Chapter 30: The Machination
Hooves thundered as the cavalry sped across the land. Link knew that Epona could outrun any of them and he wanted to. Instead, he rode with them all. They would all need to see this together.
He rode along with Zelda, Captain Williams and two of his chosen riders. They all stayed quiet as they focused their efforts on reaching the base of Death Mountain. They pushed hard, their horses individually starting to strain under the effort, apart from Epona.
The day blended in to morning as they crossed Hyrule field, guided by moonlight. After Zelda had been told of what happened to the Gorons, the enthusiasm she and Link had was snuffed in an instant. They rapidly got dressed again and made their way to learn what had happened.
A shipment of iron had not been delivered, so a scout had been sent to check what was happening. He was bone white and could barely speak. They had both questioned him as gently as they could have, with him responding with simple nods or shakes of his head. Whatever he had seen had broken him. His eyes were vacant. Though eventually, he had managed to utter a single word quietly
"Bags..."
Which he had then started repeating, unable to hear anyone trying to calm him. Link and Zelda had looked to each other, wondering what he meant.
The lack of information was more unsettling than having the complete picture, so Captain Williams was summoned who immediately sent for his other riders. A quick plan was drawn up and without even pausing to eat, they all made their way to the stables and raced out of Castle Town as fast as they could.
Lit under the moonlight, Death Mountain loomed in the distance. Its spectre dominated the dark landscape and looked surreal. The glow of lava pools at its peak illuminating it further.
Link focused, he couldn't let himself get distracted now.
As dawn broke and lit the land, the cavalry arrived at the base of the mountain at a fork in the road along side it.
"Link, guard her majesty with your life. We will check in Kakariko Village then meet you at the summit." Williams said, already bringing his horse to a gallop as his two best men followed him.
Link dismounted as did Zelda. No horse would scale the steep path easily.
"Are you ready?" he asked her plainly, getting a wordless nod in return.
They took their supplies from saddles and started to climb the long slope up the mountain. The morning sun lit the mountainside and warmed their backs. Neither of them knew what to say.
The thought that Gorons could have suffered a genocide was unreal. He couldn't imagine what had happened to them, though he knew they would not go quietly in the face of danger.
Further up the slope, Zelda eventually spoke.
"I never imagined I would face this" Zelda said, her voice trembling. "How do you even begin to process something like genocide?
"You don't" he said with his voice tight. "You just take it piece by piece and hope it doesn't break you."
She went quiet again, her pace becoming more rapid. Link kept up with her as they continued up the mountain.
The heat of the lava flows around the mountain came to them both. It made the air feel thick and oppressive. Sweat formed on his brow and Zelda's too. He removed his green hat and she removed her mask.
The sun climbed higher as they began to reach the last part of the climb to the summit. When he had last visited here, there was always something to hear. The beat of drums, wagons being loaded, the heavy footsteps of the Gorons as they went from place to place. This time, there was no noise apart from the breeze
"I see footprints" Zelda remarked.
Link looked down, seeing the mark of Hylian sized boots trodden in to the dirt path. There were ones heading back down the slope, but smeared and uneven. As if the owner was running frantically from the summit after reaching it. Link took a deep breath. Whatever had happened here still needed to be investigated.
"The scout, most likely. I hope to the goddesses that he's going to be alright" he said grimly.
"You have seen your fair share of horrors too. How do you manage with it?" she asked abruptly.
In an instant, his worst memories flooded back to him. Facing the poes in the Arbiters Grounds left him changed for the worse. Suffering his first wound in the forest had made him more wary. Then recently, the experience in the depths of the lake instilling fear in to him.
He shook his head and tried to focus on something else as he talked, mainly to distract himself.
"I don't. Not really. I keep moving. Keep busy. It's easier than thinking about it too long."
He walked on, trying to not let his mind run wild. Eventually, the crest of the summit appeared just ahead of them. They stood on the edge and looked ahead. There were strange looking things in the courtyard.
"What… what are those?" Zelda's voice trembled, her steps faltering as she approached.
Link stood where he was as he tried to learn what he could. They looked so strange. Like lumps of leather with slates embedded in them at odd angles. They looked as if they were laid out, like laundry almost.
