After a quick gallop, the group arrived without problems at a small village that stood at the foot of Death Mountain. The place didn't look like much, but you could see people building houses all over the place.
“So, this is Kakariko, eh?” Link asked, looking around while mounting the red-furred filly.
“Yeah, it seems so. I expected something different from a Sheikah village.” Ganalia said, dismounting from Irana’s back. “Anyway, we should try to find where we can climb the mountain.”
Ganalia soon found a guard patrolling the streets and approached it.
“Excuse me. Do you know where we can access Death Mountain?” She asked the guard.
“Well, you can access Death Mountain through the northern area of the village.” The guard said. “But I would suggest you not go there. The place is very dangerous for a couple of kids like you.”
Then the guard looked behind the girl. “And even more so in your situation.”
Ganalia turned around, giving a loud groan as she put a hand on her face. Just at that moment, Irana was glaring angrily at the filly as she looked back worriedly, at the same time as Link tried to calm them so they wouldn’t begin some kind of brawl right now.
“By the way, do you know of any weapon shop or something similar in the village?” Ganalia asked, rubbing her head.
“Yeah, a few houses away, you will find a store where you can buy weapons. Even so, I advise you to forget about it. A few days ago, some people went up there and ran back in pretty bad shape.” The guard said.
“Yeah, thanks for the suggestion,” Ganalia said with a loud sigh.
After stopping the small affray between Irana and the filly, the group went first to the shop, where, after much looking and ignoring the repeated advice of not giving weapons to a monster, they brought to her a pair of short, curved swords not much bigger than Link’s Kokiri Sword.
With that made, the group moved to Death Mountain, which at first glance looked deserted. The group advanced through the only pathway, climbing the mountain, with Link still mounting the filly. Something the young Lynel still disliked.
But the Lynel’s killing glares weren’t the only problem there. On occasions, huge rocks rolled down the mountain, causing constant landslides.
“Seriously! They weren’t kidding when they said this place was dangerous.” Ganalia said after some rocks fell rolling down in front of her.
Link dismounted Epona, climbing over a large rock close to them, looking around.
“Do people actually live in a place like this?” Link asked as he looked around. “There’s nothing but rocks!”
Then Link looked at Navi. “Hey, you know what a Goron is exactly?”
Navi and Ganalia looked at Link when he asked that question.
“Uh, Link… right now you are standing on a Goron,” Navi said.
Link looked at the fairy, confused. Suddenly, the rock under his feet began to move, making him fall over when the rock… sat up?
What looked like a large rock was actually a humanoid rock-like creature with the back covered in rock-like bumps, with short legs and large arms, and with an obese physique, with a small tattoo in the form of a diamond with three triangles over it on the arm.
“My, how rare.” The Goron said as he turned around, seeing Link upside down on the ground. “Is this a visitor?”
Link was pretty annoyed at that moment as he tried to stand up on his feet.
“Don’t worry, the same thing happened to me once,” Ganalia said, rubbing her head.
“This is where we Gorons live. This is a dangerous place for children.” The Goron warned them.
“Please, you gotta let me meet the chief, Darunia!” Link exclaimed. “I’m looking for the Spiritual Stone of-” He got interrupted when another rolling Goron just squashed him under, jolting everyone but the first Goron.
“This might take a while,” Ganalia said nervously, scratching a side of her face with a finger, as Irana attempted to move the large rock of Link.
After walking for a while over the mountain path, the group was able to reach Goron City, which was built inside the mountain itself, the filly being the only one who didn’t enter the city. The whole place looked as if it was being dug in levels, the lower floor being smaller than the upper floor at each level, with a large pot with Goron faces on the lowest level of the city.
“So, this is Goron City?” Link asked, looking around as they walked. “It doesn't look like a city to me.”
“Taking into account that they live directly inside the mountain,” Ganalia said.
“Okay, let’s find Darunia and ask him for the spiritual stone,” Navi said.
The group descended to the lowest level of the city, where they found the pathway to Darunia’s chamber. But before they crossed the door, the group had to move away to the walls around the pathway.
“GET OUTTA MY VIEW!”
At first, a Gerudo thief got through the pathway by sliding on the ground. When she stopped, she turned around to the pathway with her eyes wide open. Suddenly, they saw a man with grey military clothes and a black helmet flying past the Gerudo thief and landing past her.
“AND FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, DON’T LET ME FIND OUT YOU’RE BACK HERE!”
Another soldier ran out with his hands on his head just as the Gerudo thief and the other soldier stood up, running away as fast as they could from there.
Link and the others stood there after seeing what had just happened, soon looking at each other.
“This Darunia must have a pretty mean character,” Ganalia said.
The group then passed the pathway into the chief’s chamber, finding there a larger muscular Goron with hair and beard.
“What the heck! Who are you?!” Demanded the Goron chief. “First, those moronic fools, and now a pair of children with a monster and a fairy? What a day… As if I, Darunia, leader of the Goron, didn't already have enough problems around here.”
[Darunia. Chief of the Gorons]
“Excuse me. I’m Link from the Kokiri Forest, and they’re Ganalia, Irana, and Navi, my Fairy.” Link presented himself. “And we came looking for the Spiritual Stone of Fire.”
