Chapter 40: Within the Crown
Link pushed himself through the hole. The loose fitting Gerudo style clothing caught on the rocks and ripped and the dirt rubbed up against his side and chest. This was a terrible idea. He could barely breath, everything pressed in on him.
The rocks pinned his head in so he could not look around him even if he tried. Instead he pulled himself with his arms, and kicked forward with his feet. Inch by painful inch, grunting with exertion. He had to be almost through.
His hand reached out and found open air. Finally! Grabbing at the edge of the hole, he shoved himself forward with all the strength he had. The top of his head moved through, then his nose and mouth and he gasped for air, but if anything the air inside was even worse. Hot, almost painful for his lungs, and foul smelling. But he pressed, until half his body came through, and flopped to the ground.
Rolling out of the tunnel he landed on the stones with a wet and sweaty splat. He rubbed the dirt from his eyes. When he opened them he nearly screamed.
The light he had followed, the beacon that led him into the Crown was no candle at all. It was clothes, burning clothes on the charred body of the Goron that once wore them. He scrambled away from the blackened body twisted in the pains of death, only to put his hand in a wet and sticky pool. He raised his hand to see the red smeared across it. It was coming from underneath the rubble.
An arm, by the Goddesses an arm was sticking out from the rubble, the blood dripping along the fingers and pooling with the rest of it leaking out of the stones.
Link rose to his feet, and backed away from the corpses until his back hit the remains of a wall. Everywhere he looked there was death. Most of them did not even look like combatants, some of them had weapons in their hands or dropped beside them. But most certainly were not. Many wore impractical headdresses and now tattered robes. And others were clutching onto brooms or small stone chisels. Those that lived here and worked to maintain the Crown, they were all gone.
Some face up, staring blanking with unseeing eyes at the ceiling or the wall, or even Link. Mouths hanging open as if they all wanted to scream some dire warning at him. But their voices were missing. Others lay face down, some burned, crushed, or in pieces. And somehow that was even worse.
These were all Gorons he had never met before, they had been in the Crown the entire fight. But now, looking at their backs it could not help but think that if he rolled one over he'd see Yadunby's face, or his friend Brodni, the guards that Yadunby tried to tackle. Or even their chief Darunia. They could be anyone. They could have lived long and fulfilling lives. They should have. It wasn't fair.
How could anyone find this glorious?
A roar shook the mountainside. The massive Dodongo was still inside, and still causing destruction. A loud clang rang and the came the thunder of the Goron's bombs before the monster roared again. There were others. There were people still fighting that thing.
I need to help them. I'm sorry, I couldn't help all of you. I tried. I truly tried.
The sounds of battled led Link through the twisting rooms of the Crown. Though, he could have found his way there even without the noise. King Dodongo left a trail of blood and destruction in his wake. Wide rooms that may once have been beautiful and filled with statues of mighty Gorons, fine-crafted jewelry with gems larger than Link's fist, and weapons and armor that gleamed with crystals or perhaps some form of magic Link had not yet encountered.
At the height of its splendor it would have taken a person's breath away. Now it only fueled Link to run faster, all of them were overturned or destroyed. Some with bodies below them, as they must have made a final attempt to save relics that were so important to them.
An explosion sounded below him followed by a shout of rage. Was that Darunia? He was still alive! Link ran into a room where an entire wall had been toppled over. As if the monster or the bombs had burst through it and shattered the floor.
As Link jumped over the cracks he glanced down. A bright red and orange river of magma swirled beneath him. It was hot. So so hot. It made Link sweat just from walking over it. He felt faint and he had not even reached the fighting yet.
And yet he kept climbing and running throughout the destroyed temple until he reached the very base of it. One final room that had been closed off by a massive door of steel and stone that had been smashed in by the Dodongo.
The room inside was a wide cavern, it could have fit dozens of monsters the size of King Dodongo with room to spare. Along the walls were statues of stone that reached the ceiling. Gorons of mighty physique each with weapons or tools and even one with a book in its hand. Around them lay overturned treasures of gold and silver, stone necklaces and charms that seemed to have symbols etched into them.
