Tatl really wondered where Link's head was at times. She knew he was aware how much time was of the essence. Yet, as they slowly went towards the mountains, the boy became intrigued by a mysterious dancing man on one of the giant, mushroom-like rocks. Granted, she was a bit curious herself…but not enough to ignore their quest to take a look! Still, she knew talking Link out of it would be tough, so she just grumbled under her breath as they got closer.
And, as they neared, the odd music started to grow louder…
Link was very baffled at the sight and sounds before him. The strange man dancing on that rock…that music…what was going on? A big part of it, actually, was that the boy was worried for the man's safety. Dancing and somehow producing that loud music near where Dodongos roam? If one somehow managed to get him off that rock…
Getting to the man itself was a bit of a challenge, as it happened. Link had to leap from one mushroom-like rock to another, and they were spaced out enough that he nearly didn't make several of the jumps! On top of that, he heard strange shifting from the snowy ground below. No Dodongos in sight, but he swore he saw the snow moving…
Before long, the boy and fairy reached the dancing man, the music nearly ear-piercing at this point. That wasn't all, though. As the duo got a closer look, they could make out more details of what the figure looked like.
The man wasn't wearing very much, to the discomfort and distress of Link and Tatl. This factor showed off that the dancing figure had very, very pale skin. As for what he did wear, it was essentially a purple loincloth and little more. He didn't even wear shoes as he danced upon the rock. His eyes were a bit squinted, and he had green hair pulled into a ponytail as well as a small beard.
"Hey, what the heck are you doing out here?!" Tatl demanded, pretty stupefied at the sight of the dancing man. The moves he performed were unusual too, swaying a bit, spinning, and then hopping back and forth before starting over again. He did these movements over and over again, not seeming tired at all. In fact, he barely seemed to even be breathing…
Not stopping his dance, even to speak, the man responded in a morose tone. "I am no longer part of the living…My sadness to the Moon…I haven't left my dance to the world...I am filled with regret."
Link took a step back at the mention of being dead, and he looked at the dancing man closer. When he did so, he realized there were pale, nearly-invisible blue flames flickering around the man. He remembered once as Malon, trying to scare him with a spooky story one night, told him about spirits with blue flames surrounding them. She was a bit disappointed when the story she told failed to scare Link at all…he had seen far, far worse things than the kindly ranch girl could ever conjure…
"So, you wanted to teach your dance to someone?" Link asked, deciding this spirit wasn't dangerous. He was going to warn the man about the dangerous around here, but if he's already dead, there was no point. Despite the unflattering way the man dressed and the music that he could only assume was being produced by the spirit, Link felt bad for him. The by had a lot of regrets in his life, and the idea of regretting something so much that one stayed behind was a terrifying thought to him. Really, he hadn't thought about it much, but now…
"Oh, Moon!" The man cried, glancing up at the grimacing rock in the sky. "Heal my wounds…Help Kamaro with his dance…" It was hard to really tell if he had even heard Link's words or not.
Tatl was just getting annoyed, mainly by that horrible song that was playing! "Link, let's just go! This ghost is weird…!" She wasn't scared of spirits normally, fairies more in tune with such beings generally, but she didn't necessarily like them either. Especially not ones that spoke in odd ways and produced unusual songs while doing a dumb dance!
"We should help him, shouldn't we?" Link asked, looking to Tatl. He wasn't very impressed either, but he still felt pity for Kamaro. "I can't dance, though." The boy recalled that slow dance that Zelda had talked him into, and a few times Malon tried to get him a dance. The redhead's idea of a dance, though, was grabbing him by the hands and having the both of them take turns swinging each other around until they inevitably got dizzy and fell to the ground. He wasn't sure if that counted as a dance…but he missed it…
"Why? We have other things to do, you know!" Tatl snipped, wishing Link wasn't so easily distracted…
The boy noticed how tame Tatl was being. Sure, she snipped at him, but she didn't insult him or call him named or anything else like that. It was…very unlike her, at least how she used to be. Trying to ignore that, he shook his head a bit. "I know that, but I can't just abandon someone that needs help." Even though, technically, he was doing that to everyone in the swamp at the moment. Unfortunately, he just couldn't be in two places at once, and he couldn't deal with Woodfall and go North…he'd just be too exhausted, he felt.
Sighing, the fairy crossed her arms. "I don't know why I bother! You never listen to a word I say, I swear…" She grumbled, wishing Link would just listen to reason! There were times he acted like some hollow, emotionless weirdo, then others he was like a kid…and him being as stubborn as he was tended to be the main example! Granted, a part of her almost wished he acted more like a kid, or even just a human. A part of her even worried a bit…but she'd never admit that. Not a chance!
