sworn Brother of my Uncle calling me and my companions "wimpy". I could feel my face flush with anger, and Link put his hand on my shoulder again. I looked at him. He had the Ocarina to his lips and one hand ready on the notes.
"Shut up, you fat bastard," I hissed at Darunia.
Arlimands eyes widened slightly at my remark. He shook his head slightly in a late warning. It was at this point Link decided it would be advantageous to play. The song that came from the small instrument at his lips was the same as the one in the woods. The only thing missing was the flute sound in the background. Actually, the music was nice without it. Much to my surprise, Darunias hard expression faltered as his feet started tapping. I got an idea. I winked at Arlimand and reached behind me to pull up a pot. I put it upside down and pounded out a rhythm that didn't sound too bad. Arlimand caught on and headed to the side of the room where a lute lay on its side. He picked it up and experimented with the strings. I guess he decided that it didn't sound good, because he put it back down and returned his focus to the song ended and Darunias mood seemed to have lightened. In fact, he seemed downright giddy and on the verge of dancing.
"I don't really understand what you just did, kid, but thank you," He said.
"You're welcome," Link said, "Now we have a favor to ask of you."
"Anything at all," Darunia said gleefully.
"The Spiritual Stone of Fire," I said plainly.
Darunia's face fell and became livid.
"That is not a favor I can give. However, I'm willing to make a deal with you. I made the same offer to the young man standing next to you: if you destroy the Dodongos in the cavern, I will give you the stone and forgive him," he said.
"Sounds pricey," I said, "Why?"
"We Gorons are rock eaters. We have become somewhat of gourmets and can't eat the rocks we use to build this city. They taste terrible. The only rocks we can eat anymore are the ones in Dodongo's Cavern. But the dragon that lives in Dodongo's Cavern has been acting up, so we have to hunt for our favorite rocks. That doesn't leave time for me to deal with twerps like you. My people are starving and no one can get into the caves. On top of that, a man in black armor came here before you did, demanding the stone," at this, Arlimand's eyebrows shot up, "He said, 'Give me the Spiritual Stone! Only then will I unblock the cave for you.' I asked about Dodongo and he said we were on our own, so I didn't make the deal. However, if you can prove your worth by unblocking the cave and dealing with the dragons, I will gladly be in your debt."
Before I could open my mouth to protest, Link said, "It's a deal."
And that was that.
"How about we throw a bomb off the side of the cliff, that way it lands on the big rock?" Link mused.
"Sure" Arlimand and I said in unison.
I'd spent the walk out of Goron city fuming at Link about helping the good-for-nothing leader of an incredibly dumb people, and Link spent it explaining that, if we were going to save Hyrule, we had to save ALL its people. We had to save all the Hyrulians, not just the smart ones. I had to yell across Arlimand that I didn't want to save them, that I just wanted the bloody spiritual stone. Karma had its way though, because as Link lunged at me, I was painfully shoved over and ran over by something. I looked up to see what it was with a face full of dirt and could barely make out the wobbly motion of a Goron rolling, and got to walk back in enough pain to kill a horse. So now, sitting on the same table I'd placed Link on, I was trying to get the dirt out of my eyes.
"At least this one didn't have a bomb flower," Arlimand said, "It could have been worse."
Link was standing at a small fence that guarded a long drop off the side of the top cliff and staring down at the cavern. He would occasionally cock his head to the side to look at something from a different angle and I had to roll my eyes. He looked like a puppy. A very dumb puppy. I rubbed my face off on my dress.
"How could it have been worse?" I asked, flipping my hair out of its band and getting up, "I just got run over by a giant Goron and now I think my back is bruised! We have to save a race of people just to stop Ganondorf from taking over Hyrule! I'm going to help this idiot," I indicated Link, "Whether I like it or not! I can feel it. This isn't the end of the pain, Arli, I just know it."
I walked over to the puddle that I'd seen on the way up earlier. My reflection was fuzzy and stared back at me with shining blue eyes. My hair wasn't so bad, but I grabbed my bottle and scooped up some water to pour on my head anyway.
