Another chapter for you all, and we delve deep into Death Mountain. I've taken some liberties with this as well, so let me know what you think of it.

I don't think I've mentioned up until now that Death Mountain is not a volcano in this story. I initially wrote that it was and the idea just never worked. In this version of Hyrule, there is a mountain range on the north east border of Hyrule, and it makes more sense for Death Mountain to be the first of these rather than for it to be an active volcano. This point is true both in terms of narrative and geological terms.

Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Dodongo's Cavern

Link slept that night in Marduk's home. This was a cave near the top of the main cavern of Goron City. It was a homely place, with hangings and rugs, but still seemed strange to Link. No matter how pleasantly it was decorated, it still felt like being underground. It was so enclosed he felt apprehensive. He wanted a window, some way for the night and the outside air to seep in, and the eventual dawn to reach down to him.

His host did his best to make him comfortable, but could do nothing to make the rock floor any softer. Link led on Marduk's rugs and wrapped himself in his blankets. It was not easy to sleep, though. He felt uncomfortable and uneasy in the cave. He also had not yet recovered from the dances, adrenaline still rushed through him after the events of the night. The elation of playing to the gorons and of Darunia's offer to take him into the mines the next day kept him awake. He did not quite know what to expect, but he knew it was the best way to try and get the Spiritual Stone. He had come too far to not make this effort, now.

Marduk had shown Link to his room and then left them again to see his friends. He came in after a while and Link heard him moving around the cave and humming to himself. He did not speak.

Link lay with his eyes open, facing the wall and with his head full of thoughts. Marduk extinguished the torch and the room was plunged into darkness. Link rolled over but could see nothing. His apprehension at being underground increased.

The goron had no bed, and simply went into a corner and curled into a ball. Link could just make him out as Navi fluttered around the room, her little light illuminating a tiny amount of the space. Curled up, Marduk looked again like simply a big rock, placed there by someone, as he had done when Link first met him and tried to climb on him.

Then, Navi came back to Link's side and landed on the rock floor near to him. Her light dimmed as she, too, turned to rest. Once again, their bond was a great comfort to Link. She was aware that the mines might well be dangerous, but she remained undaunted. She knew it was a necessary task, but Link also felt something else from her, which reassured him far more: she had a simple confidence that whatever was waiting for them, Link would be able to overcome it. Her belief in him enabled him to drift away into sleep.

It was not an easy night, and Link found himself awaking frequently. Every time, he was disorientated by the deep darkness, lit only by the Navi's pinkish purple glow, dimmer than usual as she rested. He found himself reminded of his first nights in the open after leaving the forest. They had been uncomfortable, and the immensity of the open space had been daunting, but he would have been given much to be back there, now. He would take the plains over the enclosed and dark cave without any argument.

Eventually, he heard a noise that roused him to wakefulness. Again the disorientation confused him, but he remembered where he was. Navi's dim light grew into its normal blue white brightness as she also shook off her rest.

They heard a shuffling and then noises Link could not place, before a spark suddenly flared. The sudden light revealed Marduk, striking tinder to light the torch once more. Link rubbed his eyes as the fire lit the cave. Marduk was smiling, as usual.

"Good morning, brother!" he said brightly.

"Morning?" asked Link, stretching and rubbing his eyes again. In the cave it was impossible to say what time of day it was; Link's sense of time had been completely thrown.

"Indeed, it is morning. I have roused you early so you may eat something before you go to meet Big Brother."

"Where are we meeting him?"

"You, not we," said Marduk. "I am not coming with you." He smiled at the downcast expression this inspired. "Big Brother is going into the mines with only a couple of gorons. As well as yourself, of course. We do not know what we are going to find in there, so he is taking no chances."

"I thought you said you were going to drive the creatures out? If there are as many as you say, won't we need more help?"

"Darunia does not intend to destroy them all in a day. First, he wishes to discover their numbers and if they are prevalent in particular parts of the mine. While we know nothing of what is in the mine, we cannot hope to restore it to its normal state."

Nodding sadly, Link pulled on his boots and his hood. Marduk began moving around the cave and busying himself with his housekeeping, so Link pulled some food from his pack and had breakfast. He allowed himself more than he had had for several days in preparation for the adventure ahead.

After a while, Marduk signalled that it was time to go. Link put his sword on but left his pack in the cave. There was no need to take it into the mines.

He was led to the same plateau where he and Marduk had spent the previous afternoon. His companion directed him to where Darunia stood with four other gorons, all with packs on their shoulders.

