Chapter 19
Link, Charlie, Navi and the two gorons gasped in alarm. They just witnessed their friend Argus get swallowed by the giant dodongo. The two gorons began to weep openly.
"Argus! You were like a brother to us! You can't be dead. Not after all we've been through!", cried one of the gorons.
Link walked over and put a comforting hand on the crying goron's shoulder.
"I'm sorry. Argus was a brave goron. I am going to miss him as well.", he said sadly
The goron stopped crying and glared at Link.
"What do you mean "was"? Our brother Argus still lives! Just you wait and see!"
"Of course he is.", said Link sadly.
Link just realized something as he was talking to the crying goron. Argus never told him the names of the two gorons. He tapped the goron's shoulder.
"Listen. I know you're sad, but Argus never told us your name or the other goron's name for that matter."
The goron looked up at Link and wiped his eyes.
"Oh he didn't? Well I guess I can tell you now. I'm Drexel and this is my twin brother Aurdain."
Navi butted in.
"Guys, I'm glad we know your names, but don't you think we should be paying attention to that giant monster stomping towards us?"
Just as the words left her mouth, the giant dodongo stomped right in front of the five travelers. He inhaled and appeared to be getting ready to breathe out a fireball when it suddenly stopped and started to choke. He then closed his mouth and spit out something round. He shot out of its mouth and hit the wall behind the five adventurers. They turned to look at it. It appeared to be a medium sized rock. Suddenly, the rock appeared to be moving! That's when they realized that they weren't looking at a rock. It shifted and uncurled. It was Argus! The small goron was dripping wet from dodongo saliva, but he was very much alive. The five travelers went over to embrace their friend they thought had perished while the giant dodongo recovered from choking.
"Argus! We thought you were dead, bud! It's good to see you alive and well!", said Link as he patted his sticky and wet shoulder. He quickly wiped his hand on his tunic.
"Eww! Dodongo spit! That is so stinky and sticky!"
Drexel and Aurdain hugged Argus tightly.
"Brother! You're alive! We thought the grim reaper used his scythe on you! I doubted Link's words at first, but then I quickly assumed you were gone! Don't ever scare us like that again!", said Drexel as he wept on Argus's shoulder.
"We don't know how we would've got by without you! I'm glad you're still with us!", said Aurdain as he wiped his eyes with his muscular arm.
Charlie walked in front of Argus but decided not to put a hand on him.
"Welcome back, Argus. I have a question for you. How did you survive in there? You weren't in there long, but how did you survive the trip into that thing's stomach?"
Argus looked over at the giant dodongo. He was starting to recover his strength.
"I will tell you quickly because the dodongo is recovering. Long story short, I never went into that thing's stomach. When he swallowed me, I quickly grabbed for something. I ended up grabbing that thing's uvula and that's why it choked and spit me out. If I didn't grab that thing, I wouldn't be standing here because I would've fallen into that thing's stomach and likely died. Now enough about that! Let's figure out how to kill this thing. I think I have a plan. Here me out. These things apparently eat anything. What if we fed it bombs?"
Aurdain nodded slowly.
"Sounds like a reasonable plan, brother. Our technique we learned from the great fairy would be useless against a dodongo that size. Its skin looks a lot thicker than ours. We would just bounce off him and get sent flying."
Drexel looked at the group around him and he noticed Link was deep in thought. He would look at his sword and then look at the dodongo. He put a hand on Link's shoulder and snapped him out of his deep thinking. He looked at Drexel in confusion.
"What is it, Drexel? Can't you see I'm thinking?"
Drexel sighed.
"Forget about it, Link. I know what you are thinking and it won't work. That thing's skin is too thick. We already know our technique won't work against him. What makes you think your sword will do any better? It would just bounce harmlessly off and you might break your blade. Argus's idea is best."
Link sighed.
"So be it. I'll get out my bombs."
Link reached behind him under his shield and brought forth a bag. He then reached into the bag and pulled out five bombs and placed them on the floor. Argus then put his plan into action.
"Okay. Everybody grab a bomb each. Except Navi. We are going to wait until he tries to breathe a fireball and then we are going to throw a lit bomb into its mouth. It will then swallow it and the bomb will explode in its stomach. This is going to be risky. We have to time this right. Otherwise, we will end up on the menu. Don't get yourself eaten and for the love of god, don't get stepped on! This is a giant male dodongo! They are very agressive! There is a lit torch on each wall. Light your bombs with those when that dodongo is close. Let's get started everyone!"
Everyone grabbed a bomb and went separate directions in the large room as the dodongo recovered. It took a quick glance around and noticed one of his prey was nearby. It was Charlie. As soon as he saw the dodongo walking in his direction, he made his way over to a nearby wall torch. The dodongo was closing in on him. He was excited to have his first meal since the goron he ate a few days ago. He opened his mouth as he got closer to Charlie. Wide eyed, he started to feel the cold hand of fear. He quickly snapped out of it and lit his bomb and threw it in the dodongo's mouth not a moment too soon. He swallowed the bomb in confusion. Seconds later, all that could be heard was a loud Boom Coming from the dodongo. He groaned in pain and fell down. Black smoke began to pour out of his mouth. Argus's plan seemed to be working. That bomb seemed to really hurt the dodongo's internal organs. Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, the dodongo got up again! He roared in anger and charged towards Link with surprising speed.