“What? The Spiritual Stone of Fire?” Darunia asked, then sat on the ground. “Ridiculous. That stone is the heart of the Gorons. If I’m not giving the stone to those idiots, do you think that I’d give it to some kids so easily?”
“But… Do you want Hyrule to be conquered by Ganondorf or what?!” Link asked him.
“SHADDUP!!” Darunia yelled, smashing the wall close to him, startling the three of them and the fairy as they saw how deeply the Goron dug his arm into the wall.
He took a piece of rock from the wall and put it in his mouth, beginning to eat it, but suddenly he spat it away. “Yuck, that’s nasty!!”
“He really attempted to eat a rock?” Link asked, his eyes widened.
“Yeah, he attempted it,” Ganalia replied, while Irana was silent with her eyes wide open, too.
“We are a race that eats stones,” Darunia said. “The Dodongo’s Cavern, from where we got our favorite rocks, has been overrun by ancient creatures!!”
“By ancient creatures, do you mean as Dodongos?” Navi asked.
“Exactly!” Darunia exclaimed, scaring the fairy. “So, unfortunately, I don’t have time to bother with you!”
“And what do we have to do?” Link asked. “We can’t leave without the Spiritual Stone.”
Darunia stared at the small group before fixing his glare on Link.
“Link, was it?” Darunia asked him. “If you want the Spiritual Stone so badly, go beat the King Dodongo deep in Dodongo’s Cavern and prove that you’re a man!”
Link narrowed his eyes, looking at Darunia. Then, the group left the chamber.
“What a mess. Does he truly want us to play exterminators?” Ganalia commented with her hands behind her head as they walked through the city. “And against Dodongos precisely.”
“So dangerous are they?” Link asked.
“Well, just saying that when you kill one, it explodes like a bomb is proof enough of how dangerous they are,” Navi said.
“I suggest we wait until everyone is asleep and steal the Spiritual Stone,” Ganalia suggested.
“Oh, enough with the stealing!” Navi exclaimed, beginning to bump Ganalia’s head as she tried to push the fairy away, while Irana simply stared at them.
Meanwhile, Navi and Ganalia argued, Link looked around, seeing how the Gorons were depressed right now, with signs of starvation. Even the children, the smaller ones, suffered from the same signs. It was clear that if nothing changed, the Gorons would be in real danger in no time.
“Okay, then!” Link said. “We’ll do it!”
The others looked at him.
“What? The stealing or the extermination?” Ganalia asked him.
“We will help the Gorons.” Link said. “We can’t leave them in this situation!”
“Okay, I get your point, but do you have any idea of where Dodongo’s Cavern is?” Ganalia asked.
Link thought for a moment, soon giving a nervous laugh as he placed a hand behind his head, having no idea of how to get there. Ganalia groaned with a hand on her head at this.
After asking how to get there, the group finally reached Dodongo’s Cavern. At first glance, the large cave looked like the inside of a larger creature, witnessing the massive bones mixed with the cavern stones that acted like pillars in the walls of the main chamber.
“So, this is Dodongo’s Cavern.” Link said, looking around.
“This place looks pretty big. We might get lost looking around.” Ganalia said.
The group entered deeper into the cavern, but as they walked, they noted how the filly was following them from behind, even when Irana was trying to shoo her with her growls.
“Hey, you shouldn’t follow us. This is dangerous, you know?” Link asked the young horse.
Suddenly, Ganalia pulled Link down, hiding him behind some rocks just in time as a laser passed just over his head, almost hitting him.
“What was that?!” Link asked with his eyes wide open.
“I have an idea,” Ganalia said.
The three leaned over the rocks, spotting what seemed a weird statue with a sphere with an eye pinning over the statue.
“A Beamon? Here?” Navi asked.
“A weird thing to place here if it’s where the Gorons store their food,” Ganalia said.
“You mean that someone has put it here?” Link asked.
“I’m sure of it. First Dodongos appear in this cavern, and now this Beamos. Apparently, somebody wants to keep the Gorons away from here.” Ganalia said.
They duck and hide again when the Beamos begin to look in their direction.
“And how do we deal with it?” Link asked.
“That eye is his weak point, so we can blind it temporarily if we hit it with something,” Ganalia said.
“And with what we hit it?” Link asked.
Ganalia glared at Link, her face too close to his. “How about you use that slingshot you got earlier, meathead?”
“Oh, yeah. That’s right.” Link said with a nervous laugh, making her sigh loudly.
Link prepared the Fairy Slingshot and aimed at the Beamos’ spinning head, and when the iris was visible, he shot a seed against it. With a direct hit in the eye, the Beamos closed its eye, getting stunned in the process.
After Link celebrated his success for a second, everyone passed the area as fast as they could. The filly included, for Link’s worry, and Irana’s annoyance.
Having passed that blockade, the group kept advancing toward the cave until Link noted a strange pack of flowers on the ground. Feeling curious about them, the Kokiri grabbed one of them, pulling with it a large dark blue sphere tied to it. When Ganalia noted this, she exclaimed in shock and suddenly kicked the flower away from Link’s hand.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Link asked her.