"Well, one way it could be worse; the world could disappear and we would be alone in nothingness with this 'idiot'," he replied looking at Link.
"Not what I mean," I said, turning away and dumping the water on my tilted head, "Think of it this way. I'm not really anything special, I was just born to a family who happened to be even vaguely related to the Princess of Hyrule. I'd been talking to the scientist, and wound up heading to Kakariko, a village I've never been in. I've just learned I can communicate with Link through thoughts, and now I'm going to save Hyrule with a man I'm sure isn't smart enough to tie his own boots," I opened my eyes and sighed, "What the hell am I doing here?"
"You aren't the one who woke up under a tree with a bunch of girls staring at you, unsure where you came from, taken home like a stray dog, and turned into a slave in the middle of a desert," He shuddered, "I wasn't sure where I came from myself. I am sent to get fruit, got turned around, wound up here only to get hit by a goron with a bomb flower, and try to pickpocket the leader. And now I am trying to save the world with two people who have no trust or faith in me whatsoever," he stated mater-of-factly.
His story sounded kind of similar to my own. I wasn't entirely sure I did even leave my house to head to the lake. In fact, I didn't even remember waking up. I remembered darkness until I woke up in the woods. I had a vague memory of Dr. Mizumi's face and a distinct feeling of where I lived, but, other than that...
"Hey Link!" I called, walking over to where he was standing, "Are we going to open the cave or what?"
"Yeah, just give me a sec."
"Sure..."
"Sure what?" The Goron asked, standing up and facing me.
"Oh, nothing," I replied, "We're just going to need the bomb flower."
"What do you want it for?" He asked me.
"We need to open dodongo's cavern," Arlimand replied, stepping up to the Goron.
"Oh, by all means," Said the Goron, moving out of his way.
We all walked over to the bomb flower and reached for it. We collectively knocked heads and cried out in unison. Arlimand laughed as Link and I sat down to rub our heads with tears in our eyes.
"Okay," Link said to Arlimand, "you go after it."
"Okay, but why me?" Arlimand asked with a curious expression.
"Yeah, why not me?" I asked.
Link sighed, "Okay, Hylia, but if you can't get it, leave it to Arlimand."
I nodded and stood up. I pulled at the bomb flower. Nothing. It didn't even budge.
"What in the hell?" I asked it reproachfully.
"All right, step aside, I'll get it," he said stepping up to the flower.
There was a slight popping sound as it disconnected from the plant and, quite suddenly, what could be called its fuse lit.
"Wait!" Link said, "I wanna do it!"
"All right but hurry before it explodes," he replied holding the bomb straight out.
Link took the bomb out of Arli's hands, his long blond hair blowing in the breeze under his hat. I stood again and moved out of the way as the fuse on the bomb got too short. He threw the bomb over the side, and the fuse hit the fruit of the flower and it blew up in mid air. It knocked Link backwards and onto me, and his momentum knocked me into Arlimand who hit the wall. Link's hair had been burned away so dramatically, he almost looked like he'd gotten a really pathetic haircut.
"Uh, Link?" I said.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Get off."
"Sorry," He said, getting up.
"Let me do it."
"Have fun" he replied, gesturing to the bombs.
"Uh... Don't you remember trying? Or did your impact with me knock your brains loose?" Arlimand said.
It was true he was built like a rock, but I didn't want to give up whether or not my brains had been 'knocked loose'. I gave a "harrumph" and moved to Link's side. Arlimand walked up to another bomb flower, picked it, and just threw it off the side.
"Show off,"I muttered.
Link nodded.
"Well, let's get this over with and get that stone," He said stepping past us and starting down the trail.
I turned to Link, "So, what do you think? Truce? I think we can trust him."
"If you think so," Navi said from Link's hat.
Link nodded and he started off. I nodded at the Goron and followed suit.
The rocks on the ground where the boulder had exploded were scattered halfway down to Kakariko when we got there.
"Was the explosion really that big?" Arlimand asked, surprised.
"Guess so," said Link.
"Yeah, well, let's not just stand here twiddling our thumbs, let's go," I said.
