Chapter 7: The Unknown

The heavy doors opened into a landscape richer and lusher than anything Link had ever seen. Staring around himself in wary amazement, he realised that the pit at the end of the temple, verdant and pleasant to look at though it was, was all but lifeless compared to the rest of the surface around it. The songs of the little birds layered across one another in a melodic cascade, all but drowning out the muted rustle of leaves in the wind – the forest seemed a place of music that could not be silenced, a far cry from the silent stands of trees on the islands above, where the humming of the insects and the occasional call of a Loftwing were the main sounds to be heard above the ceaseless winds.

He ventured forward slowly, the stone underfoot blanketed in moss and then in soil. Tall, strong trees grew everywhere, seemingly heedless of the hummocked forest floor, some of its mounds and dips taller than Link himself. Something about their ragged, uneven contours nagged at his mind, and he turned to look back at the temple behind him, its ancient stone cloaked in vines and draped with branches where in places a tree had grown up directly beside the wall. Although parts of the roof had fallen in, and he could see the cracks where stubborn branches had pushed their way inside, it still seemed sturdy, the spires on the roof still lofted through the trees. Link wasn't sure what he was looking for, and yet…

As he turned back, Fi appeared once more, vaulting from his sword with the gentle, almost whistling chime he was beginning to recognise.

"Master, the region you are in has long been known as Faron. It is heavily forested. The plentiful water and temperate climate clearly continues to sustain a large diversity of flora and fauna, including the exceptionally massive tree I have detected to the east-north-east of your current location." She gestured gracefully, and Link turned to look. At first, what he was seeing hints of through the canopy didn't really register; then, as the upper branches continued to sway in the wind, he finally perceived the vast green 'hill' in the background beyond them.

"That's a tree?"

Fi nodded, once. "It is of greater size than any tree previously recorded. There is a 90% probability that you will be able to use it as a navigational aid from anywhere within a fifty kilometre radius of its location."

Right. Just like navigating by the position of the islands. It suddenly dawned on him how easy it would be to get lost on the surface. The trees all around acted like constant cloud cover, restricting his view. They muffled the wind, even if he'd known how it behaved at this altitude. They and the clouds above even hid the position of the sun from him.

"The area surrounding this temple was once a city," Fi continued. "Analysis suggests that much of this landscape is shaped by its remains. As you travel further from the Sealed Grounds, you may encounter other significant features."

Her words put a name to the prompting of his instincts, and Link stared again at the nearest hummock, its uneven, almost ragged contours redefined as tumbled stone beneath a blanket of soil. Had the uneven mounds and ditches ahead once been buildings and streets? What would it have looked like?

Fi's blank eyes watched him, impassive, as he turned back to her.

"Can you…" Link paused for a moment, trying to remember her words. "Can you detect Zelda's aura now?"

"Yes, Master." Fi turned her head, looking off into the forest. "Analysing the probabilities, it is likely that she remains somewhere within this forest. The traces of her aura continue in this direction." She paused, looking back, seeming to meet his eyes. "I am able to communicate this awareness to you. If you find that the sensation is insufficiently strong, grasp the hilt of the sword to strengthen our connection."

Link nodded, slowly. "Like what I felt when we were looking for the gap in the clouds?"

"Precisely," Fi confirmed. She made no further motion, but a faint sense of direction seemed to impinge on his mind a moment later, telling him in some indefinable fashion that what he sought was this way. Link was about to thank her when a new sound cut through his awareness: a strange and discordant squealing cry that set his teeth on edge. As one, he and Fi looked sharply ahead.

"Master Link, it is highly probable that that sound signifies hostility. Proceed with extreme caution." She vaulted back 'into' the swordhilt with a faint flash of light before he could respond.

Obeying her instruction, Link drew his sword, slipping his shield from his back and cautiously venturing forwards. The squealing cries continued, and another voice rose above them, deeper than any voice he had ever heard and seeming to shout words, although he couldn't make them out. Galvanised into action, Link darted up the hummock ahead of him, steadying himself a couple of times on the edge of his shield, quickly dashing across to the far side and looking down from beside a large and tilted tree.

Below him, five ungainly red-skinned figures pranced from foot to foot, waving crude-looking weapons and squealing, surrounding a huge, rock-like figure carrying a giant pack and threatening them with a heavy fist in what looked like a precarious stand-off, with none of the aggressors seeming quite willing to make the first move.

