Hi Mimi, you're welcome! I'm glad as always that you enjoy them, and I hope you like Out of Time, too!
Chapter 24: Death Mountain
Finally tearing his gaze from the volcano that loomed over him, spilling thick, dark smoke across the sky, Link knelt to fold his sailcloth. No amount of care could make it any less filthy from his fall through the ash and from the ashen ground on which he had landed, and when he wiped his hands across his trousers he left a new pair of dark, gritty streaks behind.
"Fi," he asked, the air still hot and strange even filtered through his scarf, "can you sense Zelda?"
The sword spirit seemed to concentrate, silent for a long moment before she responded. "There is no direct trace of her in this immediate location, Master. However, I detect a fading aura that I estimate to be hers with approximately 80% confidence. In order to reach it, you must traverse the base of the volcano in a southeasterly direction. However, I predict a 95% probability that she will have attempted to ascend Eldin Volcano in search of the Earth Spring, following the instructions found at Skyview Spring. I therefore recommend that you travel directly eastward, increasing your probability of intersecting her path at a point closer to her current location."
Link nodded; that made sense. "Thanks, Fi." A moment later, he frowned. "How come you can sense her aura but not her path?"
"A pertinent question, Master Link," Fi replied. Link searched her blank eyes for any hint of the approval – or disapproval – he couldn't find in her melodic, emotionless voice. "The signature that I detect is of increased strength compared to the traces of her aura that we previously encountered in every location save Skyview Spring. It is likely to have been created by the spirit maiden's use of magics innate to her while she was in that location. However, since she is not currently directly using the power, the traces she has subsequently left are significantly fainter, and cannot be detected at this range."
Link nodded again, slowly. "I see, I think." He hesitated for a moment. "Do you have any idea what kind of magic she was doing?" She'd always been better at it than he had, but…
"I cannot determine that at this range, Master. However, I am able to estimate a probable time frame. I establish a probability of 85% that the magic was cast this morning, between three and four hours prior to this moment."
Renewed hope lit Link's eyes. "Then we're not that far behind her!" Determination followed, hot on its heels. "We've got to catch up. Lead the way, Fi."
"Of course, Master."
As the spirit returned to the sword, Link felt the unerring sense of direction she gave him impinge on his awareness, leading him directly across the foot of the volcano. Until they reached Zelda's trail, he would have to find his own path, but he was resolved to find her. Not even the rivers of molten rock would hold him back.
. . .
Making his way carefully down a steep slope scattered with jagged stones, Link eyed the river of lava ahead with increasing concern. The area he'd landed in had been cut off from the others by a lava flow branching around it, and there seemed to be no way to continue save to cross it, or to go ever further out of his way downhill – southwards – and hope to finally reach wherever it ended.
If he wanted to reach Zelda, he was going to have to cross it.
"Fi," he murmured into his scarf, "how close do you think I can get to that stuff?"
The answer sounded in his mind, crystal clear as always. Although the current wind strength is both decreasing the air temperature and rendering it safer, the molten rock is still extremely hazardous. Despite your minor heat protection, it is inadvisable to remain in close proximity to it for extended periods of time, as your temperature will rise rapidly. You should not approach it for periods of longer than a small number of seconds at a time.
"Right…" So I can get close. Link wiped at the faint haze that kept building up on his flight goggles, which smeared it into streaks about as much as it helped. The lava ahead of him was an ominous red, thick chunks of crusty dark rock floating atop it as it oozed past with a strange, gurgling, cracking sound.
Could he…?
"Fi, is that solid enough to stand on?"
Under these conditions and with your current protection, it is possible for you to move upon the congealed rock without suffering serious harm as long as you remain in motion. However, standing atop the crust of lava is not recommended, Master.
A momentary smile flickered beneath his scarf before his expression set back into lines of determination.
"It looks like it's the only way over."
Unfortunately, you are correct, the sword spirit replied after a moment. My analysis indicates that this is the narrowest portion of the lava channel for some distance. She paused for a single heartbeat. I calculate that there is a 70% probability of you successfully reaching the other side. However, I cannot assist you if you are critically injured in the attempt.
"I know, Fi," Link said, his voice softening. She hadn't said so, and he hadn't asked, but he was fairly sure she was as intangible as when she'd passed through the Academy doors. If he fell out on the lava, she wouldn't so much as be able to drag him to safety. "But I've got to take the risk."
Affirmative, Master.
She said nothing more, and Link stepped closer, one hand outstretched. Even with the warm, ash-laden breeze that Fi said was helping, he could feel a furnace heat beyond anything he'd ever encountered before as he came within a mere few paces of the lava. If he stayed in it long enough, it would definitely burn him.