"I think I have an idea, though." Link went on, glancing back to Kamaro, who was more or less ignoring everything the two were saying. The Hylian got the Ocarina from his belt and put it to his lips. Closing his eyes, he played the Song of Healing, the notes piercing through the music that the spirit seemed to be generating before they echoed off into the night.
For a moment, nothing happened, and Kamaro kept dancing. Then, as if suddenly struck by an unseen force, he let out a gasp. Yet, even at this point, his movements didn't stop. "Oh…my weary form is mended…my sincerest gratitude! Spread my dance across the world... Train its followers...I am counting on you!" Kamaro spouted out to the pair. Before Link or Tatl could even reply, the spirit was engulfed in a blue flame that didn't even feel hot, as odd as it sounded. Within moments, the dancing figure was gone, and the flames died out, as did the music. Yet as the fire and song vanished, something was left behind on the ground.
"Eugh…what…is that thing?" Tatl grimaced, watching as Link picked the object off of the ground. "Is that…a mask?"
It seemed to be! Yet, it was a very odd looking one. The mask was more like a sort of strap, but without any eyeholes or a mouth hole at the front. Instead, there was a depiction of Kamaro's head and neck sticking out near the top in a sort of eerie manner. Frankly, Link wasn't too fond of how it looked either. Still, he was satisfied that he was able to help put a spirit to rest…even though it'd surely be undone the next time he played the Song of Time…
"Well, it seems like one." The boy responded, looking it over a bit and wandering if this was a mask that had actually existed before…or was just something that Kamaro's spirit had conjured up.
"It's hideous! How do you even put it on?" Tatl asked, grimacing even harder as she stared at the miniature Kamaro on the mask. It was so freaky, but she couldn't tear her eyes away…
Link had to look it over a few times to really understand how to do so, but after a minute, he thought he had it worked out. "Like this, I think." He replied, starting to bring it to his head.
"Wait! Do you really want to put that on? Remember the last mask you got by playing the Song of Healing? It changes your shape when you wear it." Tatl pointed out, and her eyes widened when Link actually froze mid-action at her words. It was easily the most humane thing she had ever seen him do outside of combat. Even then, though, his face remained as blank as ever.
To be honest, Tatl's words nearly terrified Link. What if this transformed him like the Deku Mask did? The idea of turning into Kamaro, or some sort of hybrid of the dancing spirit and himself, made the Hylian feel sick to his stomach. Still, he had to at least try to put it on. "…I'm sure it won't." Was all the boy said in reply after a pause…though he wasn't too sure of his own words.
The fairy winced a bit as she watched her companion slip the mask on and…nothing. No transformation of any kind. At that, Tatl let out a sigh of relief. She really didn't want to see him become Kamaro like that! "Uh, so, how does it feel? Any different?" Surely a mask from a spirit would do something of value…
As he put the mask on, Link realized there was no magic at work that allowed him to see! The world around him was entirely black, and it was a bit hard to breath. At first, he didn't feel anything, but without warning, a lot of information went into his mind! It was hard to explain, but suddenly he knew exactly how to perform Kamaro's dance! Yes, he saw it, and it was easy to memorize, but it was though the concept of how to do it without a single flaw was put into him. He knew, somehow, he could perform it with the greatest of ease, just as one knew how to stand up and walk, knowing it can be done without an issue.
"I…think I know that dance…how to do it perfectly." Link replied, his voice a bit muffled due to the mask. Quickly, he took it off, and suddenly that sensation he felt went away. He still knew, generally, how to do the dance moves, but he felt if he tried it, it wouldn't go too well. Not that he had any intention of trying, with or without the mask on.
"So…the mask lets you do the dance? What a waste…most of these masks you get are so worthless!" Tatl complained. A mask that let him sniff truffles, one that was used to look for a runaway fiancé, and that freaky white and red one that hadn't been of any use yet! "Just toss it…"
Link shook his head, putting Kamaro's Mask into his bag. "I can't, it was a gift. Besides, Kamaro wanted me to spread his dance. I might be able to use this mask to do that." It was a bit of an odd request, but if it was something he could do easily, well, he'd go ahead and do it. Link found it hard to turn down people in need, even if it was for something like a dance.
"You're kidding, right? You're going to spread some weird dance when we have a Moon to stop? We don't have the time!" Tatl scolded, wondering just what was wrong with this kid! She swore, any time someone needed aid, he had to drop everything to help, despite the larger threat at hand! He was really some sort of goody-goody, wasn't he?