Why did they look familiar?
Then, he recalled what the scout had said. 'Bags'. Cold dread hit him all at once. Bile flooded his stomach as he felt sick, colour drained from him and cold sweat formed in the searing heat.
Zelda stumbled backwards, tripping over her own feet and falling back to the floor. She frantically scrambled backwards as she put her hands over her mouth. She had gone pale in an instant, trembling to her core.
Laid out in the courtyard were fleshy sacks. The bodies of fallen Gorons with every single bone absent from their bodies. Their flesh remained. Unstructured, unnatural and sickeningly wrong to see.
He trembled as his stomach churned. Zelda was no better off as she turned away from him and retched. She began to tremble too.
The smell of Goron innards mixed in the air, leaving a vile taint to breathe. The more Link looked, the more bags of flesh he saw, splayed out as if they just needed inflating.
In the central courtyard lay a particularly large one. He recognised the malformed face to be Patriarch, a Goron champion. He recalled having saved him from the curse of Twilight around a year prior. Now here he lay, formless.
The colour drained from Link as he counted more dead around him. Though his knees were weak and shaking, he forced himself to walk the area, see the devastation.
Zelda had gotten to her feet and joined him. Wide eyed, she followed Link as she stared helplessly. Her skin lost its colour too.
"I… I can't…" she whispered, her voice breaking as she struggled to finish her thought.
They walked through the remains, finding they couldn't look at any of them. Link's stomach strained as he fought back bile.
As they walked through the main doors, the air stank of rot and flesh. He did his best to stop himself from vomiting. Zelda was struggling, fighting the urge back herself. The quiet alleyways and streets were scattered with remains of the Gorons.
"I need to focus…" Link said, desperately trying to distract himself.
He walked further in with Zelda, passing empty buildings and coming to a market square. It was still quiet. Even the wind had been still.
"Anyone here?" he shouted aloud.
His voice echoed off the huge stone buildings, as no response came.
They walked further, forcing themselves to see every body left behind. Perhaps there had been at least one survivor. If not, then Link would try to figure it out. His mind felt too numb to think for too long.
Walking past a group, one of the dead Gorons lay face first in the dirt. For the first time, Link paid attention. He noticed a large slit in the skin as it lay split open. He stared blankly until a gruesome realization struck him.
It was as if the bones hadn't been individually taken out, but that the whole skeleton had climbed out of its confines and walked off somewhere.
The image in his mind was so bizarre that he momentarily forgot what had happened. Then, a mere moment later, he imagined the skeleton ripping itself out of its owners skin. His stomach clenched har, forcing him to his knees as the bile rose.
With a monumental effort, he kept it down and got back to his feet slowly. They had to press on, see if there was anyone left.
Turning the corner was enough to nearly break him. At some street corner lay a pile of small sacks that used to be Goron children. Their forms folding over each other, eyeless holes staring nowhere in particular.
Link felt himself rooted to the spot as his mind started to unravel and shut down. Zelda, coming to stand beside him, froze in her tracks. She stared open mouthed at the grim sight and tried to get some words out.
Her breath hitched once then stopped entirely. Her arms fell to her sides, her shoulders stiffening like stone. When Link turned to her, her eyes were wide but unseeing, fixed on the ground as if something profound had been ripped away from her.
"Zelda?" he said, voice weak.
She didn't respond, or show any sign of recognition.
Concern mounting on top of his urge to vomit, he waved close to her face.
Not even a reflexive blink.
"Zelda...are you there?" he asked quietly, wondering what to do.
He spent time trying to coax a response out of her, but she remained quiet and unblinking, staring at the same spot on the floor. Tapping her shoulder didn't change anything either.
He stood, wondering what he could do to help. With her unresponsive, he tried to think and clear his head of the horrors no more than ten feet from where he stood.
He'd been here before. Alone and surrounded by darkness, the world closing in until there was nothing but emptiness. He remembered the crushing silence of his mind shutting down, the hopelessness that came with it. But back then, Zelda had pulled him through. Now it was his turn
Though he didn't recall what he had done, he knew he regained his senses when Zelda had laid next to him to keep him warm. It wasn't her keeping him warm, but the familiar presence that had helped.