“Saving your life, you moron!” Ganalia said to him.
“My life? What are you talking-” Link got interrupted when the strange plant Ganalia just kicked out of his hand blew up like a bomb, his eyes widened while looking at the explosion.
“I heard about them. They’re called Bomb Flowers, and they grew inside of caves like this one. When pulled out, they will explode like any other bomb.” Ganalia explained.
After it, Irana and the filly jumped away from the other bomb flowers close to them.
“Then why do the Gorons have them here?” Link asked.
“Maybe they grow them here and use them for mining,” Navi said to them. “Maybe that's why one of the many products Gorons sell are bombs. They might use the plant to make them.”
“Well, at least we know they work.” Link said.
“Exactly. So no hitting them.” Ganalia said to Link, soon facing Irana and the filly. “And that goes for both of you, too.” Both nodded to her instantly.
Then in that moment, the young horse stepped back, looking to the side in fear. The group looked in that direction and spotted how small serpentine creatures burrow up from underground, slithering along the ground in their direction.
“What are those things?” Link asked, unsheathing his sword.
“Those things are Baby Dodongos!” Navi warned them
“Baby? So there’s something bigger than that?” Link asked.
One of the Baby Dodongos lunged at Link, although he slashed it with his sword, falling dead, but then the body began to convulse.
“Link, stay away from it!” Ganalia alerted him.
Link jumped away from the dead Baby Dodongo just before this one abruptly exploded.
“What? Do those things really explode?” Link asked, surprised.
“Precisely, so be wary when striking them down!” Navi warned Link and the others.
Ganalia began to strike down the Baby Dodongos with her halberd at a distance, keeping herself away from the bodies when they exploded, while at the same time, Link began to shoot at them with the slingshot to keep some distance between them.
For her part, Irana held the two blades she had with her hands and rushed toward them.
“Irana!” Link called the young Lynel.
The Lynel then began to slash the small monsters with surprising expertise during her rush, even the ones that leaped at her, leaving the dead Baby Dodongos to explode between the living ones, provoking a small chain reaction that swept a large number of them.
“Nice one, Irana!” Link called, raising a thump to her, but then approached Ganalia. “Did they really capture her and turn her into a slave?”
“It scares me to think how they managed to capture her in the first place,” Ganalia commented.
Link then turned to the filly, seeing her being approached by some Baby Dodongos as she stepped back. “Hey, watch out!”
One of the Baby Dodongos jumped toward the young horse, but she turned around and kicked it hard with her hind legs, sending it flying into the middle of the Baby Dodongos approaching her, suddenly provoking an explosion that took them away.
Link and Ganalia sighed in relief, while Irana simply huffed at the filly’s cheap hit she had with the monsters. Then Link approached the young horse.
“Look, if you're going to follow us, from now on you'll have to stay away if we encounter any more monsters, understood?” Link explained to her, the filly nodding to him with a worried face.
“Yes, she'd better come with us for now, lest another monster surprise her trying to get out of this cave,” Navi said, hearing the Lynel’s huffing. “Oh, come on! Stop being jealous of her for a second, Irana!”
“Besides, there must be things more dangerous than those things here. The Baby Dodongos don’t seem so dangerous to the Gorons, which means that there are bigger threats inside this cavern.” Ganalia said. “Bigger enough to scare them out of this place.” Link nodded at the girl.
After it, the group kept advancing through the dark cavern with the guard up in case of more surprises, until they appeared in an open hall with some platforms surrounded by lava falling from a nearby lava waterfall.
“Why am I not surprised? We’re inside a volcanic mountain after all.” Ganalia said. “Obviously, the Gorons use this chamber for something in their growing works.”
“And why don’t they plant the Bomb Flowers here?” Link asked.
“Are you serious?” Ganalia asked. “Besides the heat here, if a drop of that lava fell on these plants, can you imagine the chain reaction it would cause?”
“Yeah, bad idea.” Link said, sighing at the heat and rubbing his forehead with his arm.
Link and Ganalia jumped on the nearby platform, soon looking at their two quadruped partners.
“You two, be careful when you jump.” Link warned the two of them.
Irana jumped to the platform without problems, but the filly looked down at the lava, a little scared, which made the female Lynel show a mocking smile at the horse.
Suddenly, a voice scared the filly, making her step away while the others looked around, looking for the source of that sound. Eventually, they spotted a pack of bipedal humanoid lizards with scarce armor and armed with swords jumping on the platforms.
“Lizalfos? Here?” Navi asked, surprised.
“The Beamos, the Baby Dodongos, and now these. Obviously, somebody doesn't want the Gorons here.” Ganalia said.
“There are at least four!” Link said, preparing his sword, turning to the young horse. “You stay away there, okay?”
The filly stepped away from the chamber. At the same time, each one of them advanced to the Lizalfos, which attacked them with their weapons.
Link struggled to stay away from the Lizalfos’s slashes as he knew that his Deku Shield wouldn’t resist the cut from that monster. Despite attacking as a dumb monster, the Lizalfos proved to be a tough nut to crack for Link, only being able to throw a few lunges with his sword, but using a missed attack from the monster, he was able to stab it in the chest, taking it down.