A report, Master. Fi's voice sounded in his mind, rapid but still perfectly calm. These red creatures are bokoblins. Created by demons, they have plagued this land since the ancient times. They prefer to act in groups, in which each will play a set role, and their weaponry may vary according to this role and to their surroundings. They have a crude and limited intellect, incapable of sophisticated thought. Their driving emotions are bloodlust and greed. Her words filled his thoughts far faster than she could have spoken them. I have no record of the other being. However, its manner is defensive, and it appears capable of speech. I do not detect evil from it.

Screeching louder than ever, one of the bokoblins made an abortive lunge towards the rocky figure, who swung around to face it with a shout Link thought sounded increasingly panicked, waving a threatening fist. As it did, the circle tightened – and then Link made his move, leaping down from root to rock to flatter ground and charging with a yell. Perhaps he didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't stand to watch the evil beings torment another traveller, whatever it was!

The bokoblins swung around to face the newcomer, undisciplined and aggressive. Link realised with a shock that they were only a little shorter than he was, large heads, stocky bodies, and stubby legs combining to make them look smaller. Tiny eyes squinted at him from distorted, piggy faces, a sickening smell like rotting meat assaulting him as they squealed a challenge. Link struck, using the momentum of his run, sweeping the Goddess Sword around the creature's crude blade and sinking it deep into its flesh. The shock of the impact ran up his arm in the same moment that the shock of the realisation jolted through his mind, the screeching bokoblin falling back, writhing and clutching at its side in pain. He stepped back, re-angling his shield as he did at some half-conscious prompt, another of their crude blades slamming it against his arm and embedding itself briefly in the wood. The hilt of the sword cool in his hand, he backed off again, trying to avoid being surrounded as full awareness of his environment snapped back to him.

Paying no heed to their fallen companion, two of the remaining four bokoblins were closing on him with single-minded intent, shrieking and chittering their hatred. Gritting his teeth, Link glanced from one to the other, choosing his target as he'd been taught – though no-one at the Knight Academy had ever really expected him to use the skill against a humanoid, living foe. He feinted left, to his sword side; abruptly spun to the right as the other bokoblin waved its sword in a pointless block, a sweeping blow cutting into his second attacker's side. As it dropped to the floor, he moved on, turning back to face the other, which was holding its chipped sword across its body in a poor approximation of a block. The last two had left their former quarry, coming towards him with rage in their bestial faces – he had to act! Moving quickly, Link stepped forward, throwing all of his weight and strength into slamming his shield against the bokoblin's block, sending the creature staggering backwards, its guard down. A swift stab dropped it, the Goddess Sword shearing through its flesh, and in almost the same moment another of them charged and swung at him! Link leapt away, getting his shield up in time almost as much by luck as judgement, circling it to avoid the other getting behind him. Single-minded purpose glinted in their feral eyes; they showed no sign of running. He tried a quick overhand strike while he still could, but his target brought its notched blade up to block just in time, knocking him off-balance for a desperate moment while the other struck, coming within inches of slicing into his side as he almost threw himself away, keeping his shield up between himself and his foes, backing off again as he desperately struggled to keep a level head.

His back foot knocked against something, bringing him up short; Link didn't dare spare a glance for whatever was behind him, eyes fixed on the two foes ahead. They squealed again, one slightly ahead of the other as they ran at him – Link struck out to his left while blocking the hacking swipe of the one to his right, trying to keep one attacker at bay for long enough to deal with the other, but it blocked again, the blade of the Goddess Sword catching for an instant on the notched metal, and he glanced back only just in time to catch a second attack on the edge of his shield! Both weapons were pulled back after a terrifying moment, but he was caught between them-

A motion beyond them caught his eye, and for a single moment he focused on it: the huge rocky figure, hefting a huge rectangular stone with disconcerting ease! Round purplish eyes met his, and the strange being made the beginnings of a throwing motion. Link gave a fractional nod and almost threw himself at the bokoblin on his right, battering it back with sword and shield and utterly without finesse, risking leaving his back open for just – one – moment –

There was a blur of motion, an implausible arc of muddy rock ending in an unceremonious heavy, wet crunch from behind him, and Link used the surprise of the bokoblin he was fighting to his advantage, knocking its sword aside and striking with a yell to deliver a fatal blow. Dark blood spilled from the wound, and the creature collapsed, clutching briefly at the injury before falling still.

Link stood for a moment, panting, before he could even bring himself to look around. Five bokoblin bodies lay strewn across the forest floor, four with sword wounds and one crushed by a rock bigger than its head, and the rock-like stranger was walking towards him on short, muscular legs. He noted absently that it seemed to be barefoot, not quite taking everything in properly.