"Zelda, can you hear me? Let's get away from this place" he said quietly.
She still stood stock still, unaware of the world beside her.
He took her hand and tried pull a little, hoping to get her to walk with him but she remained rooted.
His legs were shaking and he felt weak, as if he had been struggling for breath. They both had to leave here.
"I'm going to move you away from here" he said, still weak.
He carefully lifted her at her back and the back of her knees. He focused his mind on princess carrying her to distract himself as he slowly walked with her further away.
The smell of the bodies lingered in the air, so he opted to breathe through his mouth, helping him ignore the odour.
She felt impossibly heavy in his arms, though it wasn't her weight. It was his own body betraying him, his knees threatening to collapse as he forced himself forward.
He rounded several corners until he couldn't carry her any more. He felt sweat building in his tunic and his knees getting less capable, so as gently as he could, he sat her down on a bench.
He took a moment to recover his breath and try to regain the use of his legs. He took his flask of whisky and nearly drained it in a few short gulps. He tried wafting the familiar smell of whisky under her nose, seeing if it could ground her. She remained detached.
Blank moments passed as he regained his breath. Zelda's short breaths didn't change much. He hoped she would be alright, though felt annoyed at himself for not being sure of what to do.
Instead, he opted to hold her hand, after taking his gauntlet off. Her hand was still warm at least. Absent mindedly, he stroked over her knuckles with his thumb.
"Figures we'd find something horrible here," he muttered bitterly. "This has to be Ghirahim. No one else but he or Ganondorf could even come close to this". Talking helped him focus on something else.
"Still, I don't know what he's doing or planning. What could he possibly want right now, besides the other fragment?"
In the Twilight crisis, there had been so many people helping him. By contrast, it was strangely easier to figure out what to do and where to go back then. Still, he could always just try to find Ghirahim and cut him down.
"I'll make him pay for this. But what is he? I crushed his arm once, and he came back as if nothing happened. And when I beat him… he looked ready to die. How is he fine now?" he wondered.
It was frustrating that Ghirahim had kept coming back in to his life, new and ready each time. Still, he was the spirit of Gannondorfs sword.
"Maybe the sages might know something...if only they were more talkative…"
As if his blood suddenly ran hot, he felt a flare of anger. The goddesses were constantly fighting against the plans of Demise. Why couldn't they just make it easier to talk to them or their precious sages? Was it forbidden somehow?
He kicked a small stone away and immediately regretted it. The stone smacked in to a discarded Goron body down an alleyway, squelching under the impact.
Disgusted with himself, he stood to his feet quickly and let go of Zeldas hand. The burning sensation grew cold in him as sickening dread threatened to overtake him.
"Come on! Anyone here?!" he shouted aloud, venting his frustration.
He heard a noise.
Looking back, Zelda still remained stock still. So he looked around.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" he shouted again.
He heard the sound of movement somewhere. It came from a building nearby. Quietly, a door
opened. Rushing, he made his way over.
Rounding another corner, he saw a lone Goron peeking from behind a door, trembling and pale.
"Hey!" he said, breaking into a jog and waving to the lone survivor.
The lone Goron stared helplessly at him as his lips began to quiver, but he was still to proud to cry.
At the door, he heard his sharp and staggered breathing, barely containing his horror.
"I won't ask if you're alright," Link said, his voice steady but gentle. "Let's just get you out of here."
Wordlessly and slowly, the survivor nodded and stepped out of his shelter.
"I'm Link. I've come with Princess Zelda…". He trailed off as he had an idea. Zelda needed something else to focus on, much like everyone here did.
He led the wordless Goron back around the corner to Zelda.
"Princess!" he said firmly. "I've found a survivor!".
Her shoulders twitched slightly as her eyes regained focus. She blinked rapidly before sharply jolting on the spot. She looked around in a brief panic, not recognising where she was.
"Link? What happened?" she asked, bewildered.
"Something similar happened to me, back in the Lakebed Temple. I got so overwhelmed that I mentally shut down. It happened to you about ten minutes ago. I brought you here to try and bring you out of it" he explained.
She blinked as she processed her thoughts.