Ganalia was having some similar problems with the Lizalfos attacking her, but at least she had more experience than Link, using her sturdy halberd to block the slashes thrown by the Lizalfos, occasionally pulling him away using her stick at her advantage. When she saw the monster jumping toward her, she quickly stabbed it with the halberd’s sharp point, striking it down and throwing it to the ground.
Irana held herself with the two Lizalfos attacking her, using her two blades to block their attacks, showing she wasn’t an easy target for the two monsters attacking her at the same time. On one occasion, she used her two swords to push one of the Lizalfos, forcing the monster to block her blades, but at the same time, the other Lizalfos got behind her, jumping to attack her with his blade. But the female Lynel noted his intentions and quickly kicked the monster with her hind legs, sending it flying into the lava, and eventually used one sword to move the remaining Lizalfos’ weapon away, while striking it down with her other sword.
After the fight, the group regrouped on one of the platforms, while the filly began to jump from platform to platform until she reached them.
“Are you alright?” Link asked, rubbing the filly’s head to calm her down.
“Yeah, I’m fine. This isn’t my first time fighting a Lizalfos. But still, it surprises me to find them here.” Ganalia said.
“Taking into account that this is the most common environment for them, I wouldn’t be surprised. Still, it’s weird they appear in a place used by the Gorons.” Navis aid.
“There’s no doubt. Someone is behind all this mess.” Link said. “But who?”
“Come on, we will not figure it out if we stay here,” Ganalia said to them.
The group began to advance to the chamber’s exit, while Irana stood in her place, looking angrily at the filly as she followed Link over the platforms.
“Oh, for the love of- Can you stop it?!” Ganalia scolded the female Lynel, getting a glare from her, raising an eyebrow.
The group continued advancing through the cave’s insides, but then Ganalia stopped, thinking and looking around.
“What happens?” Link asked as everyone stopped too.
“No, nothing. It's just that the whole structure of the place seems a little strange to me. Everything seems like a big tunnel, which sometimes takes strange turns, like an S,” Ganalia said.
“The truth…” Link said, as he began to make S moves with his hands, indicating the path they took. “... that's weird too.”
“And if that’s the case, why don't they try to open a pathway connecting the corridors? That would have saved us a lot of time, and we wouldn't have had to walk so much.” Ganalia asked.
“Maybe they were too lazy to make more holes.” Link guessed.
“I don’t think so,” Navi said. “Darunia said that here’s where they got the rocks they eat. Perhaps all these tunnels were dug while searching for rocks, always following the route where the rocks they preferred were, avoiding the others.”
“And the lava-flooded cavern behind us?” Link asked.
“It probably ended like this because of a lava leak. You've seen that lava waterfall. Surely all those strange turns are due to unsafe walls. They probably didn't make the pathways between corridors for the same reason.” Navi said.
Ganalia then walked to a wall, placing a hand on it. She was surprised to feel how warm the wall felt on her hand.
“Maybe you’re right. It’s possible that behind this wall is a current of lava.” Ganalia said, pulling the hand away.
“I already suspected it,” Navi said. “If they opened one of these walls, the Gorons would risk flooding the entire cavern with lava.”
“Come on, let’s go.” Link said.
The group walked through the cavern’s corridors, but as they advanced, they began to hear some heavy steps coming from further forward. Eventually, they spotted two creatures similar to the Baby Dodongos, but larger, around the size of Link, and with three large clawed legs on the sides, wandering through the corridor in front of them, making the group hide away.
“What are those things?” Link asked, looking at the monster from their hiding spot.
“Those things are Dodongos. A grown-up version of the Baby Dodongo.” Navi said. “Unlike their infant variant, their frontal hide is hard as stone and can breathe fire.”
“So that’s a grown-up Dodongo, uh?” Link asked. “And how do we deal with them?”
“You heard Navi or what?” Ganalia asked. “If their front is hard, then we hit them from behind.”
“Oh, right!” Link exclaimed as Ganalia gave a loud sigh.
After hearing it, Irana was the first one to rush to one of them. The young Lynel began to run around the Dodongo as the monster tried to follow her movements, and when she had the chance, she stabbed her blades into the monster’s back, making it cry in pain before falling down.
“Irana! Stay away from it! Remember, they explode upon death!” Ganalia called her.
The Lynel saw the danger and moved away from the dead monster just before it blew up. The explosion itself simply left her slightly covered in soot by the smoke.
Ganalia sighed at this, but she jumped over the remaining Dodongo. This one began breathing fire against the girl, but she quickly rolled around, avoiding and soon getting behind the monster, ready to stab it with her halberd. Unfortunately, the Dodongo began to spin around with the tail extended, sweeping her feet and making her fall on the ground.
Ganalia groaned when she fell on her back, seeing the Dondongo facing her, getting ready to use its fire breath against her. Fortunately, Link was able to get behind it and stab his sword on the monster’s back, making it cry in pain before falling, the two of them running away from it before it exploded too.
“That was close…” Ganalia said, looking at Link. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Link said, soon waving the filly so she could get out of her hiding spot.