"Whew!" The voice was deep, with an almost hollow quality, putting him in mind of rocks rolling against one another, though without any harshness or grating to it. "Thanks for jumping in there to rescue me, bud!" The words were followed up with a clap on the back that felt like being hit lightly with a rock; Link staggered forwards, narrowly avoiding tripping over the dead bokoblin at his feet, and turned as he did, watching the stranger as the strangely-accented words finally filtered through his mind.

"I'm Gorko!" the rocky stranger continued. "And I owe you big for helping me out like that. I should not have let those red pests sneak up on me, but I was distracted by my latest find… Why don't you come see it, bud? I have got to show someone! And we can get out of this place."

Link nodded, swallowing hard, the aftermath of battle and the corpses around them almost overwhelmingly sickening. He didn't miss the look of relief on Gorko's face at his assent, and followed, slinging his shield back on his back, as the stony being led the way with a quick, slightly waddling step.

Gorko led him away from the battlefield and around another longer, less regular hummock, finally stopping in a sort of sheltered hollow. At first glance it looked much like anywhere else Link had seen so far – then, as Gorko gestured proudly, he noticed the statue. It looked just like some of the little statues to honour the goddess that were scattered around the islands, and just for a moment he felt absurdly homesick.

"This statue here is my latest find!" Gorko said, enthusiastically. "You look like you need a rest, so sit down and I'll tell you all about it!"

Link gave a slightly wan smile, looking around before perching himself on a fallen branch. He glanced down at the sword in his hand, intending belatedly to clean it, but the blade already seemed spotless, despite the battle he'd just fought. He checked it carefully for damage before sliding it back into the scabbard across his back and looking back up at Gorko.

"By the way, bud, what is your name?"

"Link," he answered quietly.

"Link, good! I have not met many of your kind, Link, but your name is easy to say."

Not met many… Link blinked. "Uh, what is your kind, Gorko?"

"Ah!" Gorko smiled, already wide mouth broadening further. "I am a Goron! And you are a Human, right?"

Link nodded.

"Good!" Gorko moved as if to sit down, paused, shrugged off his heavy pack and leant it against a root, then sat unconcernedly on the ground. "I have come here to research the ancient history of this very forest, bud. According to the ancient texts, it seems like many humans once lived here long ago, but – they all disappeared!" He leant forwards. "But some of the texts say that there is some kind of place up above us called the Isle of the Goddess – far up in the sky! And that that is where all of the humans went."

Startled, Link leant forwards slightly. Seeming to mistake his reaction for interest, Gorko kept on talking, barely even pausing for breath. "But it does not stop there! The ancient texts say these statues are like little shrines to the goddess, and that she blessed them so that they would amplify a traveller's bonded call! Now I do not know what that means, bud, but I am going to find out. Some people say that I am crazy to believe all of these old writings, but I am sure it must be true! Otherwise, why would all of these ruins be here all over the place, and these statues too, just like the texts describe? The mysteries of this place are a real head-scratcher, bud. It makes you want to know more, does it not?"

Unable to help smiling a little at his newfound friend's enthusiasm, Link nodded, and Gorko's dark amethyst eyes lit up even brighter. "Ah, it is so good to meet a fellow connoisseur of ancient cultures! And of course you would be interested since you are a human and these ancient people were human too, is that not right? Well, I have been searching for and reading these texts for many years, so you had better brace yourself, because I am about to blow your mind. So get this: the people still actually live on this sky island today! And they get about by flying on the backs of giant birds that are way bigger than any birds we get down here!"

Gorko still didn't pause for breath, and Link had to hide his smile, listening amazed as the goron continued elaborating on his story, building a strange tissue of truth, half-truth, and outright inanity that, somehow, Link could still recognise a description of Skyloft inside. How did Gorko know? What was in these 'ancient texts' he had discovered? The enthusiastically rambling conversation helped to settle his nerves, pushing the battle further from his mind, and he studied the goron as he spoke, listening with undisguised curiosity.

Gorko was taller than him, and significantly broader, rocky skin a rich sandstone colour, with a more grey-brown, almost cracked 'shell' on his curved back. Wide-set, perfectly round eyes and a broad mouth were only barely separated by a tiny, upturned nose, and a different texture of rock atop his head, above his eyes, and on his chin gave the impression of pointed hair, spiky eyebrows, and a little beard. What Link guessed were his ears were just two holes on the sides of his head, and his muscular body and limbs were painted or tattooed – could you tattoo someone who seemed to be made of rock? – with lines, arcs, and symbols in a pale cream colour. Other than the paint and the little bag slung over his shoulder, he was completely naked, hands and feet so human it was almost uncanny. He looked for all the world as if someone had taken a huge sandstone boulder and somehow cracked it so that it could uncurl in a humanoid shape and walk around.