"Oh...that...sounds like catatonia." she said, barely above a whisper.
"Whatever it was, you're out of it now. But for now, please focus. We have a lone survivor"
The Goron looked to her, pale and in the middle of a cold sweat. He managed to wave at her briefly, his large arms falling to the side of him a moment later.
He tried to say something but the words never left his mouth. Zelda saw him, horrified and exhausted.
"Link, we should leave here and figure out what to do next" she said, standing up slowly as she got used to her limbs again. "We still need to meet up with Captain Williams and his men too".
Link nodded to her. "Alright. Lets get out of here" he said eagerly. The further away they could get, the better he thought to himself
Looking to the Goron, he softened his voice. "Hey, can you follow us? We're going to get away from here and try to help you. Is this alright?"
He nodded quickly, seemingly as eager to leave as Link and Zelda were.
They began to walk back through the streets to the main entrance, doing their best to avoid looking at the sacks of flesh littering the whole town.
As they arrived back at the entrance, the air lost the smell of decay. Link took the chance to breathe deeply, clearing his lungs along with Zelda.
Looking back, he saw the Goron staring blankly again as he wordlessly followed them.
"Hey, what's your name?"
They blinked as they looked at Link. Trying to open their mouth to speak, they found that they couldn't. He looked away again, unable to face him.
"It's alright. Take your time." he said simply.
Link supposed that he would be able to speak in time. It wasn't every day someone woke up to find their whole city had been brutally killed.
Zelda kept to herself too. She stared at the floor as she walked, wrestling her own thoughts.
As they walked back, they heard the heavy footsteps of Hylian soldiers coming up to the crest of the slope.
Captain Williams and his men appeared a moment later, each of them looking pale and lost in thought.
Then that meant…
"Your majesty. I have news." the captain said plainly.
Zelda looked to him, unblinking.
"Kakariko village has been slaughtered. Their occupants…"
Zelda held up her hand. She likely already expected as much. Link had thought as much too. He was doing his best to not think about Renado and his young daughter, Luda. It still hurt to hear.
"I expected as much, Captain. We have just witnessed the same in the Gorons home. We found a single survivor" she said as she gestured behind her.
Williams and his men peered around them to look at immediately recognised why he looked so vacant. They elected to speak to him when he felt he could.
"I understand, your majesty. We would like to pursue the fiend that did this. We found tracks leading up here" his said, his question laced with an undercurrent of anger.
"I understand your concern, Captain. However, our focus should be on helping this survivor and learning what we can. I want us to head to the Gatehouse leading to Hyrule Field, so we can sit and talk"
Williams nodded to her. Wordlessly, they all began to head back down the slope. Link however, felt something urge him on.
"Princess. I'm going to stay and try to find out where Ghirahim went. What he did here delayed him. There is a chance he isn't too far away" he explained. He elected to not tell her how badly he needed a distraction.
She turned to him, concern etched on her face. She sighed quietly, knowing why.
"Very well. Please do so with the utmost care, Link. I want to see you again later".
"Of course. I'll be back before you know I'm gone" he said, with a forced smile.
Williams turned to speak too.
"Link, you have not been trained as a knight or soldier. You don't need to, but from what I understand about this Ghirahim is that he's intelligent. Which means, he would have covered his tracks if he wanted to hide from you. Anything left behind by him is more than likely going to be a trap. If not, then bait of some kind." he said, letting Link process what he was saying.
"If you would like a suggestion, get to a high point and try to spy on him. Learn what you can, then come straight back to us. This is not an enemy we want to take as a traditional threat."
Link nodded, paying attention but still wanting to move and keep his mind occupied.
"I'll be careful. Get to the gatehouse. If you're not there by the time I get back, I'll meet you back at the castle" he said, eager to begin.
"I look forward to your return" Zelda said, with some warmth.
"W-Wait…" came a gravelly and broken voice. The Goron finally spoke.
"The one who…did all of this… He told me to tell something to those who came for me…" he said, sounding unsure of himself.
Link perked his ears up, as Zelda did.
"H-He said… he was going to claim the final piece himself."
Link and Zelda looked at one another, wide eyed.