“Still, we must be careful. After all, these Dodongos weren't in their prime.” Navi warned them.
“What? How large can they be?” Link asked, turning to the fairy.
“More than you can imagine. As soon as we find it, you'll see it.” Navi said.
“You’re beginning to scare me.” Link said with a worried face.
They advanced through the long tunnel, barely having any problems with any random Keese that got in the way, and some random Baby Dodongo crawling up from the ground to ambush them. In no time, they reached what seemed like some kind of cavernous warehouse in the cave.
“Judging by the equipment around here, we must be close to where they finished mining,” Ganalia said, looking at the tools on the walls.
“Yeah, and it looks like there are more Bomb Flowers here,” Navi said.
“Well, fortunately, we don’t have to use them right now.” Link said.
Irana kept looking with angry eyes at the filly as she looked back worriedly, eyeing the plants at times.
“And that goes too for both of you!” Ganalia signaled them with her finger, startling the two of them.
Link began to move to the warehouse’s exit, but then he began to step back, getting inside the section with a shocked face. Ganalia wondered what was happening until she saw that something else entered the room. It was a massive green lizard-like monster taller than them with a large muscular frame, knuckle-walking inside the room.
“Navi, what’s that?!” Link asked, staring at the monster.
“I… I have no idea! I don’t know what this thing is!” Navi exclaimed.
“What?” Ganalia asked, preparing her halberd. “First the bug one in the Deku Tree, and now this one? I’m beginning to see a pattern here.
Irana prepared her blades, advancing at the monster, with the filly beginning to move away.
“Horse, get away, quickly!” Link called her, getting the swords, and soon the young horse ran out of the room.
The large lizard monster roared, raising his hands, lowering them down violently to slam them where Link was, but he quickly jumped away, avoiding the hit. Link and Ganalia tried to attack it with their weapons, but they bounced off the monster’s hard skin. In retaliation, the monster swung its arms out to the sides, trying to hit them, forcing them to retreat.
Irana also attempted to attack it while running around the beast, but her blades were unable to penetrate through the monster’s scales, which retaliated by exhaling a fireball from its jaws, barely missing the mark.
“Great, and that thing can breathe fire too,” Ganalia deadpanned.
“And what do we do with that thing? Our weapons can’t damage it.” Link said, seeing that the female Lynel kept trying to damage the lizard monster.
“It looks like its belly seems to be softer. Maybe we can attack it there.” Navi suggested.
“And how do we hit it? These huge arms won’t allow me to shoot it with the Slingshot.” Link asked.
Then they heard a neigh behind them, and the two turned around, seeing the filly signaling with her head the Bomb Flowers planted in the chamber.
“Then let’s use something more powerful,” Ganalia said.
She ran to the Bomb Flowers and took one of them over her head, quickly throwing it against the large lizard.
“Irana, move away!” Ganalia called the female Lynel.
Irana quickly saw the Bomb Flower and ran away from the lizard when suddenly the plan exploded, hitting the monster directly with the explosion, which ended up staggering it, soon falling on its back with its belly exposed.
Link used that chance to jump over the monster and cut it with his sword, but the lizard’s belly was sturdier than it looked, simply making a bleeding scar on it. The monster roared in pain, waving its arms brutally, forcing Link to jump away from the monster as it soon stood up, and roaring, it charged at Link on four legs, who jumped away as the monster impacted against the wall with a loud crash.
The lizard beast turned around to them and began to exhale fireballs against them repeatedly, forcing Ganalia and Link to move around, avoiding the flying flames, for later grab one of the mining tools with a hand and throw it against Link, who ducked to avoid the flying too.
Ganalia quickly grabbed another Bomb Flower and threw it against the lizard monster, but this time the creature seemed to have wise up and hit the bomb away with one of its arms before it exploded far from it.
“Okay, this monster isn’t a fool,” Ganalia said.
The lizard monster advanced toward Link, raising its arms to slam them against Link. But he took that chance to quickly stab the Kokiri Sword in its belly, making it roar in pain as its body was shocked by the damage. Link quickly jumped away, avoiding the sudden hits against the ground the monster did after it, soon roaring against Link before rushing at him, trying to tackle him with its huge body. But Irana passed quickly and grabbed him away, leaving the lizard monster to crash against the wall.
When the lizard beast began to advance against Link and Irana, Ganalia grabbed another Bomb Flower, but instead of throwing it, she began to count down the time the plant needed to blow up. She didn’t want that monster to send the bomb away again before it exploded. As Link and Irana tried to keep the monster busy, Ganalia waited for enough time and threw the bomb at the monster, and this time the beast didn’t have enough time to slap the bomb away as it exploded, staggering it again and making it fall to the ground again.
The Kokiri and the female Lyner rushed then to try to damage the monster’s belly with their weapons as deeply as they could, but after hurting it, it stood up again, waving its arms violently. Then the lizard turned to Ganalia and exhaled a fireball against her, forcing the girl to jump away to the ground as the projectile hit the Bomb Flowers, making them all explode in a violent explosion.
“That was close…” Ganalia said as she stood up, looking at the explosion. Now they couldn’t use them again against that thing.