"I might find an easy way. I can always try during a Break Cycle." Link pointed out, not sure why Tatl got so worked up over stuff like this. If he did it between excursions to the four compass directions, what was the harm? Besides…he did feel a bit bad for Kamaro. He lingered behind due to his regrets, so Link especially wanted to help with that!
Tatl just wanted Link to focus on the quest at hand was all. Break Cycles should be used to rest, not run other errands! Then he can get back to questing shape as fast as possible and get all of this done sooner! The Kafei just enraged her the most, since she was so sure that the fiancé was just fleeing from the Moon and would return once everything was back to normal. "Whatever. Let's just keep moving, okay? You've still got a mountain to climb…" And she sure hoped it ended better this time!
That was right, he had to try and reach the Gorons. Kamaro made for an…unusual distraction. "You're right. Let's go on." He said, approaching the edge of the mushroom rock. Very carefully, he got as close to it as possible and hopped down to the snowy ground before. The white, cold material broke his fall a bit, and the distance wasn't so bad that he'd have hurt himself badly anyway. Moments after Link landed, mounds of snow started to shift towards him, he knew he had seen something odd before!
"Oh! Wait!" Tatl cried, flying down towards Link, hovering by his shoulder. "I totally forgot to warn you about the Eenos! They come out at night from the snow!" The fairy warned.
Eenos? Link had never heard of those in Hyrule! As Tatl finished her warning, some of the snow mounds erupted from the ground, revealing unusual creatures! They really seemed to be living snow of some sort but had glowing yellow eyes along with large mouths. The creatures even had arms made of snow! There were about five of them, the Eenos varying in size, starting to pack up snow.
"They throw snowballs?" Link asked, wondering what the big deal was. Still, he readied his shield and hit one of the snowballs away as it got flung at him.
"It's not the snowballs themselves you have to worry about!" Tatl declared. "Those just stun you, especially the really big ones. The Eenos will pin you down and bury you while stuffing your mouth full of snow until you suffocate and freeze!" The fairy explained, shivering a bit from revulsion.
What an awful way to go! Link sprinted towards the ramp leading to the mountains, using his shield to knock away snowballs. Some of these projectiles were actually really sizable, some of them the size of Link's head! One, from an extra large Eeno, was the size of his torso! Thankfully, these weren't able to hit him, and soon he had climbed to the wall of ice leading to the mountain proper, Tatl naturally at his side.
It was at this point that the Eenos stopped pursing up, apparently unable to head up the ramp, or perhaps they feared the cursed mountain. Relieved, Link readied his bow and did the same thing as last time, firing some arrows at the large chuck of ice up above. Stepping back as the ice fell at the wall, shattering it all to harmless, small chunks. Like before, biting cold winds soon blew from further up the mountain, hitting the two.
Link shivered a bit, getting his scarf on tighter around his face, the blue material clashing a bit with his otherwise green clothes. "Okay…we'll go up until we find a good cave to huddle up in." He said, starting to take a step forward.
"Wait!" Tatl cried, stopping Link in his tracks. He stopped to look at her, and she sort of froze in place. She knew what she had wanted to say, or at least do, but having him look at her with that black expression just made her freeze up. Gulping a bit, she sighed and just did what she wanted. The fairy dove at Link, getting underneath his tunic as she had the night in the cave, nestling in.
The Hylian was pretty stunned at this sudden action, staring down at Tatl for a few seconds before saying anything. "…What are you doing? I thought you said you'd only do that once."
Tatl flushed in embarrassment, not that anyone would ever be able to tell due to the light she gave off. "Well…I mean, look what happened last time! You got sick and it set us back! I don't want to do this, but I have to if you're going to stay well!"
As it was, Tatl was providing him with some pleasant warmth that slowly spread through his body. Link couldn't argue against her logic, he needed to be as warm as possible while outside and exposed to the elements. The clothing he had bought would help, but a little extra aid couldn't hurt.
Really, Link was just surprised Tatl would be willing to do this at all. Her attitude having such a sudden shift was really starting to throw the boy off. Had she felt that bad about how sick he had gotten? Was this just out of some sort of pity? After all, he knew she was capable of it given her story about how she and Tael met the Skull Kid. She, as with Link, huddled with the imp to keep him warm.
While Link didn't really want he and Tatl to grow close, he couldn't argue with her intentions. It'd help him out a lot, he was sure, and he knew she'd be livid if he turned her down. Heck, maybe her feelings would even be really hurt if he denied her request. "…Alright, if that's what you want to do." The boy replied, starting to walk forward.