"Thank you." Link replied quickly, turning to leave.
He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. But if Ghirahim had found a way to justify killing an entire city to support his plans, then he would likely be certain of his aims. Though he needed the remaining pieces to attempt his resurrection of Ganondorf, he would likely have something to bait him with, Link thought. He and Zelda would need to die for his aims to succeed.
He shook his head, trying to stop his thoughts from spiralling again.
As the others made their way down the mountain, he started paying more attention to the details around him.
Looking back to the sacks of flesh, he realised that an entire skeleton ripping itself out of its skin would likely spray blood everywhere.
He was right. Looking at the ground more, he saw the dark tell tale signs of it soaking the dirt. Many of the dark red trails thinned out towards the city doors. Oddly, the dark trails had a shine to them, more than any other blood he had seen before. It almost glinted under light.
Following the trail back in to the city, he started breathing through his mouth again to handle the persistent smell.
Trails of blood were everywhere now that he was paying attention to it. Forming large splotches on the dirt floor. Every single one though followed a winding path through the city.
Bracing himself, he followed the trail around every corner and every grisly flesh sack.
He walked for a while, occasionally losing his place and having to retrace his steps. After some time though, he came to a lower level of the city, deeper in the mountain.
Before him, stood a tall stone door. It had elaborate etchings and reliefs on it. Whatever was behind here was important to the Gorons.
Being tall and made of stone did him no favours though, as he leaned hard into the door as its metal hinges squealed under the movement.
Ahead, there lay a dark ornate room. Link could barely see for more than a few feet in to the darkness. He couldn't make out any silhouettes of braziers or light sources. So, for the first time in a long time, he took out his oil lantern and slung it on his belt after igniting it.
The glow of it illuminated some of the surroundings. Shadows were cast over thick headstones and burial plots. Link swallowed, realising he was in a graveyard.
His footsteps began to echo. Each breath got colder as he carried on. He came across two braziers, still with wood in them. Eager to get more light, he poured a little of his lamp oil out on to them and ignited the braziers with the lanterns' flame.
Slowly, light began to fill the graveyard. Looking at his surroundings more, he saw that a lot of the burial plots had been desecrated. The earth had been recently dug.
He stood for a moment, looking over the plots and headstones. Something seemed off about them.
Moving closer, he saw that each of the headstones had a socket in it. Looking like there was supposed to be something there.
"What…?" Link said in a whisper.
"Oh, I wouldn't waste too much thought on that" came a cold, mocking voice from the shadows.
Link spun around and drew his sword. Standing on the path back to the city was Ghirahim, his polished boots gleaming faintly in the lantern light. His flawless face twisted into a sneer.
"You!" Link growled. "Why don't you just be a good little lapdog and die already?"
"A pleasure to see you too, Link," Ghirahim replied, raising a perfect eyebrow. "You're as charming as ever."
Link's grip on his sword tightened. "Enough of your carefree attitude. An entire city of people are dead because of you!"
Ghirahim shrugged lazily, as if Link had just commented on the weather.
"I weep for them!" he said, nodding with mock sincerity. "But they still remain… in spirit at least."
"Why?" Link demanded. "Why would you think killing an entire city is acceptable? Is this what your master wanted? So much death… for what?"
Ghirahim tilted his head, studying Link like an insect pinned to a board.
"You're awfully curious for someone I despise. But fine. Since you're here, I'll indulge you just a little."
He gestured lazily to the disturbed graves. "The Gorons buried their champions here, you know. Brave, noble, strong or so they tell themselves. Their remains are practically humming with power. And the warding gems?"
He held a ruby in his hand, with golden ornament on its base. Its glinted red light around him.
"A shame they wasted all of this by letting it rot underground, don't you think?"
Link's stomach turned. "You desecrated their graves?"
"Oh, no," Ghirahim said, his voice dripping with mock offense. "I liberated them. Their strength belongs to me now, little hero. And soon, it will pave the way to something far greater than you could ever imagine."
Link anger rose again, boiling in his chest. But Williams' warning played in his mind, and what he had done to him and Ilia, just by manipulating his emotions. Doing his best, he loosened his posture and took a few deep breaths. Attacking him could be done. But not if it was what he wanted. He wouldn't have shown himself without purpose.