Then the lizard monster roared and began to advance towards them, jumping and slamming its arms to the ground, trying to smash them with each leap, forcing them to move away from it each time it leaped.
When the monster landed close to Link and raised one of its arms to hit him, he threw a Deku Nut at its face, hoping it would have some effect on it. Fortunately, when the Deku Nut flashed, it blinded the monster, getting both hands on its eyes with the belly exposed, and using that chance, Link stabbed his sword as deep as he could inside it. With it, the monster roared in pain, and when Link moved away, the lizard fell to the ground, extending its arm toward him as it gave an agonizing groan before falling dead.
Link breathed hard with his hands on his knees in front of the dead monster.
“Link, are you okay?” Navi asked the boy.
“Yes, I’m alright,” Link replied, panting hard.
“First, that monster inside the Deku Tree…” Ganalia spoke as she advanced to Link. “... and now this one. And the fairy didn’t recognize them.”
“Yeah, it scares me that there are monsters that I don’t know. And I boasted among my kind about knowing everything about them.” Navi said.
“You mean that it’s possible that these monsters weren’t from Hyrule?” Link asked, the filly approaching him, worried about him.
“I doubt it, they looked like monsters from here,” Navi said, soon flying near the dead lizard. “For example, this thing somehow makes me remember the Dodongos. I don’t know, but all this begins to creep me out.”
“Then let’s continue,” Ganalia said, glaring at Irana as she walked to them. “We might be closer to the problem’s source.”
The group then left the cavernous warehouse and kept walking through the large cavern. Eventually, they reached the end of the mining site, seeing how everything was left there in a hurry. There, too, they found a large hole in the wall that took them to a large gallery of caves, much larger than the mining tunnels.
“If the Gorons returned to this place, they would surely get a lot of rocks to eat.” Link said, looking around.
“Yeah, but clearly there's something big living here,” Ganalia said.
The group kept advancing until they encountered something weird in the middle of the caverns. A human figure who was giving its back to them, wearing a long white coat.
“Um, excuse me…” Link asked the woman.
“They’re fascinating, aren't they? And to think that inside a volcano would exist some magnificent creatures.” The woman said, soon turning around to them, revealing herself to be a woman of long brown hair with one blue eye and a red eye, wearing a white shirt under her coat, exposing her cleavage, white long shorts with a brown belt, and two brown shoes. This woman was holding a Baby Dodongo between her hands, caressing it as if it were a cat.
“These things seem like nothing out of the ordinary, but when they grow, their skin hardens up to the point of resisting conventional attacks.” The woman kept speaking. “And what surprises me most is this ability to self-destruct after receiving a fatal attack. What kind of evolution did they undergo to acquire such an ability, and why? To have the last laugh, or to protect the rest of their species against possible predators. Honestly, all the creatures in this world are fascinating.”
“Excuse me, miss. Who are you?” Navi asked the woman.
“Oh, pardon my manners. Let me introduce myself: I’m the Head Scientist of the Crusaders, but you can call me Dr. Alexia Speidel.
[Alexia Speidel. Head Scientist of the Crusaders]
“So, you work for the Crusaders, right?” Link asked, holding the sword on his back with one hand. “And sure that you work with Ganondorf as well.”
“I acknowledge that much of my research and findings were thanks to Ganondorf's patronage,” Alexia answered them. “And now that I've answered your question, I'd like you to answer one for me. What do you think of my little creations?” She asked, looking at them.
“Creations?” Link raised an eyebrow at her question, but then something in his mind clicked. “No… the bug and the lizard!”
“Wait! You mean that those two monsters were man-made? And that you created them?!!” Navi asked, facing the woman.
“That's right,” Alexia replied. “The Soldier Beetle and the Lizardman. They’re two of my beloved monsters, and still it surprises me that a small group of mere kids was able to defeat them.”
“And why did you create those freaks?” Ganalia asked.
“Well, well, that question would be interesting to answer, but I highly doubt your mind could comprehend it. But perhaps in exchange for the Spiritual Stone you carry, I can give you some lessons.” She replied.
Link quickly prepared the Kokiri Sword and the Deku shield, while the other two prepared their weapons as well.
“You’re not getting anything from us. Besides, the Gorons will likely have some words with you.” Link said.
“I'm afraid that, as tempting as it may be to talk to the Goron leader, you're going to be preoccupied with a much bigger problem,” Alexia said.
Before Link could ask what she meant, they heard some heavy steps that shook the cave violently, approaching them. They looked around until they found the origin of the steps, a massive four-legged lizard-like monster with a frontal horn on the head, rock-like appendages on the shoulders, and spikes on the back. The massive beast roared at them, shaking the whole cave.
[Infernal Dinosaur: King Dodongo]
The group stared in shock at the monster, not seeing how the woman was running past them while smiling and looking at them as she left the chamber, leaving them to deal with the King Dodongo.
“That thing is huge!” Link exclaimed, seeing the large beast.
The King Dodongo began to inhale air before breathing a large stream of flames in front of him, forcing them to move away from the flames, Link and Ganalia climbing on the filly and Irana to get a safe distance.