"Now I must go," said Marduk. "There is much for me to do today. I wish you well, my friend. I will see you later."

Nodding sadly, Link moved away and crossed the plateau to where Darunia was stood. The burly goron looked at him, and his smile was fierce with anticipation.

"Ah, brother! It is a good day, is it not? The time for action is at hand."

Finding nothing to say, Link did not respond. His heart was torn between anticipation at reaching towards the Spiritual Stone, and apprehension at what he would face in the mines.

Led by the goron leader, the little party followed the plateau to a tunnel entrance. Stopping, the other three gorons took torches from their packs and lit them. Darunia led them through and into the goron mines, which led to the dodongo's cavern.

Within minutes of entering the tunnel, Link could see that it was entirely unlike the tunnels and caverns of Goron City. The dark passages were lit only by the light of the torches the gorons carried.

The tunnel followed many forks and turnings, but Darunia led them with certainty. It was evident he had a particular destination. After walking for several minutes, they came into a much larger cavern.

They continued through the open space. Link found himself following carefully in Darunia's footsteps, as the floor was uneven and there were potholes in the floor. It would have been easy to trip in the dim light and incur an injury before they had even found the dodongos.

The sure leadership of the goron Big Brother led them into another tunnel on the right hand side of the large cavern. The light of the goron torches lit a passage that looked more like a mine than anything Link had seen so far. This was no natural path like the passage through the Goddesses Hill, and it was entirely unlike the smooth and well carved tunnels of Goron City. Supports and scaffolds held up the walls and ceiling of the passage and recent tunnelling was evident. Unlit torches stood at intervals, showing where work had been abandoned.

Quickly, though, Link realised why Darunia had chosen this route through the mines. The tunnel widened and Link's sharp ears were quicker than the gorons in picking up the noises of creatures ahead.

"What are the creatures of these mines like?" he asked Darunia tentatively.

Darunia grimaced. "They are like large lizards, and very violent. They would happily eat you if they got the chance."

Link fell silent. Darunia's answer had not filled him with confidence.

They rounded a corner and Link caught his first glimpse of a dodongo. It was in the middle of the passage, and at the sound of their approach fixed a pair of red eyes with enormous pupils on them, distended to unnatural size from peering through the darkness. It looked like a huge lizard with only two legs. It crawled towards them, dragging the back end of its body across the floor. It hissed at them with its blunt, almost flattened head.

When it moved, it came surprisingly quickly, though; the little group were caught off guard when it suddenly dashed towards them.

Reacting to the attack, Darunia and the leading goron dodged around the creature and swung their rocky fists at it. Both missed.

Too fast for the invaders, the dodongo was on the move again. It leapt forward, past Darunia and his companion, Rayner, and jumped at a third goron. Its momentum caused the goron to topple over backwards with the dodongo on his chest and snapping at him with needle-like teeth. The torch he was carrying fell from his grip and rolled across the floor of the tunnel.

It was Link who came to the goron's rescue. He drew his sword and jumped at the big lizard, faster to react than the rest of the group. He jabbed with the blade, forcing the dodongo to switch its attention from the fallen goron. It crawled off him and advanced on Link, snapping at him and forcing him to retreat down the passage, back the way they had come.

Backing nimbly away, Link kept the dodongo at bay with his sword. He was unprepared for the sudden change in tactics, though, when the creature suddenly lunged forward and twisted, swinging its long, thick tail. Using the tail as a bludgeon, the dodongo thumped Link, completely winding him and throwing him against the wall.

His vision was filled for a moment with claws and teeth. At the last second, the dodongo seemed to stop, and then flew backwards, away from Link. Scrabbling to his feet, the kokiri saw that Rayner had taken hold of its tail and wrenched it backwards. Flanking his comrade, Darunia stepped forward and slammed his huge fist downward, crushing the lizard's spine at the base of the skull and instantly killing it.

Straightening up, Darunia grinned at Link, a ferocious grin that showed his teeth.

"Brother! You reveal your courage and your mettle. The goddesses chose well when they sent you to us."

Link bowed his head in acknowledgement of the goron's compliment.

The goron who had fallen stepped forwards. He picked up his still burning torch and turned to Link.

"Courage, indeed. Thank you for your timely intervention. I hope the time comes when I can repay you, and show my thanks. My name is Timbull. I name myself your brother and offer you aid whenever you call on it."

These were courteous words, and well spoken. They left Link at a loss for how to respond, and he wordlessly pleaded through the bond with his fey for her intervention.

