Chapter 16: Goron City, Clearly Not Itself
Link's skin crawled as he and Ember continued up the road towards Goron City. The acrid stink of the marbled rock roast hung thick and heavy in the air. He could see the empty, glowing eyes of the Gorons eating it peering listlessly out from beneath crags and within caves. Many seemed too absorbed by their devouring to pay him any mind, but he rode quickly away from a trembling Goron demanding, in a rough, slurred voice, that he give over his money – or a marbled rock roast.
"Don't just sit around eatin' – get to work!" exclaimed an older Goron, standing over a young adult biting at a roast.
The younger Goron offered a sleazy grin. "Just samplin' the goods," he sneered. "Who cares about work when there's marbled rock roast to chomp!"
"Yer chompin' instead of workin,'" the old Goron sighed deeply, dragging a massive hand across his face. "At this rate, the Southern Mine – no, YunoboCo as a whole – is done fer!"
Link scowled, halting Ember on the road. He'd overheard too many similar conversations so far along the road – the working-age Gorons sitting around, engrossed in their new food, while the elderly and the children looked on in dismay.
He dismounted, keeping a wary eye on the preoccupied younger Goron as he approached the elder.
"Oh, a traveler," the older Goron grimaced. "Sorry about all this. Real embarrassing that you had to see that."
"I've seen a lot," Link answered gravely. He lowered his voice, glancing again at the younger Goron. "What is going on here?"
"YunoboCo dug up some new kind of rock roast," the Goron shuddered. "It's too hard for us old folks to eat, and the young'uns, too. But those who can eat it say it's amazing – tastiest rock they've ever had. Maybe I'd understand, if I could have some."
Link swallowed. "I think you're better off not," he said uneasily.
The Goron nodded in agreement. "I'm of a mind to agree with you there, seein' what's become of all our young folk," he said glumly. "Lazin' about, orderin' the little ones this way and that, no respect for anyone. And the lengths they'll go to, just to get their grubby hands on more of the awful stuff…" He shook his head slowly. "But I don't mean to dump all that on you, traveler. You're best headin' home now. We're… we're not in our right minds anymore."
"Thanks for the warning," Link said, turning back to Ember and mounting up. "Stay safe."
"You ought to be more worried 'bout yourself, traveler," the Goron called after him, and Link's spine prickled as he continued up the mountain. Goron City wasn't far now – he would find Yunobo and talk some sense into him.
Or beat some sense into him, if he's not of a mind for talking, he thought angrily.
The stench of marbled rock roast grew ever stronger. Link wished that there was a way to get Ember back down the mountain; the air was thick with the oily odor and he could almost feel it coating the inside of his nose with its acrid burn. Definitely not good air for a horse to be breathing.
But it might at this point be too dangerous for us to head down, he thought grimly. We've been lucky so far that no one's really tried to mess with us.
A group of four widely-grinning Gorons were walking in his direction from further up the road. Each clutched a marbled rock roast, and their eyes glowed a bright magenta color.
Guess I had that thought too soon.
"Hey, hey," one said cheerfully. "We gotta let you in on something."
The four fell into step alongside him. Ember tossed his head anxiously, and Link patted his shoulder. He kept his face impassive. Just keep going.
"There are some untrustworthy fellas rollin' around the city right now," another Goron warned.
"So if you're loaded up on ore, you should probably sell it before you're scammed out of it," the third said.
"We're good Gorons. We'll take it off your hands for a great price," the fourth chimed in, grinning widely. "How about… three rupees for all your ore? Whatever ore ya got!"
"Come on, show us the goods," the first urged.
Ember whickered nervously. Link swallowed. That's the best you could come up with? Three rupees for everything? I'm not even carrying gemstones – Goddesses, I hope no one was stupid enough to actually take that deal! "No, thanks."
"Ya sure about that, bud?" one of the Gorons asked skeptically. "You could get yourself into a lotta trouble if ya don't." His voice had taken on a sudden menacing tone.
"Yeah, scrawny little guy like you?" another taunted. "There's folks here that could really mess you up."
"So how's about ya hand over what you've got?" the first smirked, holding out his massive hands to stop Ember from progressing.
Link let his grip on the reins fall slack, giving Ember his head. With a snort the little horse burst forward and rammed his forehead into the Goron's fists, sending him toppling backwards with a startled yelp – a headbutt like no other. Ember leapt over the Goron and raced up the trail, away from the group, towards the archway of Goron City.