“There’s no way our weapons can do anything against the skin of that thing!” Link exclaimed, running with the filly away. “And much less stand against those teeth!!”
“That fat Goron should have told us about this thing!” Ganalia exclaimed, running around over Irana. “I thought the monster would be just a little larger than the Dodongos, but not this big!”
The King Dodongo began to inhale again as it turned against Link and the young horse, eventually shooting a massive fireball that hit the wall with an explosive, blazing explosion.
“Too close for my liking!” Link said, looking at the flames on the wall. “Navi, any idea of what we can do with it?”
“I only know one old saying related to Dodongos: Dodongo dislikes smoke,” Navi said.
“Well, that doesn't help very much,” Ganalia said after hearing her.
The King Dodongo began to walk toward them as it began to inhale to prepare its fire attacks. Yet on that occasion, Link saw some Bomb Flower wildflowers nearby, getting an idea.
“Hey, get me there!” Link indicated to the filly.
The young horse rushed to the Bomb Flowers, and Link grabbed it.
“Now, take me to it fast!” Link said, but the filly looked at him, confused. “Just do it!”
Against her common sense, the filly took Link near to the King Dodongo as it was still inhaling air, and in the nick of time, he threw the Bomb Flower inside the monster’s mouth, forcing it to swallow it.
Suddenly, the Bomb Flower exploded, making the King Dodongo’s belly swell momentarily and its body shake, giving a weak groan as smoke came from its jaw.
“Good idea!” Ganalia said. “Its interior is not as hard as its skin, so we need to feed it with Bomb Flowers. And it’s slow enough to avoid its flames.” She added as Irana grinned.
After shaking its head, the King Dodongo curled up like a ball and began to roll at a fast speed.
“Gah- It’s fast!!” Exclaimed Link as he and Ganalia ran away from the rolling King Dodongo mounted on their mounts.
They kept running from the rolling King Dodongo until Ganalia and Irana rushed to a side, while out of the sudden, the filly jumped to a side and crouched down to the ground, covering her eyes with her hooves.
“No, don’t crouch here!!” Link exclaimed in horror as the filly made that movement.
But for their luck, the rolling King Dodongo passed them, confusing Link until he saw the monster crashing against a wall.
“Oh, I see! He’s all brawl and no brains!” Link exclaimed when he saw the large reptilian monster uncurl and stand on its feet.
“Very well! You two distract it. We will take another Bomb Flower to feed it.” Ganalia said as she and Irana rushed to find more Bomb Flowers.
Link and the filly looked at them with wide eyes before turning to the King Dodongo, which began to inhale air before breathing flames against them, the two of them running away from the large monster’s flames.
At that moment, Ganalia and Irana found more Bomb Flowers, picking one and running back to where the others were, just seeing how Link and the filly ran away passing them, with a large fireball flying just near them. Turning their heads to the King Dodongo, they saw how it began to open its maw to inhale air, and they used that chance to throw a Bomb Flower into it, forcing it to swallow it.
The King Dodongo’s body showed the same reaction as before when the Bomb Flower blew up in its belly, soon curling up and beginning to roll forward.
“Oh, move away!” Ganalia exclaimed as she and Irana moved away.
Link and the filly did the same as the girls when they saw the large monster rolling at them, avoiding it in the nick of time and allowing it to hit the wall.
“That monster can't take any more. Maybe one more Bomb Flower will be enough to finish it off.” Navi said.
“Are you sure?” Link asked.
After standing up, the King Dodongo roared loudly, and then many Baby Dodongos began to burrow up from the ground and advance toward them.
“Great, now the small fleas!” Cursed Ganalia, seeing the Baby Dodongos coming to them.
Irana began to slash the small monsters with her blades, always running to avoid the explosions made by the felled Baby Dodongos. Ganalia did the same while mounting the female Lynel using her halberd with the monsters, keeping an eye on the larger one to avoid any nasty surprise from the King Dodongo.
Link kept shooting the Baby Dodongos down with the Fairy Slingshot while mounting the filly, who was getting scared and nervous by the amount of monsters harassing them, narrowly avoiding a large fire projectile from the King Dodongo.
“Can you keep them busy? I will try to get another Flower Bomb!” Link called the girls, trying to find another bomb.
“What do you think we’re doing?!” Ganalia called as she and Irana dealt with the Baby Dodongos, but then she turned forward, her face paling. “Irana, watch out!”
The two didn’t notice that they were running toward the King Dodongo until it was just in front of them, just turning to a side in the nick of time to avoid being bitten by the monster’s large jaw.
Link and the filly kept running through the cavernous chamber, avoiding or dealing with the Baby Dodongos that went against them, until they found a few Bomb Flowers. But unfortunately, they were far away from the King Dodongo to deliver the bomb to it.
“Ganalia! Irana! Try to make it follow you here! We’re too far to take the bomb to it!” Link called them.
“Don’t need to say it!” Ganalia exclaimed at that moment.
Just then, they saw how Ganalia and Irana were running from the King Dodongo, which was rolling behind them, not to mention the Baby Dodongos that were also approaching, startling Link and the young horse as they moved to a side to avoid the rolling monster until it hit a nearby wall.