King Dodongo stood at the furthest wall from him, staring up at the largest statue of them all. A Goron that looked much like Darunia himself, with even wilder hair spread across his head like a lion's mane. One foot was raised, stepping on a large serpentine figure. In one hand it held a giant stone hammer that looked exactly like the weapon Darunia now held. The other hand had its palm up as if it was holding something.
It was not until the Dodongo snorted a puff of fire from its nostrils that the small red ruby gleamed bright enough for Link to notice as it rested on the giant palm.
"I said back!" came a deep and powerful voice. A boulder rolled past, but it did not move like other stones. It sped along the ground, maneuvering around obstacles until it found a ramp of toppled debris and launched itself into the air. Then the stone unfurled revealing Darunia, a bomb in one hand and his hammer in the other. He threw the bomb, it exploded, causing the monster the flinch. Then with a mighty shout he smashed it down on King Dodongo with all his strength.
The monster fell away, almost collapsing from the force of the blow. But it was still alive and still dangerous. It roared and whipped its tail at Darunia, far faster than the chief could dodge. The tail took him in the gut and launched him across the room, smashing into the stones and fallen treasures.
"Darunia!" Link ran to the Goron's side. He had crashed into several idols of gold and gems that crumpled beneath his weight. He grabbed onto the Goron's arm and tried to pry him from the rubble. "Darunia, come on."
The old Goron, blinked at him a few times then shook his head. "The young… Link?"
"Yes, come on. Get up!"
"What are you-? Hmmph."
King Dodongo did not pay them any attention, its eyes returned to the statue and the stone. It curled itself up, then jumped into the air snapping its massive jaws shut as it found the stone arm of the statue. The rocks cracked but held, even with the Dodongo vast bulk on it. Fire flashed around the Dodongo's mouth, and poured out of its throat. Blazing around the arm with a flame so hot the stone itself started to melt.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"Volvagia's Stone, the Heart of the Mountain," Darunia said. "And that beast desecrates my family's legacy to reach it." The chief pressed his massive hammer into the ground and pushed himself to his feet. "But so long as I hold the hammer of my forefathers I will not yield."
"Wait!" Link called but it was too late. Darunia already chased off after the beast. It was brave, but it would have been better if there was a plan.
Oh by the Goddesses, is this what Navi always felt like?
Link ran after him, the stone arm of the statue drooped as the creature still latched onto it. Only its tail still touched the ground. And that was where Darunia struck.
"Release it!" He shouted and smashed his hammer down.
The Dodongo roared, it's jaws releasing from the arm. Crashing to the ground, stones split where it fell releasing a gasp of steam from the fissures. Link had to cover his eyes as the wave of heat struck him. As he breathed, he felt his throat grow dry. How long could he even last in this place?
"Die beast!" Darunia shouted. When Link opened his eyes again, the chief was swinging his hammer, King Dodongo stepped back and hissed letting the weapon fly past. Then it lashed with its claws only for Darunia to bat them aside.
It was like a battle of titans, two figures of great strength and durability with neither able to beat the other. That was it. That was what Link could do, just tip the scales in Darunia's favor slightly. If he distracted the monster at the right moment, maybe that would give Darunia the chance he needed.
Link pulled out his slingshot and took aim. The first pebble flew right where he wanted it. Straight into King Dodongo's ribs, any human would have a broken a few or at least have the wind knocked out of them.
The monster did not seem to notice.
Link released thee more striking his target in the spine, on the snout, even getting the last on the corner of the beast's eye. That had worked with the spider. But none of them did anything.
Link growled as he tucked the slingshot back into its pouch. Well, if that wasn't working what else was there?
Back the direction Darunia had started the fight was a small pile of bombs, only four. But one look at glowing cracks on the ground made Link think better about using those. Visions of the earth opening and swallowing him into a blazing pit ran through his mind.
No best avoid the bombs.
He unsheathed his sword and charged. "Hiyyaaaah!" he screamed at the top of his burning lungs as he slammed his sword into the monsters tail with all his might. "Hyup! Hyiah! Haahh!" He slashed and hacked at the tail. Pushing the point into the scales with all his might. Making as much noise so the monster would take notice.