"Atta boy," Link said, patting Ember's shoulder as he slowed to a light trot. "Thanks."
A literally hard-headed horse with a literally hard-headed Hylian, he thought, amused. We make quite the pair. He glanced over his shoulder, as the fallen Goron pushed himself back up to his feet. He grit his teeth.
We managed to avoid most of the trouble so far. What'll Goron City itself be like?
He considered dismounting, taking as much of Ember's gear and the traveling supplies as he could carry, and going on alone. At once he rejected the idea. Leaving Ember alone in a forest with plenty to eat, plenty of shelter, and no one else around – that's one thing. Leaving Ember alone here, on a desolate mountainside? Going on alone?
He shook his head inwardly. He could not match a Goron in a battle of might, and they were made of rock – skilled as he was with a sword, it wouldn't do any good against them. If not for Ember, he wouldn't have escaped the four scammers on the road, he was certain. No – we need each other here.
They passed beneath the archway into the city, and Link's gut clenched. Smoke, steam – something drifted through the air, stinking of marbled rock roast. Link's eyes watered, and he coughed, as Ember snorted violently. Quickly Link dismounted and rifled through his supplies, pulling out a spare undershirt and tearing it up. He wrapped part of it around Ember's nose after offering him several treats, murmuring soothing words.
"You've got to trust me, alright?" he said quietly. "Just as I've trusted you." He wrapped the other part of the shirt around Ember's eyes, biting his lip as Ember tossed his head in discomfort, blowing hard through his nose. "I know, I know…"
He took the horse by the reins under his chin and led him onward on foot as he adjusted to the blinders. Link's undershirt wasn't particularly thick; Ember was still able to see and of course breathe, but Link hoped that at least he wouldn't breathe in quite as much of the polluted air.
There was a massive mountain of marbled rock roasts in the center of the city, piled high. All around it were Gorons eating, plopped on the ground gobbling just as fast as they could, their eyes glowing eerily above wide, empty smiles. At the base of the mountain, Link saw with a jolt, a Goron lay prone on his back, shuddering, glowing eyes half-opened and a grimace of pain across his face. Link recognized Boss Bludo standing concernedly over the Goron, with two of the children next to him.
"What is going on?" Bludo was muttering to the downed Goron as Link drew nearer. "Really, Krane! You too? After all my warnin's about the marbled rock roast…"
The Goron didn't respond, but one of the children looked up uneasily. "You really think that's it? That's why everyone's acting funny?"
"C'mon, Offrak!" the other kid said, stomping a foot. "Everyone starts eatin' this stuff, and then immediately they go all weird? Of course it's the marbled rock roasts!"
Offrak slumped dejectedly. "Yeah, but… Slergo, I thought… I thought YunoboCo was all good for us," he said. "That's what you said, Boss!"
"That's what I said then," Bludo grumbled. "I mighta just changed my mind these last few weeks."
"Hey, Boss," Link greeted. He dismounted, raising a hand and walking closer.
"Link," Bludo said with a heavy sigh. "It's… it's good to see you, but also… I kinda wish you weren't here to see this. It's… shameful."
Link nodded sympathetically. "Seems all of Hyrule's got something going on these days," he said. "I'll admit, when I saw Death Mountain, I didn't think… this is what had happened."
Bludo grimaced. "Yeah, it's all on account of the marbled rock roasts," he grumbled.
"Well, can we get rid of them somehow?" Link asked.
Bludo's brow scrunched. "Get… rid of 'em?"
"Find a lava pool, melt it down, dump it all down a cliff…" Link shrugged, thinking through things that would get rid of something made of rock.
"There's plenty who'd join you in an endeavor like that – most of the older folks, like me," Bludo said quietly. "But our workin' days are far behind us. I fight against my back hard as I can – I couldn't pull or push a cart of rock roasts anywhere. Couldn't even load it up."
"What if we do it?" Offrak asked hopefully. "Us kids could help – we want our brothers back!"
"Have you ever tried liftin' a rock roast by yerself?" Bludo asked gently.
"Whadda you think Yunobo has us doin'?" Slergo sighed, shaking his head. "None of the grown-ups are doin' work anymore, so Yunobo makes us do it."