"I'd like to ask you something" he said, calming himself.
Ghirahim stood at ease, glancing at his nails.
"Suppose you're successful. You resurrect Ganondorf." he said, doing what he could to stay level.
He shot a quizzical look to Link.
"He then succeeds, rules over the land. Me and Princess Zelda are both dead." he continued, building the image. It actually elicited a smile from Ghirahim.
"But here's the thing. There has never been a successful dictatorship. Every time there has been one in history, they ultimately collapse, whether it's a week or a decade. How long then until someone, sick enough of the situation, decides to poison him or put a knife in his back."
Ghirahim lost his smile, looking thoroughly displeased.
"Every single day, looking over his shoulder. No matter what capacity you'd serve him in. His downfall is inevitable, no matter what iteration he goes through"
Ghirahim straightened his posture and raised his chin, trying to appear above such criticism.
"You've said something like this before" he said, disgusted. "I suppose it remains to be seen doesn't it? But I would serve him flawlessly. No matter the challenger, they will not step an inch toward him."
His nostrils flared, as he tried to manage his own emotions. Link pushed on though.
"You killed Patriarch, the strongest of the Gorons. No matter how strong you think you are, there's always going to be someone stronger"
"Enough! I am not here to debate theories with you" he spat. He rolled his shoulders and head, working out stress. But Link saw the crack he made. Ghirahim thought he was perfect.
"Now, I shall show what I intended to. Remember when I said that the dead Gorons, that you failed to protect, were still here in spirit?"
"Failed? You're the one who killed them needlessly. How is that my fault?" Link spat back.
Ghirahim ignored him as he snapped his fingers. At once, the lights of braziers in the area all burst into life at once. Further back in the graveyard, surrounding the entire area, Link saw what he had truly done.
Hundred upon hundreds of skeletons stood motionless.
Links' heart nearly stopped as he looked upon them all. Some of them were smeared with gore and dirt. Ripped from their resting place as they now served Ghirahim. He saw the dense and sturdy skeletons of Gorons, the familiar frame of Hylians, even a few Zora
Worse, the ones smeared in gore still had their eyes staring dead ahead. All life gone from them, their current state a mockery of life.
Link's legs nearly gave out as he scanned the rows of skeletons. His mind screamed at him to look away, but he couldn't. He'd seen death before, but this was a violation of everything he fought for. Each lifeless eye stared back at him like a silent accusation
"You did this…to all of the dead?" Link asked, beside himself.
"Oh, don't look so shocked, little hero," Ghirahim sneered. "If you hadn't wasted so much time chasing shadows, perhaps you could've saved them. But no, you're always too late, aren't you? Always one step behind."
"One step behind a baseless sociopath, you mean. For all your charm, skill and wit? You're no more than a spoiled brat who thinks he's perfect. Perfection will always be beyond your reach if this is how you conduct yourself"
Ghirahim's sneer faltered for a split second, but his eyes quickly narrowed. "Spoiled brat?" he repeated, his voice laced with venom. "Oh, that's rich, coming from the goddesses' favorite little puppet. At least I have the ability to carve my own path while you cling to their skirts.
"What? You have no such freedom!" Link shot back, his voice rising. "Everything you do has been in service of Gannondorf" he said, letting the words hang for just a moment.
"You destroy what you can't control, twist it into something grotesque, and call it power. But the truth? You're scared. Scared that you'll never measure up or that you will never be worthy of Ganondorf"
Ghirahim, for the first time, lost his composure entirely. He recoiled from what Link had said, his shoulders slumped and his mouth hung open a little as his eyes betrayed his closest personal fear.
"I serve the goddesses because I have to. Because of you. Because demons like you exist."
He raised the Master Sword, its razor sharp tip pointing straight towards Ghirahim.
"And I do so willingly. Without the need to prove myself".
Ghirahim's eyes flared at his declaration. His thin pursed lips showing his faltering confidence.
"Enough!" he snapped. "I will entertain you no longer. If you survive this, I dare you to come and find me again, because we will cross blades then. I will not run, I will not plan and I will not manipulate."