"Hey! I said I didn't want to! I just…have to, okay?!" Tatl snapped back, crossing her arms angrily. The fairy wasn't about to let Link get sick a second time. Honestly, if she saw Link like that a second time, she wasn't sure she'd be able to stop herself from pitying him outright. Granted, there was that small part of her that felt bad for him…but she could at least fight it down at the moment…
Ignoring Tatl's reply, Link simply focused on moving forward. As with the last trip up the mountain, there was little in terms of monsters that got in the way. No Tektites, and no Wolfos. He still had to bomb the large snow mounds along the way, always making sure to warn Tatl beforehand so she didn't get mad at him. The fact that it was night made the trek a lot worse in terms of temperature. Even with the clothing and Tatl's assistant, the Hylian shivered constantly as his teeth chattered uncontrollably. But the sun would be up before too long, Kamaro having taken up some time, along with the Eenos. He just had to keep moving until the sun came up, then he'd find a cave and take an hour or so nap before moving on…
As they went up, though, Link felt a sense of terror along the way. He hadn't forgotten that unusual shadow that had stalked him the last time, the one that gave off that horrible noise! The way he saw it, there were two possibilities. One was that it couldn't really exist unless it was a shadow cast over normal terrain. The second possibility was that it could exit among other shadows, and it could be just about anywhere
He kept his sword at the ready, as though he could fight a shadow with a blade, while keeping his ear open for its bellows. After about an hour, Link spoke up to Tatl. "Did you hear anything weird last time we went up? After you went under my hat?"
Tatl had just been nestled under Link's tunic, trying to ignore the embarrassment of the situation. When he talked to her, she perked up and peeked out. "Huh? What do you mean? Heard what?" That pretty vague, after all…though either way, she had been asleep for the most part, so…
"I thought I heard some odd noises." Link said, being vague on purpose, almost a bit embarrassed he even started asking at all. "They're hard to describe…did you hear anything? At all?"
"Well, I don't know what to even try to remember, so I guess not!" Tatl replied, rolling her eyes. "So stupid…" She grumbled, not totally over insulting Link every so often.
That was a bit closer to the old Tatl, which Link was almost relieved to see. Still, he felt stupid asking such a vague question. There was still that part of him that had no idea of that creature had even been real…or if it had just been a part of his imagination? He had seen things that weren't really there before during his recovery. Mostly during the start of it, but they never went away entirely. Granted, it was always of stuff he had actually seen before, and they only lasted a second or two. This shadow thing lingered for a while, and he had never seen anything quite like it…
"Right. Well, just keep an ear open." Link requested, wishing he hadn't spoken up at all. Tatl gave no response, and just ducked back into his tunic. Withholding a sigh, he continued up the mountain, trying not to shiver too hard along the way…
Time went by at a crawl, but eventually, dawn started to break. This was when Link looked for a cave to bunker down in and managed to find one that was empty and simple like the last one. No Tektites, Wolfos, or any other creatures, and nowhere for anything to hide.
Only as Link sat at the far wall did Tatl finally leave his tunic. "How do you feel? Sick at all?" She asked, looking the boy over as he settled in. She managed to keep her voice neutral, forcing the worry out of it. Just a casual checking of Link's health, she wasn't concerned or anything…or at least that's what she wanted him to believe.
"I just feel cold and tired…but not feverish." Link replied, taking a few sips of water. "I'm going to sleep for about an hour, then keep going. The sun will be up more by then, so it shouldn't be as bad…" And there was no rain n the mountain, it was far too cold. He remembered Zelda telling him about that, as there was never snow in the Lost Woods for him to even experience. It had bewildered him the first time he saw strange white shapes slowly falling from the sky…
"Good idea. Those Gorons better be close!" Tatl grumbled, diving back into Link's tunic. "And don't make a comment about it!" She quickly said, referring to her sleeping against him.
Link wasn't going to, but he just shrugged her comment off and closed his eyes. "Right. Let's just get a bit of rest…" He murmured, quickly slipping into a light sleep as the snow started to fall harder outside.
The Hylian found himself on a snowy, blank white mountain. He was only in his hat, tunic, shorts, and boots, yet he didn't feel cold somehow. Without his weapons or other gear, he felt practically naked, though, especially since Tatl was nowhere to be found.
Wanting to get off the mountain, he started to head downward, trudging through the blindingly white snow as he tried to go as fast as he could. Though he didn't feel any cold, his body moved slower than it should, even without considering the snow he had to walk through that went past his ankles!
No matter how far down he went, though, he didn't seem to be making any progress at all! Of course, given how much of the mountain looked exactly the same, it was hard to tell for certain if he was getting anywhere or not…
His thoughts were interrupted as a horrid bellowing sound erupted from behind him. Whipping around, Link saw a vaguely humanoid shadow plastered onto the mountain! It was massive, dozens of times larger than the boy himself, and it quickly started to grow closer. The shadow slinked along the terrain, slithering without any sort of impediment from the deep snow like Link had to deal with.