What? Link felt a horrified chill down his spine, as well as a rising tide of anger in his gut.
Bludo's eyes widened. "That – that – gah, words can't even –!" He exhaled heavily. "I'd wondered where all you kids rolled off to every day; Dugby kept talkin' about findin' Lost Gorondia! I thought – I hoped – you'd just found another place to play, away from all the smog. That – that just ain't right. Puttin' the kids to work…"
"But we can do it," Offrak pointed out determinedly. "So if we had a plan to get rid of it, we kids could –"
"Hey, what're you mumblin' about over there?" growled a voice from behind – a familiar voice, but colder than Link had ever heard it before. He and the Goron children all turned around – and there was Yunobo, nearly unrecognizable, draped in finery. A yellow, spotted fur cloak, a gold and silver chest plate, and a strange golden mask over his eyes. Eyes that, Link noted with growing anger simmering in his gut, did not glow like the other addicts' did.
He's… he's not addicted.
"You all talkin' about marbled rock roast, are ya?" he asked threateningly. His gaze slid to the collapsed Goron next to Bludo, and he sneered. "There's nothin' to worry about, in my opinion. Now stop flappin' your rock chompers and get over here, goro!"
The anger in Link's soul reached a boiling point, and he fought to keep his features still as the two Goron children looked at each other in near-terror before scampering over to Yunobo's side.
Yunobo's eyes narrowed as they settled on Link. He raised his hands wide in sarcastic welcome. "Well, if it ain't Link! You're so tiny, I barely even noticed ya."
Link smiled thinly. Now you're taking jabs at me about my height, too. How far you've fallen.
Bludo balled his hands into fists. "Yunobo! What's the big idea? Talkin' like that to our esteemed guest?"
"Bludo," Yunobo acknowledged him with an expression of disgust. "Or should I say, 'Boss?' You really don't know your place, do ya?" He turned to one of the Goron children with a raised fist, and Link took half a step forward in shock, his teeth clenched. "Slergo, tell me who runs Goron City these days!"
"YunoboCo," Slergo gulped, eyes wide.
"And, Offrak!" Yunobo growled, turning to the other kid. "Who's in charge of YunoboCo?"
Offrak's shoulders drooped. "Y-you are, President Yunobo," he stammered.
"You hear that, Bludo?" Yunobo smirked. "You're not needed 'round here anymore."
Bludo's expression was murderous, his fists trembling with rage. "You think I'm just gonna sit here and –"
"Oh, shut up," Yunobo scoffed, rolling his eyes. "So. Link. What's your business in Goron City, huh?"
Link exhaled through his teeth, fighting to keep his composure. Don't punch a rock. Won't do anything but break my own hand. "There's been strange goings-on throughout Hyrule," he said stiffly. "And Princess Zelda went missing around the same time. I'm looking into things, seeing what I can do to help."
For a moment Yunobo looked startled, his eyes flying wide. Then he snorted. "Such a goody-goody," he sneered. "Princess Zelda, huh? Well, as you can see, Goron City is the picture of peace. And we can't help with Princess Zelda. So you'd better shove off."
Link's lip curled. Picture of peace? "Are you really that blind?" he demanded furiously, throwing a hand out towards the Goron trembling on the ground next to Bludo. "Are you honestly that far up your –"
"Are you really dumb enough to pick a fight with me?" Yunobo exclaimed. "I could snap you in half, hero. Without even trying. And I would, right this second, but I've got to go get more marbled rock roast. Can't afford to keep her waiting. So take a hint – when I get back, you're gone, or you're dead."
"I'd like to see you try," Link said through gritted teeth.
"Yunobo, I swear," Bludo glowered, drawing himself up to his full height. "If you bring in any more of that stuff, I'll – urgh!" With a gasp of pain he doubled over, a hand flying to his back as he grimaced. "Nnngh… damn achin' back…"
"You cracked old quartz," Yunobo laughed. "Stickin' your nose into things when you've got your bones to worry about." He snapped his fingers. "Slergo, you're comin' with me back to YunoboCo HQ. Offrak, find Dugby and meet me there, pronto. Got it?"
Offrak nodded uneasily, and then Yunobo and Slergo were rolling away, north through the city.
"There's no way he can't see what a mess we're in," Bludo rumbled. "He just keeps playin' dumb. All the popularity and money just went to his head, I guess. If it weren't for my damn spine, I'd march right into YunoboCo HQ and give him a piece of my mind!"