"...filled with wonders we do not have here. The buildings must all be made of gold! An endless spring of mystical water feeds a river that runs through that place – and one sip of that water, bud, and you live forever!"

Smiling, Link continued to listen as Gorko carried on describing an increasingly outlandish island paradise. Even despite the fact that he'd clearly gone on to the most bizarre rumours or legends for his attentive audience, there was still the occasional nugget of truth buried within it. How had he found it out? How did he know all of this? The flow of talk was relaxing.

"That is the Isle of the Goddess…" Gorko finally finished. "Amazing, right?"

Link nodded.

"Wrong!" Gorko shouted happily. "It is beyond amazing!" Link couldn't help but grin, and the goron did too, wide smile looking like it would split his pebble-smooth face in half. "Now you see why I am completely obsessed with this place. I cannot get enough of it! I am sure I will find even more to tell you from studying the statues here in this forest. Here, you must come and take a good look at this one!" He gestured expansively, and Link obliged, getting up and leaning back somewhat to stretch his back before walking up to the statue.

To his and Gorko's utter shock, the lines of its carvings seemed to shimmer briefly as he neared it, the faintest golden glow rising and then vanishing again. Link jumped back, startled, as behind him the goron's mouth fell open.

"WHOA! Did you see that? What in the world just happened?! Did you use some kind of magic? That statue reacted the moment you got near it, bud! What did you do?"

"I- I don't know!" Link glanced back at Gorko, who had jumped to his feet and was looking on in awe, then back to the statue. "I don't think I did anything." He paused, thinking. "Maybe… it reacts to humans? The Goddess' people were humans."

"That must be it, bud!" Gorko clapped him on the back, although this time Link had at least seen it coming and knew to brace himself. Even so, the friendly blow nearly knocked him off balance. "You would make a good researcher! Say, would you like to join me in researching these statues? If they react to humans, you would be a big help!"

The friendly enthusiasm was appealing, and if it had somehow been another time Link might have agreed to help, but he could only shake his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm looking for my friend. She's lost, and-…" He cut off, not knowing how to explain, anxiety twisting his heart.

"That is terrible, a missing friend!" Gorko looked at him sympathetically. "I have not seen your friend, bud, but I will look out for her. Is she human too?"

Link nodded again. "She's my age. She would've been wearing a pink dress. Her name's Zelda." He swallowed. "I'm worried about her. We… neither of us are from here either." How could he possibly tell Gorko about Skyloft? Would the friendly goron even believe him? And if he did, how would Link ever get away from the questions he would doubtless ask?

"And you have got separated? Do you know where she is going?"

"Um, sort of. I think so. I can track her, at least."

"Well, that is good, then, bud! You had better go after your friend, but I will still be researching the history of this forest when you get back. If I have learnt anything new, I will tell you! And be careful of those red pests. There are more and more of them around these days. They are not very bright, so you can usually go around them if you see them first."

Link nodded, a grim determination settling back over him. Zelda could defend herself, of course; she was an accomplished student… but she hadn't had a sword when she fell. The old lady in the temple had told him that some people had gone with her, and hopefully they'd been able to give her a weapon, but even so…

"Thanks, Gorko," he said, turning to go. "I hope I'll see you again soon."

"I hope so too, bud! Maybe your friend will be nearby. Good luck!"

Link waved to him and set off, following the faint sense of direction that was – he hoped – Fi's subtle prompting, hope, fear, and dread warring within him once again. Zelda had to be out there. She had to be all right.

I'm back! And with a bumper entry too. I hope any readers who've stuck with me enjoy! Or maybe it's just me and the googlebot...

Patch Notes

- Combat with unknown entities now serious business for trainee knight.
- Ability to listen to long brief while combat paused explained.
- Short-term bokoblin problem altered to long-term, matching historical information.
- Reason provided for not giving Gorko information.
- Forest size increased to extent depicted on region map.
- Save points given explicable IC function.
- Fi does not recognise gorons, due to [redacted] occurring immediately after [redacted], such that [redacted].
- Ongoing plot threads continue, incorporating [redacted].

Have a great solstice!