Panicking, Link turned around and sprinted away from the shadowy being…that was, if the snow wasn't stopping him from doing so. At most, he could move at a hurried trudge, but even that barely moved him along. Another bellow rang out, and the boy didn't have to turn around to know the monstrosity was closing in on him fast and would reach him within moments!
Still, he tried to get away…but a few seconds passed, and he was suddenly hoisted into the air. He couldn't see what was holding him, but Link was being held by his ankle, dangling upside down! The shadowy creature below started to change and morph, soon becoming an orb that was still flat against the snow. To Link's horror, a single orange eye, like that of the grimacing Moon, appeared in the middle. Then, the outline of a mouth full of jagged teeth appeared and opened up.
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Link was released, and he fell into the shadowy maw…
The Hylian's eyes snapped open as his breath caught in his throat. For a few seconds, he remained perfectly still, taking slow and deep breaths as he tried not to panic from his nightmare. The sunlight peeked in from the cave entrance, and he felt Tatl laid against his chest, just as she was when they fell asleep.
Reeling lightly from the nightmare, Link took a minute to catch his breath, trying to calm himself down. It really was a cruel joke that he remembered so many details of his nightmares, but in the rare times he had pleasant dreams, the specifics faded so quickly. Granted, he wasn't sure when the last time he had a positive dream was. After a few minutes, he managed to calm himself down, lightly tapping Tatl to wake her up.
With a loud yawn, Tatl hovered from Link's tunic and stretched a bit. "An hour already…?" She mumbled, rubbing at her eyes before glancing out of the cave. "At least it's lighter, probably warmer…" Becoming a bit more awake, she suddenly looked to Link, glancing him over. "You feel okay? Not sick again, are you?" The fairy asked, keeping her toned almost accusatory.
Shaking his head, Link slowly stood up as he gathered up his gear. "No, I'm fine." He replied, so distracted by his nightmare he forgot to even think about his sickness, or a lack of it. The Hylian really was feeling fine, or at the very least he didn't have a fever. "Looks like the preparations helped."
Tatl nearly let out a sigh of relief but held it back. No! She wasn't going to be worried about this kid! At least, that's the sort of thinking she tried to focus on, but she really had to force it! "So, we can get going, then? The Gorons gotta have warmer homes than these stupid caves…" She complained, diving back into Link's tunic. "Come on, let's get a move on!"
Link was hoping for the same thing, that the Gorons had warm abodes. The ones in Hyrule lived in such a hot area, so it made him wonder if they were really okay in all this ice and snow. He was also hoping that they were close by. If the Gorons were an entire three days, or more, away…he had no idea how he'd be able to proceed with his quest…
Shaking those thoughts away, the boy silently left the cave, bringing his sword out and looking around for danger. Specifically, he was looking for any unusual shadows…but saw none. Blinking a few time as the bright white snow in the sunlight nearly blinded him, the Hylian properly started going forward, starting to shiver within seconds from the severe cold.
The trip from that point was pretty uneventful, and it was hard to tell the time since the sun wasn't very visible from the snow. On top of that, the scenery didn't change much, just snow and ice and rocks everywhere one looked, so Link had trouble determining how fast he was going. Because of this, it didn't feel like he was making much progress at all. One thing that did change, though, was the atmosphere. It started to feel a lot more oppressive and heavier than before, clearly whatever curse was surely on the mountain lingering in the air. It was a lot like how it was at the swamp, except there was no rotten smell, just the bitter cold all around them…
Still, though, eventually there was a pretty drastic change in scenery!
Link blinked a few times as the snowfall mostly stopped, though the ice and snow at his feet remained. In any case, the boy found himself in a flat clearing of sorts…a welcome change from the upward slopes of the mountain. There were a few hardy pine trees growing in the area, as well as a frozen pond going off into an icy river towards an entirely still waterfall. A large wall was on the opposite side of the pond, whatever was at the top out of sight. There was also a small bridge over the river, heading off further up the mountain.
However, the thing that stuck out most of all was a sign of civilization! Just a single one, though. In the middle of the clearing was a large wooden house, smoke billowing from its chimney meaning there was someone actually inside!
"Tatl…there's a house here." Link quietly called to his companion, gently tapping at the fairy-shaped lump in his clothing.
Once more, Tatl emerged from under Link's tunic. Once more she stretched a bit, having dozed off as her companion got the two higher up the mountain. "A house…? Not the Goron Village?" She asked, turning to see the building in question. "There's smoke…so someone's in there…" The fairy pointed out. "Let's take a look!"