But it didn't do anything. His sword just clanged against the hardened scales of the Dodongo as if it were solid rock. The tail whipped about, but not in pain. The monster did not seem to even notice him. It continued to snarl and roar, it's tail slithering side to side ready to swing around and strike Darunia if he saw the opportunity.
The Goron chief did not seem inclined to give him one. Every stroke of his hammer was not quick, exactly, but had the force of a mountain behind it. Even King Dodongo knew better than to let it strike him. And Darunia never seemed to slow or tire. Only the monster's claws or fiery breath hindered him.
And with each spout of flame, Darunia was sent back as far as he advanced.
Link gave one last thrust of his blade hoping that maybe it would catch between the scales. But it fared no better than the last dozen strikes before it.
He needed something bigger, something stronger. Along the wall among the overturned displays there were other weapons, mauls, maces, hammers, and even a gargantuan sword near as big as Ganondorf's. He moved to the nearest of these weapons, a spear of all things, but instead of a spearhead it had what looked to be an entire sword. The whole thing from tip to backspike was solid steel.
Sheathing his sword and swinging his shield over his back he took hold of the spear with both hands. "Euuuuugh," he pulled with all his might. He barely got the spear upright before it slipped from his sweaty hands and toppled back to the ground.
Too heavy, he'd never be able to wield it. The same was true for the hammer and the sword he tested. All these weapons were for Gorons, not eleven year olds.
"Fine," Link said through gritted teeth, as the words left his mouth and turned to steam before him. It was a risk, but one he would have to take.
He ran back to the other side of the room and found the pile of bombs. They were still heavy, but he could carry one at a time, and perhaps lob them a good ten feet or so and maybe it could roll a bit further.
That would have to do.
He took the first one and returned to the battle. Thankfully there was no dearth of fires to light the wick. All about the Dodongo flames sputtered where the pieces of cloth that decorated the room and the wooden frames that once held treasures caught alight.
Link pressed thin rope of the bomb into one, hoisted the black pot onto his shoulder and lobbed it as hard as he could. It crashed into the Dodongo's tail, the pot shattered for the briefest of moments Link saw a black dust spill out around the pot before some part of it caught the flame and the entirety of the dust flashed a brilliant white or perhaps a red so bright it was nearly indistinguishable. The force of it sent Link tumbling back landing hard on the stones. His hands fell back to catch himself, and some of his fingers slipped over into the cracks of on the ground.
"Gah," Link pulled his hand away. The heat radiating from the fissure was immense. He needed to be careful.
At least his action had some effect. The Dodongo's scales were blackened from the explosions, and it seemed Darunia had the upper hand, landing two heavy strikes to the creatures snout.
"Good work, goro!" the chief called. "Another my boy! Another!"
The Dodongo snarled and spewed flame at the Goron to create some distance between them.
I can do that. I can help!
Link picked up the next bomb, lit it, and threw it as hard as he could. This time running back after the throw to protect himself. The bomb struck King Dodongo in the base of its skull, it's explosion sent the beast's head down cutting off a fresh spout of flame before it could escape its lips. Darunia was on it in an instant. Jumping on top of the massive head and smashing his hammer down on it. Each strike ringing loud, Link could see the scales of the mighty beast cracking beneath the onslaught.
"It's working! We have it!" Link shouted as he ran to get the next bomb. A crash came from behind him, and a roar.
"Link, look out!" Darunia shouted just as Link lit the next bomb.
He barely had time to look up before the monster came barreling toward him. Darunia must have fallen off. The Goron was behind the massive beast, but Link could barely notice him. All that he could really see were the massive jaws filled with teeth open wide ready to tear him apart, and the fire that burned as hot as the fissures of magma resting down the monster's throat.
Link threw the bomb as fast as he could, but King Dodongo's head knocked it aside. The pot spun through the air smashed into the base of the statue of Darunia's ancestor.
That was it. There was no way that Link could move to get the next bomb in time. He couldn't unsheathe his sword, not that it would do any good against the monster anyway.
There was no way for him to get out of the way.
It was over.
There was a part of him that wished to rage. To scream and hack away at the problem. Going out with one last attack, one final demonstration of the courage he knew was in him.