"I'll gladly do it for you," Link said darkly, a hand on the hilt of his sword, rage still simmering beneath his skin. How could he do this? To his own brothers!
"He wasn't bad at all until he started wearin' that mask," Offrak mumbled dismally, staring at the ground. "Then… then it was just like there were two Yunobos. The nice one, from before the mask. And… and this one, from after."
Link's brow furrowed. "And… when did he start wearing the mask?" he asked heavily, feeling certain he already knew the answer.
"It was… a little while after the Upheaval," Bludo answered, scratching his beard. "Rohan's the one who made all Yunobo's getup – he probably made the mask, too. You're thinkin' it's behind all this?"
Link remembered from Zelda's history lessons that masks were a fairly oft-used malicious kind of artifact that appeared in Hyrule's past wars. "Could be," he answered.
Bludo's forehead wrinkled. "But that would mean – but Rohan wouldn't – he couldn't have… done all this!"
"We'll find out," Link said grimly. "I'm going to have a talk with him. You're welcome to come with."
Bludo exhaled heavily, rubbing his lower back. "I… I think I can make it up to his forge," he nodded.
"I've got to go find Dugby," Offrak said glumly. "Yunobo's waiting for us."
Link rubbed a hand restlessly across his face, anger surging within him once more. "You're welcome to tag along with me for now," he said gently. "I don't think you should go back there."
Offrak's eyes widened; he looked torn. "But – but all the awful things Yunobo said he'd do to you – I don't wanna make him mad at you!"
"Don't worry 'bout Link – he's a lot tougher than he looks," Bludo said with a chuckle, smiling grimly at Link. "Worst mistake anyone can make is underestimating you, eh?"
Link returned the smile. "I'll be fine," he promised Offrak. "Let's go talk to Rohan, alright?"
The master blacksmith of Goron City was scowling fiercely when they saw him, hammering a piece of molten metal as if it had personally wronged him. He looked up from his work as they neared, his scowl lessening when his gaze landed on Bludo and then Link. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Ember trotting faithfully behind Link.
"Good to see ya," he grumbled, nodding to both of them. "What brings you over here?"
"We just wanted to ask about the mask you made for Yunobo," Bludo explained, rubbing his back with a grimace. "Wonderin' if maybe it's connected to how screwy things have gotten 'round here."
Rohan set his tools down, carelessly tossing the piece of metal he'd been hammering over his shoulder with a frustrated growl. "'Bout time you asked after that!" he said harshly. "But look, gimme a break – that Hylian blondie had me makin' the weirdest stuff!"
Link's heart clenched. Blond-haired Hylian – it can't be!
"She said it was a simple mask, but it looked funny to me," Rohan huffed. "And she had me make it with an odd material. Gold, and some weird glowy stuff. Looks kinda like the marbled rock roast, now that I think 'bout it."
"And you didn't find that suspicious?" Bludo exclaimed.
Rohan crossed his massive arms. "I didn't know it was suspicious, way back when!" he pointed out indignantly. "Keep in mind, this was before we dug up any marbled rock roast! I hadn't ever seen none of it at that point."
"What did the Hylian woman look like?" Link interrupted grimly, rising dread in his chest. Just like I told Penn – there's plenty of blond-haired women in Hyrule. It might not be her.
"Well…" Rohan scratched his head. "She was kinda smallish, like you. Had on a nice white and green dress, with some weird stone-looking decorations."
It is. It's Zelda. Zelda commissioned Yunobo's mask. His heart hammered violently. "And – and she spoke to you?" he asked, feeling sick. The 'echoes' he'd seen hadn't spoken. But Zelda had spoken to the Great Fairy.
"Well, yeah," Rohan said, squinting at him. "She was very particular 'bout how I made it. Gave me good, clear instructions."
"Was there anything else that stood out?" Link pressed. "Did you… recognize her?"
"She was blond and smallish like you, as I said," Rohan sighed. "With these old eyes of mine, it's hard to say more'n that. Maybe I saw her before, but I couldn't tell."
Link nodded stiffly, feeling a weak sense of relief – technically, then, it might not have been Zelda.
But I think I know better than that.
"Thank you, Rohan," Bludo said, clapping a hand on Link's shoulder. "I think that's all we need for now."
