Chapter 11
The Goron Dances
Happy to stay with Marduk, although disheartened at being rebuffed by Darunia, Link spent the rest of the day seeing more of Goron City. They ascended from what Marduk referred to as the meeting hall, the bottom level of the city, to the first floor. Many of the passages led to the homes of gorons, while others led to different parts of the city and to different openings on the side of the mountain. Marduk showed Link down one such tunnel that opened out on the mountain's north eastern slopes.
Here there was a wide plateau, the greatest expanse of flat ground Link had seen on the mountain. Hardy plants were being grown and nurtured, sustenance to complement the mineral based diet of the gorons. There was evidence of mining equipment on the plateau, as well, and Marduk explained that the path led to the opening of the nearby mines, where the gorons ploughed the rocks for their food.
From this plateau, Link found himself looking out at one of the most impressive views he had seen in Hyrule. Approaching Death Mountain, he had seen the mountains that formed the border of Hyrule, but now he saw them much closer. The range of crags filled all the horizon, and Link found himself feeling cowed, dwarfed. The sheer size of the peaks stretching away suddenly made him consider the vast scope of the world, and he felt very small within it. The immensity of his task coupled with the discouragement of his meeting with Darunia gave him the sensation that it was all too big for his small shoulders to bear.
For her part, he knew that Navi also felt disheartened. He could feel her sadness, distressed that the voice of the forest should be so easily cast aside by the leader of the mountain people.
These were the thoughts that occupied the pair as they sat on the plateau with Marduk. The day steadily faded and the sky was turning towards twilight. Marduk offered Link some food, but the goron cuisine of minerals and rocks was less than palatable to the kokiri. He pulled some food from his pack and considered that he would not be able to stay in Goron City indefinitely, without any way to replenish his supplies.
Moved by these thoughts, he decided to quiz Marduk. Hesitantly, he began, "If I may not speak easily with Darunia, may I speak with you?"
The goron smiled beneficently. "Of course, brother. What do you wish to say? What message have you travelled here to bring?" The goron looked kindly down at Link. The small boy found it difficult to look up at him, his heart heavy with his thoughts. He stared at the horizon and the mountains that filled it.
"Tell me about the troubles facing your people," he said.
Marduk's kind smile faded. He grimaced. "These are grave times for us. Our mountain seems to tremble beneath our feet. We live on the minerals of the mountain, but there is less than there was. It does not grow as do the food of our hylian brethren. The rocks of the caverns near here are a rich source of the minerals we seek, but we cannot enter the cavern."
"Why not?" inquired Link.
"Long ago, it was the home of fierce creatures, whom we thought had been driven from their caves. It seems we were wrong, for suddenly they have flooded the mines. Our people were forced to abandon their labour and our food grows short. Before we could send any great number of gorons in to deal with the monsters, though, the mountain rumbled and many rocks shifted from high above. We are used to this, avalanches are not uncommon. We simply took shelter inside our city. Alas, when the quaking subsided and we emerged, we found a great rock had fallen and blocked the entrance to the caves."
"So you can't use those caves at all now?"
"We seek to return to them, but it seems some greater power than the mountain has turned its hand against us. The rock resists all our mining efforts and progress is slow. It is quite unlike any stone we are used to, not the normal rock of the mountain. Besides this, the longer we are unable to enter the mines, the weaker we become through our hunger, which slows the work further."
Link was silent as he watched the purpling sky over the mountains. These were indeed things he had no knowledge of, as Darunia had predicted. He did not know what he had expected the gorons' problems to be, but he had hoped they would not be so far beyond his power to amend. A thought had formed in his head that if he could win the favour of the gorons he would be able to ask for their Spiritual Stone. He could not see how he would manage that, now.
"Marduk, you have befriended me, so I will take the chance now to be honest with you. I came here not only to warn your people of danger, but to ask for your help in preventing the fall of Hyrule."
"Dark words, brother. How can the gorons help you in Hyrule's salvation?"
"I have come here in search of the Spiritual Stone of Fire."
Marduk did not answer for a long time. Link's sense of unease grew the longer his friend remained silent. The atmosphere between them seemed to have grown suddenly cold.
Eventually, Marduk said, "I cannot help wondering at this. Perhaps it is merely coincidence, but your timing in arriving on Death Mountain to ask for that in particular is strange. The Stone was given to us long ago to aid in the protection of Hyrule and now you want to take it away for that same reason."
"The Spiritual Stones have been kept apart for a long time to stop anyone using them for evil," said Link, quickly. "I want to get them to make sure they are used for good." Marduk was again silent so Link went on. "It's what Princess Zelda asked me to do."
"Indeed? The princess of Hyrule has sent you on this quest. I see it will be a hard request to turn down. Understand, though, that there was something I left out when I told you of our hardships. I thought it was something of no consequence to you. The Spiritual Stone of Fire used to be held in the meeting place of Goron City, by Darunia's council chamber. It was there for all gorons and all visitors to see.