Backing off several steps into air that suddenly seemed almost cool, he resolved that he'd just have to move fast enough that wouldn't be a problem. Eyeing the chunks of crusted rock moving sluggishly with the lava, he set his stance, dropping his right leg back – then, taking a last deep breath, ran into the heat and leapt.
It struck him with all the force of a hammer-blow, like he imagined the molten metal at the heart of a forge; he was instantly sweating despite his protection, heat radiating up through his boots as he landed, the rock swaying beneath him horribly and an awful sinking moment in the back of his throat the realisation that if it was floating it might sink – he kept running, momentum and determination carrying him on; leapt again as the rock tipped slightly, sluggishly behind him; landed with every step seeming to bring his feet closer to burning and kept running, launching himself across the final narrow gap almost through a curtain of heat and landing again, staggering, in the ash and jagged raw stone of the far bank, dashing up it as fast as he could and finally stopping, gasping for breath through the muffling scarf, in the hot volcanic air that suddenly seemed blissfully cool in comparison.
He'd done it.
"We made it, Fi!"
Fi said nothing, but he felt a sense of acknowledgement. It was enough. Link paused to take the water bottle from his belt, lifting his scarf just enough to drink from it, surprised briefly by the strange and gritty taste and yet almost ignoring it in the uncomplicated sensation of drinking. He allowed himself two sips before sealing the bottle again, fastening it back in its place and setting out across the rocky, inhospitable landscape. A ridge in the rock became a defile that led around a rock spire and out of sight: it was headed in the right direction, and Link opted to follow it, climbing the steep slope before him.
As he rounded the spire and it gave way to a more gradual descent, the ground trembled briefly beneath his feet. He stopped, startled, looking around – then it fractured in front of him, and as he took a step back, two strange furry creatures almost his own size emerged from the barren ground!
"Hey! Hey! HEY!" one of them shouted, squinting at him with suspicious beady eyes that peered from a black band across its face. It sounded aggressive, but its voice trembled, which would have ruined the effect if Link hadn't been so shocked by their appearance. "Y-you mess with our turf, and you're gonna…" The creature trailed off, squinting harder, finishing on a much quieter note: "pay?"
The other one had been staring uninterruptedly, and finally broke in. "Whoa, you're not…" It turned its pointy-muzzled head to look at its companion. "Yo, Ledd, I don't think this is one of those red creeps."
"Y-yeah, I think you're right." The one called Ledd returned its attention to Link, relieved and aggrieved as its fear bled away. "No reason to scare the hair off us, though!"
"I'm sorry," Link managed, trying to be polite even through his shock and bewilderment. More strange creatures like the kikwis, or Gorko the goron? "I didn't even know you were here."
"Sorry 'bout that, pal," Ledd said, leaning forward a little as if to see him better, bracing himself with strong furry arms. Below his waist, the lower half of the strange creature was still completely immersed in the ground. "These monsters showing up and messing with our turf has got me on edge."
"Monsters?" Red creeps, the other one had said – were there bokoblins here, too? He'd assumed there would be…
"Yeah, monsters." Ledd folded his burly arms. "They show up here, and I'm gonna knock the red clean out of 'em. That's what I'm doing here. Yeah, me, Ledd."
Link's sharp hearing caught the other one murmuring "Yeah, whatever, Mr. Too Scared to Dig in the Dark." He repressed a smile beneath his scarf, politely ignoring it.
"Anyway," Ledd went on, "if you're looking for treasure, you should watch out. Stay clear of those red guys."
Link nodded. "Thank you. I'll do my best. But I'm actually looking for a friend of mine… not treasure."
"Not treasure?" The creature leant forwards again, squinting at him more closely. Link stepped forward, hands by his sides, offering it a better view.
"Hmm… I guess that must have been your pal that passed by earlier, then!"
"You saw her?!" Something nagged at him, and a moment later, he placed it: if they'd seen her, wouldn't Fi have been able to pick up her trail? Ledd was still talking, and he didn't have time to ask.
"Yeah, just down there a way, sprinting by without so much as a glance in our direction! By the time we came up it was already past! It was sorta a blur of movement, so I didn't get a real good look, but I know it wasn't one of those red creeps, and there ain't nothing around here but them and us." Ledd twisted in the hole to point eastward, in almost the same direction that Fi's subtle prompts were directing. "Your pal must have gone straight over that way, so we'll let you go on and follow."
"Thank you," Link said again, heartfelt. "It won't cause you any trouble, will it?" They seemed like guards, guards about as used to fighting real foes as he was.