In truth, I just wanted to get it over with. I was scared half to death, but I knew I couldn't avoid it, so I hurried the guys. Maybe, if we just blew the dragon up with one of those bomb flowers, we wouldn't have to do much. When our eyes had finally adjusted to the dark of the cavern and I'd managed to get the butterflies out of my stomach, I found out just how wrong I was in assuming that we wouldn't have to do much.
"What the hell?" I asked, again reproachfully.
There was a wall blocking the rest of our entrance to the caverns.
"Well, this blows my theory to hell, doesn't it?" I said.
"Just a lot," Arlimand replied, experimentally tapping the wall.
"How about we blow it up?" asked Link, indicating more bomb flowers to our right.
"And blow ourselves up with it?" asked Navi, "Didn't you see what the bomb flowers did to that boulder?"
"If you have any better ideas, now would be a good time, fairy," Arlimand replied.
Navi popped out of Links hat and began to chase Arli around the cavern, yelling at him about us being the heroes.
"Hylia, can I use that bottle?" Arlimand asked.
I searched my bag in the dark, but couldn't find the bottle.
"Sorry," I said, "I must have left it on that table."
Hearing this, Navi stopped chasing Arlimand around the cavern and hid in Link's hat again. Link, Arli, and I looked at each other in silence for about five minutes. We shattered the silence by breaking up into laughter.
"Shut up!" Navi yelled from Link's hat, but this time she didn't pop out.
"So, if we have no other ideas we could use that. The problem is we would all need shields to protect..."
Before Arli could finish his sentence, a huge, rumbling roar from the other side of the wall made me jump and scream like a little girl. Rumbling footsteps shook the entrance to the cavern, and all the light was snuffed by a large boulder blocking the entrance.
"Who turned off all the lights?" Link yelled in surprise.
"Does anyone have a light?" Arlimand asked suddenly.
The rumbling became pounding, and the pounding became equivalent to an earthquake, even Arlimand's cocky expression became a look closer akin to fright. The earthquake soon shook the walls of the caverns as if something was pounding heavily on the wall.
"SHIT!" I yelled as the wall shattered fiercely.
All of us were fortunate enough not to get smashed beneath the falling rocks, but none of us was spared the fright of the huge monster behind it, illuminated by the lava pits behind it.
"I think we found Dodongo," Arli said, his voice shaking as much as the ground.
"I think so!" I yelled, dodging on of Dodongo's huge paws.
"Where the hell is it's weak point?" called Link.
I ran around the side of the monster where Link was to make sure he was okay. He was, he was just trying to swat at King Dodongo's tail with his dinky little sword.
"No clue! Arli?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself, I would go for the eyes, but the underbelly may be good as well," He called, trying to fight it hand to hand.
The memory of Link suggesting we blow the wall up rang in my head and gave me an idea.
"Stay here," I told Link.
King Dodongo roared as Arlimand pulled one of its scales off. That gave me another idea.
"Hey, Arli!" I called.
"What?," he asked dodging a massive paw.
"Gimme a hand over here, I've got an idea!"
"Right!" He said excitedly, seeing where I was standing.
He ran up to me and helped me pull a bomb flower out of its patch with an inaudible pop.
"I think you know what to do, Mr. Strong Man!" I said, stepping into his hands, "Link! Stab it in it's foot!"
Link gave me a look in the darkness, but the look faded as he realized what Arlimand and I were doing. He stabbed the monolithic creature in the foot, causing it to roar.
"Ready?" I yelled to Arli, "We don't have much time!"
"I'm ready when you are!" He called back.
"NOW!" I yelled at the apex of King Dodongo's roar.
I felt myself be lifted up, then soar with the greatest of ease. I saw King Dodongo's ugly mug point right at me and I tossed the bomb flower in to its mouth.
"Eat this, bitch!" I heard from below me as I threw the bomb.
SCORE 1 FOR THE GOOD GUYS! I tossed it in the creatures mouth, and it swallowed the bomb just as it exploded. I landed carefully on the ground about three meters away as Dodongo exploded.