"Watch out, Link! He looks very angry!", shouted Argus.
Link saw the dodongo getting closer and he quickly dashed towards a wall torch. The giant lizard was getting tired of seeing his prey running away so easily! On top of that, his stomach was really hurting! These morsels were going to pay for hurting him. He knew that it might hurt a little, but he was going to try to roast his foolish prey. He inhaled and got ready to breathe a fireball.
Link was waiting for this. He lit his bomb at the wall torch and tossed the bomb into the dodongo's mouth. It exploded in his mouth because the dodongo was just about to breathe a fireball when it was thrown in. The dodongo's head took most of the blast. He stood there and coughed. He then spit out pieces of flesh and shards of teeth. Suddenly, the giant lizard collasped in a giant heap. The explosion in the mouth proved fatal.
"I-is it dead?", asked Charlie nervously.
Argus nodded.
"Yes I believe so. The blast in the mouth must have done some serious damage. Wait! Something is happening!"
The dodongo suddenly began to glow white. Shortly after, it exploded and all that was left was a big cloud of purple smoke.
"That thing was created by Max I mean Vaati's dark magic. I don't think I've seen the last of him. Well done everyone! Especially you, Argus. It was you who came up with that idea with the bombs. Nice going!"
Argus smiled.
"Don't be giving me all the credit now. You threw the second bomb that killed him. You're a brave kid, Link!"
Link scuffed his boots in embarrassment.
"Aw it was nothing. All in a day's work. I couldn't have got here without everyone's help."
"You did better than us, brother! Me and Aurdain didn't even get a chance to throw a bomb. We were pretty much on the sidelines.", said Drexel.
"That goes for me too!", sighed Navi.
Link could sense that they were feeling down. He decided to try and cheer them up.
"Look, guys. It doesn't matter if you didn't get a chance to help in the fight. What matters is that you helped just by being here with me. Drexel and Aurdain, I appreciate your help. You two are strong and reliable and like I said before, I wouldn't have made it this far without your help. Navi, you've had your bad moments, but the scouting you did of some of the rooms was extremely helpful. Except for the dodongo filled room, but we won't go there."
Argus patted Link on the back lightly.
"Well said, brother. I think they needed that. Look at Drexel and Aurdain. They look better already."
The two gorons were smiling and whispering to each other and then laughing. They then came over and thanked Link.
"Thanks for cheering us up, brother. By the way, we were glad to help! If you need help with anything else, you only have to ask.."
"Thanks for the somewhat kind words, Link. I will try to continue helping you as you continue on your journey.", said Navi
Suddenly, a blue portal appeared in front of the travelers. Argus issued caution.
"Be careful. It might be a trap."
Link shook his head.
"This is no trap, guys. This is a portal to the entrance. I've encountered one of these already trust me."
They trusted Link's word and stepped into the portal and in seconds, they were back at the entrance to dodongo's cavern. They walked out of the cave. Everyone quit working on the stone for the day. Pickaxes were lying around the entrance to the caverns. Argus turned to Link.
"Wait here. I will go and tell the chief the good news. Let's go, Drexel and Aurdain."
The three gorons made their way up the mountain back to their home. Link, Charlie and Navi waited around the entrance to the caverns. About fifteen minutes later, Darunia and a group of gorons showed up. Darunia was smiling proudly.
"Congratulations, Link! I heard you, Charlie, Navi, Argus and the twins Drexel and Aurdain cleared out Dodongo's Cavern. Now we no longer have to worry about being attacked. As promised, here is the Sacred Stone of Fire!"
Darunia handed Link the Spiritual Stone! It was a round glowing red stone that was encased in gold. The gorons around him were cheering wildly.
"Brother, you should visit the great fairy on this mountain top. She will surly help you out like she did for us. I call you and Charlie my new brothers. Don't worry. There's no ceremony involved. Good luck with the great fairy and the rest of your journey, brother!"
Link, Charlie and Navi made their way up the mountain, leaving behind many cheering gorons. However, one of the gorons wasn't cheering. When Darunia and the rest of the gorons made their way back to their home, the goron made his way down the mountain towards Kakariko Village.
Ganondorf and Vaati were waiting just outside Kakariko Village. Ganondorf held his hand out at the goron and shot him with a blast of magic. When the smoke cleared, the gorons was a small man! He had a clever goron disquise on created by his lord and master.
"Make your report, spy! It better be good news!", snapped Ganondorf.
The spy cringed.
"I'm afraid the news is bad, my lord. The one called "Link" has obtained the spiritual stone of fire and cleared the Dodongo's caverns"
"What? That's impossible!"
He turned to Vaati.
"I thought you said he was toast along with his friends!"
Vaati bowed to his father.
"I'm sorry, Father. I thought they were finished after I unleashed that monster."
Ganondorf frowned.
"Vaati, you are my son. I'm very proud of your progress. So I'm going to leave Link for you to deal with. Try to kill him if you can. That fool is disrupting my plans! If he has the Spiritual Stone of Fire, chances are he has the one from the forest too. I searched that dead tree and I couldn't find any trace of it anywhere . I want you to stop his progress. One way or another, I want him eliminated and I want him to be just a memory as we take control of this world!"