"Anytime, Boss," Rohan shrugged, picking up another piece of metal and setting it over his forge.
Bludo pulled Link away to a quiet corner – one of relatively few in the city that wasn't occupied by a dazed Goron eating marbled rock roast.
"I think you're havin' the same thought I am," Bludo said uneasily. "You – you think that was Princess Zelda."
Link braced a hand against the wall, his insides tied into knots. Why… why would she do something like this? Have a mask made for Yunobo that – that changes him into such a horrible person. That led him to bring his own people to their knees.
The only other explanation is, the mask isn't actually a problem. Zelda was just having it made as a gift. But that means Yunobo really has just changed into a downright awful person.
He exhaled deeply, a tremor going through him. Either Zelda's behind this, or Yunobo's become a villain. They're both terrible options.
"Link?" Bludo prodded. "You alright? Isn't that what you're thinking?"
"Trust me," Zelda had said, that strange moment beneath Hyrule Castle where it seemed she gained some sort of clarity about their path forward.
How can I trust you when this is what you're doing? Link thought, an almost physical hurt stinging his soul. He remembered his thoughts after speaking with the Great Fairy. That perhaps what Zelda had experienced in the past, fighting the Demon King, had… taken away her hope, had caused her to adopt a bleak, negative perspective. Perhaps, if the Gorons' situation was any indication, she had been impacted more than he thought.
"I… I think Yunobo talks to a lady like that sometimes," Offrak offered quietly, looking up at him. "In a cave at YunoboCo HQ."
Link closed his eyes for a moment, fighting to regain his composure. That's right – Yunobo mentioned that he can't keep 'her' waiting. I was… too angry at the time to notice. "Can you take me there?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice from trembling.
Offrak nodded determinedly. "You'll have to help me get the minecart going, though," he said. "I'm not so good at that."
"And you'll need some heat protection, if you're goin' into a cave," Bludo warned. "You two get on up to the minecart depot. I'll round up some stuff and catch up."
"Thanks," Link said quietly, nodding at the Goron as he rolled away. He drew himself up straight and turned to Offrak. He let out a deep, steadying breath. "Alright. Can you show me the way to the depot?"
Offrak gave him a confident thumbs-up. "This way," he grinned.
They walked up through the city, the same direction Yunobo had gone. Link continued leading Ember, absently rubbing the horse's brow – whether to soothe the horse or himself, he wasn't entirely sure.
Offrak led them to the edge of a cliff, where minecart tracks wound away in two different directions, the end of the tracks sheltered by an iron-wrought awning. A Goron child was standing by a minecart on the rails, looking distraught. He yelped when Offrak rushed closer.
"Dugby, what happened?" Offrak exclaimed in dismay, rushing up to the minecart.
"It wasn't me!" Dugby gulped. "Really! I just – I just found it like this, for real!"
"What's wrong?" Link asked, jogging closer and examining the little cart. All the wheels were intact and slick with oil; the brake lever on the back seemed functional from what he could determine.
"The blowy-thing on the back that makes it move!" Offrak said, wide-eyed. "Where'd it go?"
Dugby winced. "It's… it's over there, I think," he said in a small voice, leading them over to a pile of what seemed at first to be scraps. And, indeed, some of the pile looked to be pieces of oddly-bent strips of metal. The rest consisted of green-hued circular objects with what looked like a windmill's vanes on the inside.
Link pulled one from the pile. "How's it supposed to work?" he asked.
"We put the blowy-things on the back of the minecart, and then we hit it and it goes," Dugby said. "I like to pretend it'll take me to Gorondia… I guess I hit it too hard."
"We'll fix it," Link assured him, taking the circular object he'd picked up over to the back of the minecart on the rails. "What's Gorondia?"
The Goron children helped him place it correctly, regaling him with tails of the legendary mines of the ancient Gorons. Being creatures born of rock, that devoured rock, they had once lived in those mines, deep underground, and called it Gorondia.
"We were tougher then," Dugby sighed longingly. "The ancient Gorons wouldn't have let somethin' like marbled rock roast keep them from real rocks."
"Dugby came up with the game where we pretend this minecart takes us to Gorondia," Offrak added. "Instead of YunoboCo HQ. Then when we load up all the marbled rock roasts to take back home, we pretend we're the tougher Gorons from ancient times, liftin' rocks as big as we are!"