"Not if you're only looking for your friend," the other one chipped in. "This is our territory where we search for riches. We mogmas are what you might call treasure hunters, and this volcano is a good and rich spot. There's so much around here, I guess even if you do find something good it's fine to just go ahead and take it, since you're here and all. Everywhere we dig, there's rupee crystals, even gold and silver ones sometimes. Good ores, too. You can make a lot of stuff with the rock around here, if you got the time."
Link nodded. "Thanks, er…"
"Cobal." The mogma – this one with the tuft of fur on its head tied up in a brush, and the dark stripe across its face not quite meeting in the middle – twitched its nose and smiled at Link, a rather uncanny expression on such a long muzzle.
"Thanks, Cobal, Ledd." Link glanced past them, worried. Something that wasn't a bokoblin, and all too probably wasn't Zelda, had gone past rapidly, heading in the same direction he was. Maybe it had been the Sheikah, getting here ahead of him; he'd told them what there was to know that strange morning in their camp, reassured by Fi's certainty that they were allies. Or maybe it had been Ghirahim, the demon lord here ahead of him and Zelda in terrible danger. "I've got to hurry – I'm worried about my friend. But thanks again for letting me into your territory."
It was Ledd's turn to give him a toothy grin. "You're not one of those red creeps, and you're real polite, so you're welcome any time, pal. Maybe we'll see you around." He gestured past himself, and Link obediently walked on by, calling a farewell back to them.
He could hear them starting to bicker gently about Ledd's bravery, or lack thereof, as he descended the shallow slope and left them behind.
"Fi," he murmured as soon as he was out of earshot, "can you sense Zelda anywhere near here?"
No, Master, Fi replied. The probability that the being the mogmas saw was Zelda is less than 1%.
Then there was only his worry. "You don't think it could be Ghirahim, could you?"
I do not detect Ghirahim's aura in the immediate vicinity. However, there is a demonic aura pervading this region. This is likely due to the presence of bokoblins, as implied by Ledd and Cobal.
Link breathed a sigh of relief into his scarf. At least, dangerous though they were, bokoblins weren't Ghirahim.
"Any idea who it was they saw, then?"
He felt the sense of negation, as if Fi would have shaken her head slightly. No, Master Link. The individual has left no traces which I can detect.
"Okay." Link paused, clambering carefully over tumbled, sharp-edged rock and jumping down on the other side. "…Do you know much about those… mogmas?"
I do, Fi confirmed. Mogmas are a subterranean species: they primarily live underground. Their eyesight is notably poor, and they navigate by sound, scent, and sensing subtle vibrations and temperature changes in the ground through which they dig. They were the favoured species of the goddess Mirnale, before that goddess' death, and lived in a mountainous realm to the north. It is unusual to see mogmas this far south, away from their ancestral homes. However, it is probable that they migrated slowly in search of a safer environment following the slaying of their goddess, and have settled here.
Slaying a goddess… Link swallowed, his mouth dry and gritty. "What happened?"
When the demons first rose, Fi explained calmly, many great spirits fell to them and were consumed. It began to appear as though an apocalypse would fall upon the land. Goddess Mirnale was among those who fell in the years before the goddess Hylia was able to set forth the task of defeating it.
What could Link say to that? The phrasing Fi had used when they met, 'eradicating the shadow of apocalypse from the world' suddenly sounded a lot more real.
"I'm glad they made it," he said eventually.
Their survival is most probably due to their habit of dwelling underground, in narrow tunnels. It may be that this caused the demons to overlook many of them in their initial conquest. Fi paused for a moment, seeming to think. However, these mogmas do not appear to have emerged unscathed. There is evidence of significant deterioration in their physiology. Although outwardly these particular individuals appear hale, they are not fully healthy. Their lifespans are significantly shortened, and I calculate a 95% probability that their condition will continue to deteriorate further with each generation.
"That's awful… What did the demons do to them?"
The damage is not recent, and is hereditary, Master. At this juncture, I cannot determine its cause without further information.
There probably wasn't anything he could do. All the same… "If you learn anything else, tell me, okay?" Maybe something can help them. Fi knows so much, maybe we can figure something out.
Affirmative, Master, was all she said.
For the moment, all that Link could do was set the mogmas to the back of his mind and press on.
Oh man, only a few hours late… Sorry!
I did accidentally spend two hours reading all about a bunch of different volcanoes, volcano types, lava types, hazards, and two dudes who fell in lava and came out alive if badly burnt. So there's that?
Patch Notes:
- Disappearance of mogmas from all later games given backstory-connected reason. Which may not be the one you think it is…
- Fi's aura-detection now works to determine whether Zelda has recently been in a place, removing one source of uncertainty.
- Link now takes what precautions he can while also being ludicrously daring out of necessity.