But there was something else, a small feeling but one nagging voice that had been with him since Navi left him. Or maybe before that. Perhaps it had been there since he he left the Kokiri Forest, or perhaps when his father died. Maybe it had always been there, hissing at him since Mido's first insult.
Perhaps he should just shut his eyes, and let it end?
He had tried so hard. Who could expect him to do any more? He was just a boy. He was not exceptionally smart. He had no great powers. He was kind, but Saria was always kinder.
He had tried his best and it had not been good enough. Just like it hadn't been good enough when he fought Ganondorf. Just as it had not been good enough when he tried to save the Great Deku Tree. He failed.
Just let it go.
And yet he twisted his shoulder to swing his shield around, and his foot fell back in the warrior's stance that Bethe had drilled into him. Even at the end. Even as an eternal failure, even though it wouldn't count for anything.
His body still moved for the fight.
The jaws clamped shut. Link felt his arm pull up as the monster reared back. But he was alive. He was breathing.
And the Deku Shield shattered against the lizard's teeth. The monster had missed. How? The front legs pushed against the ground, it's head thrashed and chopped down over and over. But it didn't get any closer to Link. Instead it tore the shield to pieces, shattered wood flew about.
"Move!" came the strained voice from behind the monster. "Run! Can't hold-"
Link bolted away from the monster, scooping up the last of the bombs as he ran. His shield, the Great Deku Tree's last gift, was ruined. Everything below the handle was gone, except for a few jagged strips of wood. It would do him no good. He dropped it.
As he did, the monster lurched forward. Smashing face first into the back wall. Behind it, Chief Darunia was panting, his hammer on the ground a few steps behind him. "Your safe," he muttered. "Couldn't. See."
"You saved me."
The sound of stone grinding filled the room. Link and Darunia spun around to watch as the statue of his ancestor, now with a massive hole at the base where the bomb exploded twisted and fell to the ground. The earth split as it collapsed. The fissures grew, dust and steam filled the air. Massive stones, pieces of the statue soared through the air. Link dived to the ground as one smashed behind him.
Darunia and Link jumped away as the great arm of the statue landed between them. The earth around them split open.
And Darunia's hammer fell into the crack.
Darunia shouted, running toward it. Almost reaching it, as the still rippling land closed around the weapon, sealing it away.
King Dodongo roared. The massive shape ran forward, Darunia cried out in loss and rage something that Link could not hear over the cacophony. Through the dust, he saw both of them run toward the fallen statue and the shimmering ruby that struck the floor.
Darunia reached it first. But as his massive fingers wrapped around the stone, the Dodongo's head smashed into his back and sent him tumbling forward, striking the stones of the fallen statue. The Ruby slipped from his grasp, and the monster reached for it. It's tongue slithered from its mouth, stretching toward the stone.
Link reached the beast and hacked at the monsters tongue. The monster reared. Link scurried back, before the monster could slam down on top of him. By the time King Dodongo started moving again, grappling over the ruby. The two smashed at each other, Darunia with his fist and the lizard with its claws and snout.
What could Link do? How could they even fight King Dodongo without the hammer? Even attacking the monster's tongue had only stung it.
It was the only thing they had that truly hurt the beast.
Now what?
Darunia twisted and curled up with the Ruby. Exposed his back to King Dodongo, and the lizard slammed forward, pinning the Goron against the rubble.
Red and orange flame filled the monster's mouth and poured out over Darunia. The Goron screamed, and tried to protect the Ruby with his body.
He needed to do something! Link ran toward the pair holding onto the only weapon he had left.
The monster reared back as it took a deep breath, revealing Darunia's smoking and blackened back. The chief did not move, but the ruby was still clutched to his stomach, protected as best he could.
"Get away!" Link screamed as he ran to the monster. With all the strength he had left he threw the bomb into the mouth of King Dodongo.
The creature's jaws slammed shut as the bomb struck the back of its throat.
The sound of the explosion was muffled but still loud. King Dodongo's neck expanded to twice its regular width, but its hardened scales held firm. Locked in place in their new shape. When it opened its mouth again first came black smoke and the foul smell of the bomb, then blood dribbled down its jaws.
And its eyes. For the first time Link thought he saw true fear in a lizard's eyes. They fixed onto Link, almost begging for him to do something. To help him in some way.