"You are pretty tough," Link told them, trying to keep his voice gentle despite the anger towards Yunobo simmering in his gut. He scanned over the back of the minecart, looking for some way to attach the circular device. "But Yunobo is wrong to ask you to do those things. You… know that, right?"
Dugby slumped glumly. "Yeah," he sighed. "We just… we don't wanna make him mad."
"Does that mean we did a wrong thing?" Offrak asked anxiously.
"No, not at all," Link assured them, a pang of pity twisting his guts. "You're all doing the best you can, and I'm impressed by how tough and brave you've been. This is Yunobo's mistake, not yours." And if I've got anything to say about it, he'll get what's coming to him, he thought angrily.
There didn't seem to be any screws or even rope to hold the circular device to the minecart. Holding it in place, curious to see if it would work, Link called upon the Zonai powers in his hand to Fuse it to the minecart.
"You have magic glue?" Offrak gaped, staring at his glowing hand.
Link shrugged. "It's… not exactly glue, but –"
"Magic glue!" Dugby exclaimed in excitement. "That's so cool!"
Bludo arrived not much later, grumbling about his back and holding something carefully in his cupped hands. "Don't know how much longer you'll be up here, or how many active volcanic caves you'll be delvin' into, but you'll need some of these," he said, lowering his hands to reveal several fireproof elixirs in bottles made of what looked like solid rock.
"Thanks," Link said gratefully, taking them and carefully stowing them with the other supplies he carried on his back. He looked at the minecart, and then at Ember, and grimaced. That's… definitely not somewhere I can take a horse. He pulled several rupees from the wallet at his belt and held them out to Bludo.
"Nah, don't pay me for that," Bludo sighed. "You're doin' plenty for us already."
"It's for my horse," Link said, nodding towards Ember. "I need you to keep an eye on him until I get back."
Bludo stared at him. "You… you know I don't know nothin' 'bout horses, right?" he asked uncertainly.
Link grimaced and nodded. "I'll try not to take long, but just in case, he needs water and grass. I know there's not much of that up here, but –"
"I'll… manage," Bludo said. "Least I can do, honestly." He accepted the rupees and waved as Link and the two Goron children clambered into the minecart. Dugby punched the device on the back which started up with a fierce whirring sound, blowing a steady stream of air behind them and pushing them forward down the tracks.
The cart took them over a sprawling lake of black, hardened lava, to one of several rocky crags. Below the elevated tracks, Link was surprised to see several groups of monsters – including the much larger variety of bokoblin he'd seen on his way to Lookout Landing for the first time. Monsters so close to the city? he thought incredulously, anger stirring up once again. The YunoboCo workers also served as the city's defenders – when they weren't hooked on marbled rock roast. Though of course there really wasn't much that could harm a Goron adult, monsters were still a nuisance to have around, and would make staying in Goron City that much more dangerous for the other peoples of Hyrule – if the Gorons themselves hadn't already done such a good job of that, Link thought wryly.
"Okay, we're here," Dugby said, pulling on the brake lever to ease the minecart to a stop. "Welcome to YunoboCo HQ!"
Link noticed the sculpture of Yunobo's face at the top of the rocky crag and wondered drily if that had been created before or after his drastic change. Fighting back a scowl, he followed Dugby and Offrak to the wide-mouthed opening of a cave near the crag. The cave itself was smoking, Link realized with a grimace, spewing marbled rock roast fumes. He recognized Slergo standing guard at the front.
"We can't go in yet – he's talking to the lady," Slergo said, looking at them uneasily.
"This guy's gonna go in and fix things," Offrak said hopefully. "We asked some questions, and we think President Yunobo's mask is what's causing all the problems."
Slergo looked up at Link. "You can… you can get him back to normal?" he asked warily, as if afraid to get his hopes up.
Link nodded, his heart clenching. "I'll do what I can," he vowed.
"Alright," Slergo gulped. "I'll – I'll let you through."
He stepped aside. Link quickly drank one of the fireproof elixirs from Bludo before walking into the cave, the three Goron children following hesitantly after him.
He could hear a quiet voice from deeper within, distorted by the curvature of the cave, and quickened his pace. His nose burned at the stench of marbled rock roast, so much stronger in here than in the city; covering his nose with his arm, he continued. The cave opened up into a wide room with bulky iron torches set into the walls, which were entirely coated with thick, dull ore deposits, seams of vibrant magenta running through them.