"Shouldn't we go to the Gorons first?" Link asked, surprised that Tatl would want to make a detour. She was usually the one rushing things, after all. Maybe she just really wanted to go indoors for a bit…
"What if a Goron lives there?" Tatl pointed out. "Who else would be all the way out here in the mountains?" The fairy went on. While, yes, a part of it was she wanted to be indoors for a bit, maybe whoever was there could tell the two how far away the Goron Village was.
Despite living in Termina her whole life, Tatl never went too far from Clock Town. She went near the swamps once or twice, but never entered the area properly. The mountains were too dull for her to want to explore, and the winter months were too freezing for her to even get close. Tatl did, however, go to the beach a number of times before. The warm sand and the calming waves were a favorite of hers, along with Tael and the Skull Kid. Of course, Tatl wasn't foolish enough to ever wander to the East…
Link couldn't argue with Tatl's logic…and there was a part of him that simply wanted to rest inside such a cozy abode like the one before them. "Let's hope they'll take visitors." The boy said, walking towards the cottage quickly. Thankfully, the snow in the area wasn't nearly as high as before, most likely shoveled and kept in check by whoever lived in the cottage. Getting to the door fast, Link gave a few polite knocks, recalling how there was a time he had no idea what doors were or how to open them.
Almost instantly, there was a reply from the other side. It was a man's voice, and it was pretty casual and cheerful. "Come in! Door's open!" The man called.
The Hylian quickly did as invited, opening the door up so he and Tatl could duck inside. Once they were indoors, Link closed the door and let out a few shivers as he slowly got used to the warmth. The inside of the abode was as comfortable as the outside made it seem. It was very cozy, and the air was so warm that it was borderline stuffy. Of course, compared to the harsh winds and snow outside, a stuffy atmosphere was more than welcome.
Link and Tatl looked around, spotting a lit hearth right near the door, the flames crackling away and explaining the warmth. Ahead was a desk like a store would have, and an open doorway leading somewhere else in the building. To the right was a massive sword, one larger than Link's entire body in both height and width, hung on the wall. Before this impressive blade was a man lounging on a couch, a table with some cups and a pot laid on it.
The man was very relaxed looking, and not even dressed for the environment outside. Rather than being all bundled up, he wore a blue leotard of sorts, one that left his arms and a lot of his torso exposed. Despite that, he was clearly comfortable, a tranquil expression on his face. Given the almost intense heat of the room, it was no surprise he didn't dress too warmly.
"Geez…I wasn't expecting it to be this warm in here…" Tatl murmured but was hardly complaining. "Wonder what that huge sword is for…" She pondered to herself, not even Link hearing her words. No way that weapon could be wielded by that guy on the couch. Even a Goron couldn't properly use that thing…probably. Tatl had heard Gorons are extremely strong, but that sword was pretty ridiculous in its size…
After observing his guests, the man seemed a bit shocked, but quickly went back to looking calm. "A boy? A stranger all the way out here is surprising enough, but a child and a fairy? What are you two doing up here? Take a seat and have some hot cocoa! I insist!"
Link was pleasantly surprised at the man's kindness. Not that he expected someone nasty to live in the home, but he had never been invited into someone's house and offered cocoa. "Thank you, sir." He said simply, letting the light blue scarf around his face loose as he sat down. The boy had wanted a green one to match his clothes, but no luck.
"Well, we can ask you the same thing!" Tatl said, sitting on Link's shoulder as the boy poured himself a cup of cocoa and sipped at it. "What's a human doing all the way up here? I've heard the mountains aren't so bad in the spring, but…" As far as she knew, Gorons alone lived up North, but apparently not…
The man laughed a bit, as if Tatl asked something ridiculous. "You surely realize that this place is, right? It's a smithy! Gorons are great at their craft, better than we ever could be, but they still come around. They taught us some techniques, and hire us for small, unimportant jobs. Enough of them to keep us living comfortably, at least." He explained, and then looked between the boy and fairy. "I'm Zubora, by the way. And you are…?"
"I'm Link, and this is Tatl." The boy replied, taking another sip of his cocoa. He had this a few times in the winter during his stay in the castle. His love for chocolate was one of the few things his condition hadn't wrung out of him. "Thank you for letting us come in here."
"Also, what's this 'we' stuff? Who else lives here?" Tatl asked, looking around the room as if she was missing someone else's presence.