He straightened his posture once more, raising his chin in a semblance of control.
"I. will. kill. you." he snarled as he snapped his fingers once more, disappearing into a black cloud of vapour.
Furious, Link shouted to the air. "You coward!"
The second he did, the formerly still skeletons started running towards him. The sound of clattering bones filled the vast room as they beared down on him.
His instincts flared, catapulting him into a wild sprint to the main door. Almost completely encircled, he kept running as fast as he could. As he closed the distance, the ominous sound of clattering bones grew louder behind him.
Bursting through the threshold of the door, he quickly withdrew a bomb and rolled it into the graveyard.
The blast shattered a number of skeletons, blowing pieces of them back into the others and knocking some down. He had bought himself precious moments. He pulled with all of his strength on the heavy stone doors as they began to close agonisingly slowly.
Looking through the closing gap, Links felt his stomach clench in fear. The army of skeletons, magically rejoined their broken bones back together and rose off the blasted floor once more. The others clattered towards the door.
Suddenly, a blood-smeared Goron skeleton lunged forward, its massive hand slamming against the door. Its hollow eyes locked with his, a cold, soulless stare that froze his blood. Gritting his teeth, Link leaned as far back as he could, pulling with his muscles burning under the strain. The Goron's hand scrabbled against the stone, but with a final, desperate pull, Link forced the door shut.
He slumped against the door as his heart pounded. For a moment, he simply stood there and stared at the stone, unable to move. But the faint sound of bones clattering didn't relent.
After catching his breath, he started to run back through the ruined city streets, avoiding the sacks of flesh as he made his way towards the gatehouse, back down the mountain.
The rhythm of his feet hitting the ground jarred him with each step, helping to clear his mind. The sight of the flesh sacks would stay with him for the rest of his life, the smell of rot along with it. Running downhill, he picked up speed. With the wind, it helped to cool him from the suffocating heat around the Goron city.
He didn't relent. Driven and focused, he continued down the long slopes of the mountain.
As the sun moved past it's peak, the gatehouse came in to view. A canyon connecting the path to the mountain and Kakariko Village lay behind as Hyrule Field came into view.
Slowing down, he looked over his shoulder. Somewhere in the distance, through the canyon, were the discarded bodies of the Kakriko villagers. Barnes, Luda and Rendao. He took a moment to just stare down the twisting path.
Renado had been the reason he had survived so much. His kindness had been no effort on his part. Luda followed his example to the letter and would have made an excellent doctor. Barnes, for his eccentric nature, had skill and expertise to make bombs that had been indispensable to him. Now there was nothing left of them.
Link turned, feeling like he would break if he thought about them more. A pang of emptiness struck him, so he tried to focus once more, walking towards the gatehouse.
Epona and the other horses were tied to a post outside.
Reaching the door, he knocked.
One of Williams' men opened it, managing a simple nod to him as he stood aside.
Inside, Zelda and Williams sat on simple wooden stools around a plain table. They had been discussing something before he arrived. The lone Goron they had found was sitting in a dark corner, barely registering his arrival. Zelda turned her head first.
"Link…" she said quietly. Standing, she made her way to him and hugged him, letting herself rest on his shoulder. The burden she carried now eased off a little as she relaxed in to him.
He hugged her back with a reassuring squeeze, or so he hoped anyway. He still felt unsure of what was right or not in his new relationship with her.
"It's good to see you again. Hope I wasn't gone too long"
Stepping back from him, she met his eyes. Though exhausted and looking like she wish she could forget everything she had seen, she knew there was more to do.
"Good to see you, Link. Forgive me if I don't embrace you" Williams said, teasing a little from his seat.
Link nodded back to him. He didn't feel much like being playful.
"You too, Captain. Did I miss much?" he replied, pulling up a spare stool to sit at as he took out some dried food and water.
Zelda rejoined the table.
"We were discussing what we found. It mirrors what you found in the Goron City unfortunately" he said grimly.
"That and what to do next." Zelda said as she looked to the lone survivor. Everyone turned their heads too. The poor Goron paid no mind to them, trapped in some personal hell.