Yunobo was at the far end of the chasm, along with a figure in white. The woman raised her arm, and Yunobo tucked himself into a flaming ball and shot into the ore deposit in the direction she was pointing. Marbled rock roasts burst from the point of impact, joining several others scattered across ground. Yunobo straightened, shaking his head a little, but otherwise unbothered.
Link was running before the first rock roast hit the ground. "Zelda!" he exclaimed, sprinting towards her. "Zelda, we need to talk!"
She held her arms out to the side without turning to face him. All at once Yunobo rolled between her and Link, his eyes – and the mask – suddenly glowing the same evil magenta as the marbled rock roasts.
"Princess Zelda is right," the Goron said thickly, clenching his hands into fists. "Marbled rock roast is… good! It makes everyone… happy!"
"Enough, Yunobo!" Link snapped. "Let me pass!" He glanced over Yunobo's shoulder - Zelda was walking away, out another tunnel to the surface. It didn't seem as if she'd heard him at all. He grit his teeth.
"C'mon, President Yunobo," Offrak pleaded. "Take off the mask so you can go back to normal!"
"No," Yunobo said. "You – you want to make the marbled rock roasts go away! I won't let you!" With a roar, he rolled towards them, trailing fire.
Link's eyes flew wide. "Get back!" he exclaimed, throwing a hand out towards the Goron children, who all scattered, running back up the tunnel. Yunobo missed them, colliding instead with an ore deposit and knocking more marbled rock roast free. In the moment that Yunobo was slightly dazed, Link snatched up a rock from the ground and hurled it at him with all his might; it struck the mask with a brittle cracking sound, though the mask itself remained intact.
Yunobo shook his head clear, and his jaw dropped. "You'll pay for that!" he snarled, shaking a fist.
Yunobo tucked himself into a ball and rocketed towards Link, straightening at the last second instead of crashing as Link sidestepped out of the way. Link was already reaching for another rock – he had anticipated that Yunobo would crash again. Yunobo swiped a hand towards him, and Link tried to dodge backwards, but the Goron's reach was farther than he'd thought. Yunobo snatched Link's left arm painfully hard and tossed him across the cavern, the action yanking his shoulder entirely the wrong way. Red stone and evil glowing rocks all blurred and spiraled before his eyes and then there was a sudden brutal impact against the stone. Link's vision flashed white and then red as he cried out, pain erupting across his body, his lungs hollow and aching without air.
"I told you I could snap you in half," Yunobo jeered, marching closer and tucking himself into a flaming ball. Adrenaline surging, Link staggered to his feet, just barely out of the way as Yunobo crashed into the wall behind him. The Goron was stunned for a moment; Link bent down and scooped up a rock, throwing it into Yunobo's face and hissing at the pain that sprang up anew across his battered body. The mask cracked again, and then Yunobo bellowed in rage, swinging his fists in Link's direction.
Link dodged the first blow but not the second, which landed squarely in his face. Link stumbled backwards and fell hard onto his rear, sparks dancing across his eyes, wondering with no small amount of horror if his face had been caved in. Spitting blood from his mouth, lips pulsing numbly with pain, he shook his pounding, spinning head, trying to get his eyes to refocus – there were four or five Yunobos in front of him, all blurring together, and the Goron was preparing his fiery charge attack again –
With a startled gasp that sent sharp pain through his chest, Link threw himself out of the way just as Yunobo blazed past and struck another segment of wall. Link's right hand closed around a piece of ore, and with a breathless grunt he pushed shakily back to his feet and threw the rock into Yunobo's face. After a final crack, the mask burst into thousands of shards and fell from Yunobo's face, and the crazed magenta light faded from his eyes.
Link watched him warily, breathing hard, pressing a trembling hand against his aching chest. He spat more blood – dripping from his nose, he realized absently – to the ground.
Yunobo blinked slowly, a look of deep confusion settling over his face. He rubbed the back of his head. "Huh…?" he muttered, his voice no longer cold and uncaring. "What… happened?" He gasped hoarsely, his eyes wide. "Link! You look awful! What happened?"
Link managed half a smile. "Glad t'see you back t'normal," he mumbled, his words badly slurred, and then the world was tilting sideways.