Zubora leaned towards the open doorway on the other side of the room. "Hey! Gabora! Come out and greet our guests!" He yelled, sounding annoyed and grouchy to whoever Gabora was. His demeanor went back to normal as he turned back to the boy and fairy. "I'm sorry about that. Gabora can be pretty rude. A handful, really…"
Before Link or Tatl could respond at all, heavy footsteps made their way towards the trio. Within moments, a massive and terrifying shape emerged from the doorway. It was a hulking creature, one whose head would surely hit the roof if it wasn't partially hunched over. The thing had huge muscles and wielded a hammer large enough to crush Link flat if swung on him. Its head was the most terrifying part, covered by an unusual metal helmet that hid any and all of its features from the neck up. As the entity entered the room, it let out a horrific, groaning yell.
In an instant, there was the sound of a breaking up, and a chair being toppled over. Link had erupted from his chair, Tatl flying off of him in a startled move, as he dropped his cup of cocoa. His hand went to his sword in the blink of an eye, and he drew his blade just as fast. Panting a bit, he stared down the figure, who seemed to be looking right back, though with that helmet, it was hard to tell.
"Link! Wait, I don't think that's a monster!" Tatl exclaimed, though she herself had been pretty surprised by what had to be Gabora. Was that guy even human? Didn't seem to be a Goron…
At all the excitement, Zubora sat up properly. "Hey! Calm down there, kid! That's just Gabora! He's pretty scary, but he's harmless!" The man insisted, turning towards the hulking creature. "Look what you did! You freaked the kid out!" He shouted, getting cross with Gabora once more. The massive man let out a softer groan, seeming almost apologetic.
For a few moments, Link didn't even register he was being spoken to, either by Tatl or Zubora. His eyes were fixated on Gabora, his mind in the process of fight of flight. To the boy, the hulking being was a monster, and he had to determine if he could kill it or not. His hand gripped at his blade's hilt so tightly, his knuckles turned white, and his palm started to ache. Link's heart was racing, slamming against his ribcage as his breathing became shallow and swift.
Tatl noticed Link wasn't calming down, floating down towards him. "Hey! You heard the guy! It's okay!" She was afraid that the kid was actually going to charge Gabora. He had taken down a lot of monsters, but wasn't sure he could win a fight against that thing…
It was the fairy's words that finally snapped Link out of it. His breathing went from shallow breaths to deep pants as he looked around. Zubora and Tatl were staring at him, he toppled a chair over and broke a cup, spilling its contents on the floor. His blade was drawn, and it seemed like Gabora was staring at him as well, but with that helmet on, it was impossible to tell.
He realized how badly he messed up.
In an instant, without even waiting to find out if the large man was Gabora or not, he leapt into action and drew a weapon! The smithies allowed him and Tatl into their abode and he threatens one of them with his sword! What was he thinking?! Slowly, he put the sword back in its sheath and knelt down on the floor, starting to pick up pieces of the broken cup.
"I'm sorry. I thought he was a monster, and I acted without thinking." The Hylian said, barely managing to keep himself composed and stoic throughout the entire situation. He felt like there were cracks forming in his mask…
Zubora cleared his throat, seeming a bit anxious almost. "Well…I guess I'd think the same thing. But hey, no one got hurt, so it's okay, right?"
Tatl watched as Link silently cleaned the mess he had made, the fairy pretty freaked out about what happened. What was wrong with this kid? He's been so weird since she met him…but what made him this way? She knew little of Hyrule, but was it really a place where someone like him was normal? No, couldn't be. Imagining him fitting in anywhere just didn't seem right to her. And she didn't think that in a mean way, but she just couldn't see Link with a lot of others like him. Something about him just screamed outsider…
Soon, all the pieces were gathered up and put in a trash can in the corner of the room. "I'm sorry again. We'll leave now and get out of your home." Link droned, looking to Zubora with his dead eyes. He felt like it was the right thing to do after the trouble he caused.
"It's really okay, kid. Just a broken cup is all!" The smaller smithy insisted, starting to lie back down again. Yet despite his more relaxed tone, he kept staring at Link's dull eyes, as if he just noticed how inhuman they were.
"We need to be going anyway. We have things we have to do." Link flatly insisted. Even if he hadn't ruined everything, he didn't intent for him and Tatl to stay long anyway.
At that, Zubora let out a small sigh. "Well, no like I can make you stay. But hey, what are you two doing here anyway? Especially with this freaky long winter going on?"
Tatl perked up, trying to ignore what had just happened. "That's right! Hey, you know where the Goron Village is, right? Is it close? That's where we're going!"
Scratching the back of his neck, Zubora seemed pretty surprised. "Really now? Well, it's dangerous up here, but I'm sure you figure that already. Luckily, the village is right around the corner! Yeah, just go around back, go over the bridge, and it's maybe five minutes away. Can't miss it!"
