Chapter 20: Goron Mask.
Daku immediately fired an arrow coated in blue light directly at Romani. Unable to respond, she only managed to cover her eyes and await impact. A loud fluttering of wings rang out, and something appeared between her and Daku.
She stared, wide-eyed in disbelief, as a blond-haired man wearing a green tunic stood in front of her, a red shield held firm in his right hand. Daku's arrow ricocheted off of the shield and hit a tree trunk only a few centimeters from his face. A large chunk of ice formed from the point of the arrow's impact. Daku drew another arrow.
"Why are you here?" The man said sternly, his eyes trained on Daku.
"Uh...um... Zak asked me to come," Romani stuttered.
The man looked back, "Fine. I'll hold him off. You get out of here."
Romani headed towards Termina Field. Daku aimed his bow and fired. His arrow struck a thrown bomb, which knocked him off of his feet. Several sizzling bombs fell around him. He jumped up to his feet and darted away as they exploded. The green man stared him down with an icy glare, his blue eyes piercing Daku's soul.
Daku smirked, pulling out his sword, "So, you've decided to show yourself, Hero of Time. Oh, wait, that's not what you are anymore, is it?"
Link unsheathed his sword, "I used to call you master. Fair trade."
Daku snarled, "Let's see if you can beat your old master, then, Hero. Unless you're scared."
Link twirled his sword in his hand, "I don't have to beat you."
Link and Daku rushed one another. Their sword collided, groaning under the weight of their strike. Link's wrist sparkled with a golden gauntlet. He bashed his shield into Daku, who backflipped over his following strike. Daku landed and slashed, forcing Link to block with his shield. Link slid back, sparks flying around him. He narrowed his eyes. Daku advanced, and Link threw several bombs in his path. Daku dodged through them, and sliced the air at the arrows Link fired in response. Link backflipped before firing his hookshot. Daku slashed it, and the chain wrapped around his sword. Link pulled it tight, and Daku let his sword go. Several arrows flew at Link.
Romani called out, and Zak's strange horse met her in Termina Field. She thought about heading back to the ranch, but decided against it. She didn't have time to go ask Zak where the next mask would be located. A frigid wind blew from the northern end of Termina Field. She kicked the horse up into a gallop and headed that way. She stopped short when she discovered a group of Gorons confronting the Clock Town guards. The guards retreated when Romani broke the Gorons' attention. They approached her slowly, hostility in their eyes. Her horse reared, and then took off at a full sprint up the mountain. The Gorons rolled up and chased after them. Unable to control the horse, Romani held on with all of her strength. They thundered past the Smithy, across the bridges, and straight up to the entrance to Goron Village. A slightly larger than average Goron stood at the entrance. Zak's horse stopped, and Romani dismounted.
"No outsiders allowed," he said sternly. Romani felt the chilly air blowing out of the entrance just beyond the Goron. She narrowed her eyes. If she was right, the next mask was just beyond that door.
"I challenge your patriarch to personal combat," she said in a shaky voice.
The Goron burst out laughing, "You? You'll get crushed like an insect. Go home, little girl."
She stamped her foot, "Let me through. I'm not leaving."
"I admire your tenacity," he remarked, "Very well. Maybe the Great Darmani will take pity on you when you lose." She narrowed her eyes and smirked a little. She followed the Goron up the winding path towards the Patriarch's room. A muscular Goron with spiky hair and shiny metallic patches of skin met her gaze from the Patriarch's seat. It stood up, knowing her intentions immediately. The Goron monster rolled forwards with surprising speed, chasing her back. It uncurled itself, grabbed Romani around the midsection, and pitched her off the side of the walkway.
Link hopped to the side, narrowly dodging the arrows. However, once they flew past him, they exploded, knocking him forwards. He picked himself up just in time to block Daku's stab with his shield. Daku pressed against the shield with all of his might, but Link held firm, despite being off of his feet. He stood up against Daku's might, his jaw clenched.
"Damn you," Daku sneered, "If I hadn't trained you so well, you wouldn't have been such a nuisance to me now."
Link glared at him, "For my master, you are weaker than I thought. You lack focus."
Daku smiled, "Perhaps I shouldn't hold back again you, after all, Hero." Daku knocked Link's shield across the Swamp. It clattered against the ground. He rolled to the side and sliced upwards along Link's body in a corkscrew fashion. Link yelled out in pain, his blood spilling across the swamp floor. He fell to the ground in a heap. Daku stepped on his chest, pinning him down. He placed his blade's tip to Link's throat. Link dropped his sword. Daku lifted his sword up, and brought it down at Link's neck.
The Goron monster stared over the ledge, watching Romani struggle to hold onto the railing. It grabbed her firmly around the wrist and lifted her up effortlessly. As she came face to face with it, she gave it a wide grin. Inside her mouth, Romani held a Deku seed. She spit it into the monster's eye. It recoiled and dropped her. As Romani fell, she pulled out her bow and fired at the Goron monster. Her arrows flew straight past it. It jump off of the ledge after her in an attempt to crush her to death under its immense weight. Romani swallowed hard as she fell. It felt like time was slowing down.
A bright light shined behind the monster, revealing to Romani that her arrows had stuck into a massive chandelier. She loaded a few more arrows and fired as quickly as she could. Romani hit the floor hard. Then, the monster's massive body fell on top of her with a sickly crunch. It stared at her crumpled form, a grin spreading across its lips. The chandelier broke free from its restraints and fell down on top of them both.
Daku swung downwards, and the bomb Link had dropped next to his sword detonated. The blast flung them both through the air and sent them into the water. Link resurfaced, coughing and sputtering. Daku was nowhere to be found. He trudged over to the shore, grabbed his sword, and headed towards Termina Field. He studied the surrounding area as he walked for clues to where Daku might have gone. As he walked, he caught a glimpse of the start of Milk Road. With a groan, he headed towards Romani Ranch.
Out of the wreckage of the demolished chandelier, a glowing white fairy drifted out of Romani's bottle. It drifted around her, surrounding her in a glowing white light. She leaned up, shoving the debris off of her. The Goron monster's body twitched and convulsed like mad. She sang Zak's Song as best she could, and its body dissolved into a mask shaped like a Goron's face. Romani struck it with one of her arrows. A being of white light drifted out of it and faced her.
"Thank you, dear lass," Darmani declared proudly, "At last, I am at peace. You'd make a fine Patriarch, my dear." The spirit transformed into a ball of white light, which dissipated into thin air.
Zak stared at Cremia, who had refused to let him move from his chair. She stared back at him, arms crossed. Finally, he sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you about Princess Zelda."