"We should take him back to the castle, perhaps offer counselling. The only other settlement of Gorons is an entire country away"
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"He needs to be with his own people eventually. When we get back, I will have a message sent, see if we can arrange something"
Link liked her idea, already thinking ahead about how to help. Still, he needed to update them on what had happened.
"Please could you take the Goron outside? I want to discuss something privately" he asked one of Williams' men.
They looked over and got a nod from the Captain. The Goron made no complaint as the guard took him outside and closed the door.
Zelda looked to him, waiting for the explanation.
"I found Ghirahim, and what he was doing." he began.
The mood of the room shifted. Suddenly, there was focus as Zelda and Williams payed their full attention.
He explained everything that had happened, including how he recalled Williams' advice and the verbal exchange.
His face betrayed nothing though.
"Then…the worst part of all of this and the reason I wanted the Goron outside before I explained this."
He took a breath to steady himself, the recent horror still fresh in his mind.
"He's raising the dead as an army. All of those he killed… he's turned the skeletons of either recently dead or buried into a puppet force under his control. I barely got out of the graveyard alive."
Zelda swallowed, but kept her dignified pose. Though she couldn't hide the revulsion on her face. Williams' however looked surprised.
"Those sound like Stal. Spirits of the dead forced to serve in life by puppeting dead bones. We've had to deal with those a few times before" he explained.
Then, his brow furrowed.
"There's something I don't understand though. Why do it at all? I would have been a waste of his time to just sit around waiting for Link to show up, if that's what he even wanted in the first place."
"That's a good point actually…I wonder why he did it?" Link added.
It was quiet for a moment before Zelda spoke.
"I am not him, so I cannot say for sure. Though I would say that the spell he used to do this would likely be time consuming to do" she said, drawing curious looks from Link and Williams together.
"Spells are complicated things, no matter how proficient you get to be with them. He also killed an entire city. If he killed every last Goron, save for the poor one outside, then doing this spell must have taken him a good few days with regular use"
Link felt he understood. Any process repeated a thousand times would always add up to more than most people's best estimates. Then, a worrying thought occurred to him.
"Do you know how many Gorons lived there?" he asked.
"The last time we checked, they told us it was less than a thousand, more than five hundred. They are not entirely forthcoming with information about themselves."
A thousand Gorons in the worst case scenario, and that was before they were all dead. That didn't even include the dead from Kakariko village, or even the few Zora he had seen.
"It's an army…" Link uttered.
William's nodded silently. Zelda held her chin as she thought about the implications.
"These 'stal' you mentioned. When I fought them in the past, their bones joined back together after I shattered them. Had to hit them whilst they were collapsed and that was with the Master sword. Regular iron might not cut it. Bomb blasts though…" he explained, trailing off. It had been a long time since he had faced the Stal creatures in the Arbiters grounds.
"Wait a moment…" Zelda said, her eyes wide. "I think I may have an idea of what he's doing…his objective."
"Wasn't it to revive Ganondorf?" Link asked, wondering what she had realised.
"Well, yes. But in order to do that, he needs to get the full Triforce of power back together. He cannot attempt anything like that without a full piece. So, he needs to kill you Link, somehow withdraw the fragments from you to assemble it and then utter his command…"
She got up from her chair and started pacing, driven by whatever she had realised.
"In order to do that, he will need to do something we cannot possibly ignore. Something that will drive us to action anywhere."
She continued, working herself up.
"What better way to grab our attention than to invade somewhere with an army? But, if you have an army, you need a big one! He could raise plenty of Stal at the Arbiters grounds. There are more than enough bones there…"
Link hated how this was making sense to him.
"But there is something else... The place he might invade... It may also hold the final piece of the Triforce of Power..."
She let the words hang, praying that she was wrong but going with prayers unanswered. She looked at Link, fear etched into every detail of her face.
"I think he is going to invade the Twilight Realm…"
Link sat back on his stool. It made perfect sense. Her theory suited his aims, the third piece of the Triforce of power and forcing him to meet him with the personal connection that Ghirahim could manipulate him with.
Link could barely summon the energy to process it. It reeked of Ghirahim perfectly. Why did Zelda have to be right?
Link groaned, letting his head fall against the table.
"For fuck's sake…"