Despite the situation that just occurred, Link felt a massive sense of relief. He had braced himself to hear that the Gorons were still several days away or something horrible like that. Knowing they were just a short walk away took a weight off his shoulders. "Thank you. Sorry again for everything."
Zubora waved his hand at Link. "Don't worry about it! I gotta say, though, apparently some trouble's gone down at the village. I don't know what, but apparently it's really bad. The Gorons are usually the nicest folks around, but they might be a bit less warm and welcoming than usual…"
That was surprising to hear. What was going on with the Gorons? At the very least, it was good to know that the Gorons in Termina didn't seem too different from the ones in Hyrule, at least in personality. "Thank you, again. We'll be going now." Link said, unable to even glance at the two smithies as he left, Tatl right behind him.
It was a real nasty slap to the face, stepping out in the cold again after experience the stuffy warmth of the quaint cabin. The two instantly started to shiver, Tatl diving into Link's tunic. "Hey, at least we're close!" The fairy piped up, trying to stay positive and to keep Link's little episode out of their mouths.
Link decided to try and ignore what happened too. No use going on about it at this point, even if he felt humiliated and ashamed over it. His body had just acted on its own! "Yeah. Just a bit more and we'll be at the village."
With that, Link started to go towards the bridge as instructed. Halfway to it, he slowed down and looked over his shoulder. Somehow…he felt like he was being watched…yet he didn't see anyone or anything nearby. He felt like it was coming from that odd wall off to the side of the area…but why? Nothing was there! Trying to ignore it, he just kept going and over the bridge.
Before Link could go on the path proper to the Goron Village, a voice called out. "Hello…? Anyone there?" It shouted, sounding itself like a Goron!
"What the…?" Tatl asked, peeking out from Link's tunic. "Who was that?" She asked, looking about. "Did you hear that voice?"
"Up here!" The voice shouted out. Link and Tatl looked to see a small alcove of sorts in the rock and ice. High above was indeed a Goron! He was a bit on the smaller side, and he was shivering terribly in the cold. What was odd, though, was that he was wearing a strange mask on his head that looked a bit like a frog. When the Goron saw the boy and fairy noticed him properly, he seemed more relieved. "Thank goodness, I thought I was done for!"
"What are you doing up there?!" Tatl called, floating out of Link's tunic. "Shouldn't you be at the village?!"
The Goron let out a sigh as he shivered on. "Look, it's a bit of a long story, but…I just sort of got stuck up here, okay?" He said, as if somehow the circumstances around his stranding were embarrassing somehow. "I can't get down; I have no energy! Please, get me something to eat! A rock, a fine, chewy rock! Maybe it will get me the energy…"
Well, Link couldn't just leave the poor Goron up there to starve! "Where could I get one?" The boy called up. "At the village?"
"You're going to the village? Good! Get a rock for me and I'll repay you, I promise!" The Goron insisted, letting out another series of rough shivers.
For once, Tatl didn't admonish Link for wanting to help someone. Even if time would undo the good deed, they couldn't just leave that Goron to starve to death. The fairy could be mean but ignoring a dying Goron begging for help was just downright evil! "How are we going to get it up there?" She asked Link.
"We'll find some way. A Goron could help." Link replied before looking back up to the Goron. "Okay, we'll get you a rock. Just hold on as long as you can."
With a newfound urgency, Link started to nearly run ahead on the path, Tatl quickly catching up and diving into his tunic. On top of all the other Gorons on the mountain he had to aid, Link had to make sure to help one starving to death. Surely he'd be able to get some aid for the poor Goron up on that ledge. Leaving someone to just die in the cold was something the boy couldn't accept! After that, he'd surely find a Temple of sorts to cleanse, if the events in the South were any indication.
And, hopefully, he'd find a way to permanently free the Giants…
A/N: At last, Link is about to arrive at the Gorons. And he snagged another mask this time...albeit one that doesn't seem too useful. I do like to imagine that the horrid music that signals Kamaro is out is one the spirit somehow produces. Either way, Link is collecting masks at a rapid pace, as he'll be getting Don Gero's Mask and the Goron Mask next time, as I'm sure you could all gather. After the next chapter will be the Snowhead Temple and that'll really be it for the North for a while. Not much else going on there since I probably won't include the races. After all, Link will be keeping his sword as is. Giving him a more powerful one would just make things too easy...and I feel like, even with the bad memories it holds, he has a sort of attachment to his sword. He probably wouldn't want to so drastically change it.
I mentioned this in my Kingdom Hearts story, so I'll mention it here too. I got a new job about two weeks ago, and my writing schedule was impacted. I'm very tired when I get home, so I'm not always in a writing mood. So, updates will just generally be slower indefinitely from now on, sorry about that.