Her light glowing with warmth towards Timbull, she fluttered forwards. "Thank you, Timbull of the gorons. Your words are kindly spoken, and will not be forgotten."

The noises up ahead distracted their attention.

"Come, brothers," said Darunia. "We must keep moving."

He led them down the passage, Rayner joining him at the front and the other goron, Hendon, following at the back. The passage came to a fork, and Darunia moved swiftly into the right hand fork and continued.

The noises of movement ahead increased, and then they found the passage widening as they rounded a bend. The tunnel ahead was filled with ten or twenty dodongos.

Quickly and quietly, the group turned to retreat, but found their way blocked by dodongos moving towards them from the left hand of the fork they had just passed.

Horror struck, Link turned to Darunia. The light of battle shone in the goron's eyes, and he charged the dodongos blocking their retreat.

Following their leader, the other gorons charged in. Link saw little alternative but to join the fight. He moved towards the host of dodongos.

One of the them came at him. Again, he fended it off with his sword. The lizard eyed the blade warily, looking for an opening.

It saw its moment as its prey seemingly relaxed for a moment. Link was a quick learner, though; as the dodongo pivoted and lunged with its thick tail, he stepped quickly out of range and stabbed. His sword struck the dodongo at the root of the tail and drew from it a shriek of pain. Turning to face him again, it snapped angrily.

Seeking to block the sharp teeth from his flesh, Link slashed with his sword and struck the dodongo across its wide mouth, leaving a long, bloody gash.

The wound meant the creature could not open its jaw properly without causing itself more pain. It snapped ineffectually at the kokiri, but was defenceless when Link stepped forwards and in one swift move stabbed it through the neck.

Drawing his blood-stained sword from the creature, the small warrior was momentarily shaken by the fact he had killed it. It was the urgency of the situation radiating from Navi that brought him to his senses. The small warrior had no time to consider what he had done. Looking around, he saw that the four gorons were hard pressed.

Closest to him, Rayner was barely keeping three dodongos at bay. They had encircled him, and kept him constantly unable to stand still or to break free of their ring. Keeping him constantly turning to try and keep them in sight, they were steadily wearing him down.

With a sudden rush, two jumped towards him. Rayner's fist flew out and knocked the first from the air, but he could not move quickly enough to stop both. Leaping forwards, Link drove his sword into the creature's red maw, killing it.

Nodding his thanks to Link, Rayner returned to the fighting.

As the dodongos closed on the gorons and the kokiri, the only one who seemed untroubled was Darunia. Red mist had come over his eyes and the battle spirit of the gorons had been awoken in him. He held one of the lizards in each hand, squeezing the life from them and using them as bludgeons against the others.

Leaping up, a dodongo fastened itself to his arm, sinking its teeth into his thick skin. Darunia roared and flailed madly to dislodge the creature. Unable to hold on, it flew threw the air and slammed into the wall of the tunnel. It flopped to the ground, dazed.

Dropping the two he was holding, Darunia charged forwards. He flung a mighty fist at the monster. The dodongo recovered itself in time though, and moved with surprising alacrity. Darunia's fist slammed against the rock wall instead. So forceful was his punch that it reverberated through the walls.

Unused to being underground as he was, Link abandoned the fight and dashed down the tunnel away from the tremors. He could see Timbull seeking to escape down the passage, back the way they had come.

In a moment's clear thinking, Link saw that they had killed most of the creatures that had emerged from the fork, but in doing so had fallen further towards the others. Link could see that he had managed to emerge from the cluster far from safety, with the whole battle between him and the passage they had initially come down.

Not realising the danger of the situation, Darunia saw nothing but the creatures he sought to kill. He dashed at the dodongos again, his fists flailing, and again struck the wall heavily. The tremors increased but still Darunia seemed oblivious to everything. Hendon and Rayner dashed to his side and started wrestling with him, trying to drag him away, but Darunia seemed not even to recognise his companions and fought wildly against them.

He threw them from him. Link saw Hendon fly backwards, but Rayner only stumbled and was not deterred. He grabbed his leader and pivoted. Showing all his strength, he hurled Darunia. The goron flew into the air and rolled down the passage, looking more like a hurtling boulder than a living creature as he bowled and bounced towards Link.

It was only just in time, as the roof of the tunnel gave way. It caved in with an almighty din that deafened Link and filled his ears with ringing and crashing rocks. He was hurled to the floor and his world was thrown into dark chaos.