"When the troubles in the mines began, though, Darunia removed it. He said it was for the protection of the Stone and for all our people, too. He refuses to explain why, and is easily angered if anyone mentions it or asks where it is now. It is since then that he has become so agitated. I had put it down to worrying about the food shortage, but now I wonder. Can it be coincidence that he removes it without any explanation as we face these strange troubles, and so soon afterwards you arrive asking for our greatest treasure?"
The purple sky was turning to the deep blue of night, now. Link felt it best to drop the subject. "When do the dances start?" he asked.
Marduk was staring at the horizon and did not answer for a moment. He looked as if he had not heard. Suddenly, he shrugged and looked at Link, as if remembering he was there and rousing himself from some inner reverie.
"Come, brother," said Marduk as the light faded. "It is time to return to the city. Tonight, you will experience the goron dances. It is a great event." He smiled benevolently, and the chill that had arisen when they were talking about the Spiritual Stone disappeared. Link followed him back into the tunnels of the gorons. They went down again to the meeting hall, the lowest circle of the city. The high walls meant it formed a bowl, and Link realised that it was not much smaller than the Deku Tree's Meadow.
There were many more gorons here now than there had been when he had seen Darunia. They were all grinning, even for gorons, and there was a sense of anticipation in the crowd. Link was still not feeling entirely happy, and could not help considering that sharing the space with this many excited gorons was not a good place for a little kokiri to be.
On the stage, five gorons were setting up different types of drums. One stood at a pair of timpani, another stood with a set of five bongos, while another sat cross legged before a single snare drum. The other two had a range of other percussion, from cymbals to maracas.
Marduk led Link out of the crowd, ensuring he was in a position where he would not be crushed. He disappeared, and returned a moment later with a bottle of milk for Link. He also had a mug that steamed slightly, and was filled with what the goron referred to as Dodongo Blood. Link had no desire to ask whether or not it was real blood.
A few moments later, he saw Darunia make his way through the crowd and step onto the platform. He faced the gorons, who began to shout and holler. Darunia smiled for a few moments as the sound grew, and then held up his hands. In moments, complete silence had descended.
"Brothers!" cried the big goron. His deep voice was loud and clear, and the sound resonated and echoed around the bowl. "The days have been hard for us." There was a rumble of agreement from those assembled. "Tomorrow, though, we will gain entry once more to our mines, and soon after we shall be well fed and happy."
Link heard a murmur of surprise from Marduk. "So the boulder has finally succumbed to our efforts. I did not know," he said in low tones.
"For tonight," continued Darunia, "Let us wash away our fatigues, our strains and our stresses; let us dance, let us be as bright as the flames that leap into the night.
"My brothers, I give you," he paused and allowed his voice to echo for a moment, "The Goron Dances!" Instantly as he stopped speaking, while this final phrase still reverberated around the hall, the drummers began to play. All five played in harmony, creating rhythms together.
The gorons around the hall were all moving in time together, cheering and laughing. Marduk had left Link's side to join his friends. The adventurer's spirits rose as he watched the happy gorons.
The dancing was a strange thing to behold. There was no melody, only the rhythmic noise of the percussionists. The dance started slowly. It was obvious everyone who had gathered knew it. They swayed slowly, in time with the drummers, and then began to step from side to side, their movements evolving into more complex moves until the dance became fast and wild, each goron intricately moving with his brothers in perfect unison.
The gorons did not seem to tire as the evening drew on. The musicians continued to thump out rhythms, and Link was impressed by the quality of their music. They played only drums, and yet out of the rhythms created tunes and harmonies, and Link felt as if all the rocks of Death Mountain were thumping in time with their music.
Pulling out his ocarina, Link hummed in time with the music, and then put the instrument to his lips and played at random. He did not play any discernable piece, but simply played to fit in with the drummers. It was not loud, and certainly was not loud enough to have been heard over the wild noise the gorons were making.
Quite to his surprise, though, he found the gorons turning to watch him, laughing and cheering to hear him play. The music from the stage stopped and Link realised that the crowd wanted him to play for them. He felt a warm glow from Navi, delighted at the idea.
Link himself was less impressed. He had never played to any large group, and he had little intention to change that in front of all the gorons of Death Mountain. Nonetheless, he was given little choice and found himself thrust onto the stage. Unable to climb down without being crushed in the throng, he again put his ocarina to his lips.
Once more, the cacophony of the gorons died to silence and they waited for him to play.
Nervously, Link began to play a tune he knew. It was an old song, the first he had learnt. It was not a difficult melody, but was upbeat and seemed to fit the mood of the evening. As he started, Link fumbled several notes, his hands and legs shaking, but he quickly felt himself flow into the music. It took him far away.
Once more he stood by the pool where he and Saria had so often bathed. He saw the sun shine through the trees. He saw the flowers nestled round the trunks and bushes. He saw Saria's green eyes as he lay in the grass and she sat beside him, playing the ocarina. It was a song that would always remind him of her, wherever he played it; it would always be Saria's Song.