The beast lifted one quivering front leg. It reached out.
The leg fell to the ground. The rest of him soon followed.
King Dodongo was dead.
Link panted, shook his head a little to try and bring some cool air to his face, but there was nothing but heat left in the Crown.
"Darunia," he staggered beside the Goron. The chief had not moved, his back looked half melted. He had taken the full force of the flames, was he even still alive?
He reached out to the Goron, but pulled his hand back immediately. He was still hot, almost smoldering. "Darunia, it's over."
Slowly, the stony arm and back unfurled. Darunia's breath was slow and heavy. "You did it?" every word strained.
"I couldn't have without you. It was your bombs. You saved the Ruby."
"I failed," he rose to his full height, and yet he still seemed diminished. He looked down at his hands, one empty, the other palming a ruby half-encased in gold.
"What are you talking about? We won."
From his hands the Goron looked over the destruction all around. "My ancestor's hammer is gone, I watched as it fell through a crack. He slew a dragon and saved our people, I could not defeat one lizard." He looked at the destruction that surrounded them. "Look at all I lost. How can I face my people? How will my ancestors judge me?"
Link did not wish to look. He had seen far too much death on the way down. "That's… That's stupid!"
"What?"
"So what if someone did it better? Your ancestor wasn't here when we fought, and you weren't there when he won. Maybe he had an army at his back. Maybe he got lucky. It doesn't matter. You faced a fire breathing monster and you saved the Ruby. You listened when no one else would. You're a hero. I don't know your ancestors, maybe they were mean people. But I know my father, and if they are anything like him they would be proud that you tried. When everything seemed lost, you still tried."
"The hammer…"
Link shrugged. "If it's important to you, try and uncover it. Or make a new one." But he was not certain how much of that he believed. His own shield was gone. The Great Deku Tree's last gift to him and he'd lost it.
The only thing he had left from home was his Ocarina.
Darunia frowned, squinted his eyes at Link before he squatted down so they were almost at eye level. Could he tell that Link didn't believe what he was saying? Would he just get angry? "You are very wise, young hero."
That made Link pause. No one had ever told him that before. He didn't know how to respond really. His mouth flapped open a few times before he settled on a simple "Thanks."
"Now, what to do with the Heart of the Mountain?" Darunia held up the Ruby.
"Oh! Ganondorf is going to take it!"
"What?"
"When you were separated from your army, Ganondorf got your advisors to agree to give him the Ruby should he fight to rescue you."
"Hrrmmph," Darunia glared back at the fallen Dodongo. "Rescue me did he?"
"We need to hide it."
"And what of you?" Darunia said. "This place is destroyed. When the Gerudo break through, they will find you, and they will find the stone. Neither of you should be here when that happens. Can you get out?"
"I think so. I was able to get in."
Darunia took hold of the Ruby with both hands, gentle as if the stone would shatter if he looked at it too hard. "There is a story told in my family. My father told me. His father told him. All the way down to the first chief of the Gorons. When he slew the dragon Volvagia, the great beast spoke to him. It drew the Heart of the Mountain from his very body and told him that he must keep the stone safe. That one day, when all of Greater Hyrule would be on the verge of destruction this jewel would be needed to save it." He sighed, found a tattered cloth and wrapped the stone inside then held the package out to Link. "Young hero, I must pass this burden to you. Protect it as best you can. And perhaps, you are the hero who will save us from destruction."
Link took the Ruby in his hands. It was bigger than the Emerald, heavier too. Though perhaps that was because there was more gold attached to it. "I will. I promise."
Link crawled out of the hole in the mountain. It was cooler out on the mountainside, far cooler. The sun was still gone, hidden on the other side of the world. He leaned back against the rocks and let his mouth and lungs fill with the cooler night's air. He glanced up to starry sky and saw that steam was rising off him.
He needed something to drink, he wanted to jump into the snow that he knew was somewhere down the mountain.
But he did not have time. He hugged the massive Goron sack to his chest, feeling the Ruby hidden within. He needed to leave, as fast as he could. Hopefully he'd be down the mountain before the Ganondorf opened the Crown. Hopefully. But there was something he needed to do first.