Slowly, reality reasserted itself and he returned to his present circumstances. His eyes took in the room and he realised the gorons had gone wild. While dancing to their own music, it had been a very rhythmic set of moves, each goron knowing his place amongst the others and each step fitting in with the dance.
Now, though, they had abandoned their elegant steps and simply moved freely. It was incredible to watch the swaying, leaping and bounding of the gorons as they followed the music of the forest.
The drummers and other musicians had picked up on the rhythm and had begun to join in, their drums adding to the melody of the ocarina, but the acoustics of the cavern meant the little instrument was not drowned out. Many gorons had begun singing, transforming the heaving mass to a deep voiced, many throated choir.
On the stage, Link could not quite believe the effect his song seemed to be having, but he did not stop playing. He found himself loosening, enjoying being part of this epic musical event. Marduk had spoken truly when he said that the goron dances were a sight to behold.
The song repeated and echoed, and Link moved seamlessly into another song he had played with Saria, on those many happy days as the sun reached through the leaves of the Lost Woods, so far away.
The music went on for a long time. Link was, thankfully, able to keep playing; many nights of solitary music on the plains of Hyrule put him in good stead for his performance.
Eventually, though, it had to end. Returning to the original, bouncy tune, Link played a crescendo on his ocarina. The drummers went wild and the gorons around the hall threw their arms into the air exuberantly. Link withdrew the instrument from his lips, panting slightly, but grinning. Around the hall, gorons were cheering. Darunia was at the front, he forced his way through the throng and climbed onto the stage.
There was fire in his eyes. For a moment, Link stepped backwards, thinking the big goron was going to attack him. Before he could move or evade the patriarch, though, he found himself swept up in two mighty arms and raised effortlessly in the air.
He tried to twist and free himself, but it was completely hopeless. Darunia was far too strong, Link had no chance of breaking his grip.
Realisation slowly dawned on him that he was not being crushed, though: Darunia was laughing, a deep booming laugh, and was holding Link up for the crowd. Link felt himself being shaken as Darunia held him aloft like a trophy, perhaps not realising quite how fragile a kokiri is in the hands of a strong goron.
As he was dropped back to the floor, Link gasped for breath and felt his ribs. He was sure they were heavily bruised. Darunia looked down at him with his small eyes and laughed again.
"Why, today is indeed a fine day. I see now that you are no little hylian seeking an adventure. It takes much courage to climb this mountain, for one of your stature. Perhaps that song has bewitched us all, but if it is so I do not begrudge it. Why, I cannot help considering now that you must indeed be a messenger from the goddesses. Truly, we need any help we can get, and I will not turn aside willing hands."
He turned to address his assembled people. He had been speaking in a tone for only Link to hear over the raucous noise of the celebrating gorons, but now he raised his voice to a mighty shout. The other gorons quickly fell silent again to hear their leader's words.
"Brothers, we gathered here today to seek to forget our woes for some short while. Instead, mayhap we have been delivered the solution to them.
"This is Link, he is not some mere hylian child as you may think, but an ambassador of light in these dark times. He has been sent here, so say, to aid us in our troubles. You may ask how it can be that one so small can possibly aid the gorons. I asked the same. But you have all heard tonight that little Link holds some power more than brute strength, and his courage already appears boundless. We shall not turn away his offer of help and counsel."
The gorons received Darunia's words with rapturous applause and cheering. They were more than happy to hear Link after his song.
"As you all know, brothers, tomorrow is the long awaited day when we may re-enter the Dodongo's Cavern. We know not what dark wizardry led to the mysterious rock that blocked it and prevented us entering our own mines, nor what caused the sudden anger of the caverns inhabitants. What is evident, though, is that some force sets itself against us.
"But we are gorons, and the setting of a barrier inspires us only to find the strength to break that barrier down. We are not discouraged and are not defeated. Whatever stands against us, we will overcome."
Again, the gorons went wild, cheering and shouting. Link could not help being impressed, and could feel a deep admiration from Navi, too. They were both struck by the power of Darunia's oratory. He could certainly get the people on his side.
Darunia looked down at Link. "Friend, our new brother, I ask if you will be so good as to come with us into the cavern tomorrow. It is dangerous, perhaps, but I think that will not dissuade you. This night, you brought music from afar to us, and as I listened to it I found my heart moved, and now it burns with a quiet certainty that we are far more likely to succeed if you are at our side." A twinkle and a gleam appeared in the Big Brother's eye. "There is far more to you than meets the eye. Wise words and courageous hearts, indeed." He moved away from the kokiri, so out of place amongst the gorons.
Navi alighted on his shoulder and Link could feel from her the same sensation he was experiencing. Had Darunia heard her words to Marduk after they left his chamber that afternoon? Neither were sure, but could not escape the feeling they had underestimated the goron leader.