He put his hand on the wall to push himself off and felt something shift and clatter to the ground.
A spear.
Bethe's spear was still there.
He picked it up and frowned. Then he made his way down the mountain.
Even in the dark the encampment was easy to find, mostly because it was not dark. Camp fires speckled the mountainside, and he could hear people dancing and singing. When he entered the camp, he was dumbfounded. Soldiers of Gerudo and Goron were dancing and feasting together and drinking.
"We won!" one of the servants that Link had seen handling the horses came up to him. Grabbed him by the shoulder and squeezed. "We won! Haha!"
"Yes," Link said as he squeezed out of her arms. "Yes, good job."
Everyone was like that. It was almost like watching the celebration in Castle Town, but more raucous. As if all the tension as everyone wondered if they would survive was all used to fuel the fires and the dancing.
He didn't even have to hide as he walked among them. If anyone noticed him at all, it was to apologize for bumping into him as they drunkenly lurched about. He maneuvered around them all as best he could, heading toward the first of the tents he needed to visit.
"Squire!" came a sharp voice from one of the massive bonfires.
Link froze, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Slowly he turned to see Bethe stomping toward him, a fresh cut along her forehead and halfway down her nose. Shallow, already starting to scab over.
"Where have you been?" she snapped, and she held out her hand.
"I- I-" Link realized she was gesturing toward her spear. "Oh." He said as he handed it to her.
"You cannot have been at 'oh.'"
"I didn't mean that. I'm sorry, I was trying to return your spear to you."
"Took you long enough. I called for you on the battle for it and you were not there."
"You jumped on a Dodongo! I couldn't follow you! I tried. I really tried. But then a Lizalfos-"
"You tried? How little good that does me. I needed you, voe. And you failed me. Twice."
"I'm sorry, Commander Bethmasse. I tried but-"
A wicked laughter stopped him. It was hard to tell with the flickering lights of the fires but Bethe was smiling. "I kid, voe. I kid. Battle is chaos. I am glad you are well. I was worried."
"I tried to find your axe that I dropped but I-"
"I recovered it after the battle. You are a good voe." She patted his head and ruffled his hair a bit, then frowned. "But hot. Fall too close to a fire, voe?"
"Something like that."
"Go, you have done your duties. Enjoy the night, we always celebrate after a successful battle. Find a nice young vai to dance with."
"Thank you, Commander."
"And squire. No training tomorrow morning. Sleep in. Understood?"
"Yes, commander. I will. And Bethmasse?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you. For everything."
She laughed and shooed him away. Link glanced over his shoulder back at her as she joined with the rest of the Gerudo grabbing a wineskin from one of her companions hands and guzzled it down. He frowned, as he tore his eyes away. They were the enemy, they always had been. But he would miss them. They took him in when he had no one. They fed him, more than that, they treated him like he was one of their own. Please figure out you're serving an evil master. Please.
But even as he thought it he knew there was little chance of it. The rest of his wandering through the encampment he only wished that he had not seen her at all. He could have just dropped her spear in front of the tent and left. It would have been so much easier.
He found the tent he left his ocarina, and opened the tentflap. When he stuck his head inside he heard someone's breathing. Had someone else found the unused tent? He paused, waiting for whoever was inside to say something, but the quiet steady breathing simply continued.
Were they asleep? They must be the only ones in the whole camp, who could sleep with all this noise.
He stepped all the way inside, and squinted into the darkness. Someone was definitely sleeping in the middle of the room, he could make out the shape of someone tucked in blankets. Perhaps only a little taller than him.
It was a girl, and something was laying on top of her blankets a different smaller blanket perhaps? He had placed his ocarina behind her.
Slowly, he moved around the tent. Was this the one who originally had the tent? It was good they were alive, but he hoped they did not dump his things away when they discovered them. He squinted down on her and smiled. It was Rosa, some bandages around her head and arms, but otherwise the same as when he left her.
There was something clutched in her hands, a piece of cloth that he had mistaken for an additional blanket. It was green.
His tunic. She had finally fixed his tunic!
His grin went wider still. "Thank you, Rosa." He whispered soft enough not to wake her as he gently pried it from her hands. "I hope you find your way home."