Link took that occasion to pick one of the Bomb Flowers and rushed to the King Dodongo, mounting the filly as the monster turned around. Just when the large monster opened its mouth, Link tossed the bomb into its maw, forcing it to swallow it, with the Baby Dodongos still following them.
Then, the bomb exploded inside the King Dodongo’s belly, but this time the massive monster fell to the ground inert.
They looked at the felled monster, wondering if this was over.
“Link! Remember that thing is a giant bomb!” Navi warned them.
Panicking, the four of them began to run away from the King Dodongo’s body while the Baby Dodongos passed nearby to follow them. But then, without warning, the King Dodongo’s body blew up with a violent explosion that shook the whole cavern, taking the Baby Dodongos' pack with it.
“Yeah! We finally did it!” Link exclaimed as they saw the smoking remains of the King Dodongo, rubbing the filly’s head as she neighed happily.
“Hope this is the last time we see those things,” Ganalia said as she gave a loud sigh, before falling over Irana’s torso as she looked at her, confused.
Time later, the Gorons were able to return to the cavern and extract from there the rocks that were delicious for the rock-eating race. And in no time, the Gorons living in the city were fully satisfied with the feast they got after a long time.
“I saw people eating a lot. But I never saw anyone eating rocks like there was no tomorrow.” Ganalia said as she rubbed her head.
“I have to admit it,” Darunia said as he rubbed Link’s head. “Thanks to you, we can once again eat the delicious rocks from Dodongo’s Cavern until our stomachs burst!” He then slapped Link’s back, sending him to the ground by the Goron’s strength.
“Good to hear that…” Link groaned with a loud pain in the back, while Irana looked at him worriedly.
“I wonder what all these monsters were doing there, and why the Crusaders were interested in the cavern,” Ganalia said. “That woman said they needed Dodongos to create her monsters, but I doubt they needed to go that deep to get them.”
“Actually, not long ago, a guy named Ganondorf stopped by here…” Darunia said, getting the attention of both of them. Link stood up quickly. “He and his flunkies had the nerve to order me to hand them the Spiritual Stone. After I refused them, the King Dodongo and the other monsters swarmed the cavern.”
Link narrowed his eyes. It was obvious that not only the Crusaders, but mainly Ganondorf, were responsible for the problem in Dodongo's Cavern. Apparently, he was willing to cause a citywide famine to force Darunia to give in to his demands.
“However…” Darunia continued. “In exchange for the Stone, you did all that for us… Especially you, Link! You are a man among men!!” Darunia smiled at him, extending his hand up. “Now, take this. It is a sign of my gratitude, and a seal of our friendship!!”
Just then, a red flash appeared on the Goron’s hand, soon forming a small red gem with golden adornments, which he then gave to Link.
“That’s the Spiritual Stone of fire, the Goron Ruby!” Navi exclaimed as she saw the stone in Link’s hands.
“Well, now we have two Spiritual Stones. Now we need to find the third one.” Ganalia said with a smile while crossing her arms.
Soon, Darunia raised Link and put him over his arms with a wide smile.
“From this day on, you and I are brothers!!” Darunia exclaimed happily. “Hey, everyone! Tonight’s a feast, let’s dance!”
All the Gorons began to celebrate Darunia’s words as everyone began to approach the centre of the city, while Irana was getting happy too.
“Okay, but not hugs, please. I heard one had his ribs crushed when a Goron hugged him.” Ganalia said, raising her arms with a wry smile.
“Hey!” A Goron called Link as he sat on Darunia’s arm. “You might want to know that Brother Darunia is an expert dancer.”
“Really?” Link and Ganalia looked at the Goron, surprised.
In no time, everyone in Goron City was celebrating the happy ending to the whole incident. Everyone was looking at how Darunia was dancing the rhythm coming from Link’s ocarina. Irana was enjoying the party as she watched Link at a distance. And Ganalia was staring amazed at Darunia while laughing softly, surprised at how somebody so massive could still dance with that surprising agility.
In a moment when Link stopped playing the ocarina to recover breath, he looked around, noting that the filly was missing.
“Huh? That little horse is gone.” Link said, looking around.
“Maybe she returned to where she came from,” Ganalia commented. “I still wonder where that filly came from.”
For her part, Irina crossed her arms in annoyance at hearing that they were worried about the filly, but she was also glad that she had finally left.
Obviously, the young filly returned running to the ranch from where she came, to the relief of the ranch girl, although she couldn't help but wonder where she had been all this time.
After the party ended, everyone in Goron City was asleep. While Ganalia was sleeping over some straw litter, Link was sleeping on the ground with Irana acting as a makeshift cushion for him as she slept with him.
As he slept, Link then noted a weird shine on his face that woke him, spotting a small light orb floating near him. After Link stood up, he saw how the orb began to float away from him, and somehow he felt the urge to follow it.
“Link? What happens?” Navi asked as she was awakened by Link’s movement, soon following him.
Link followed the shining orb outside the Goron City, which was at night at that moment. Wondering what was going on, Link kept following the orb down the mountain back to Kakariko Village, which was quiet at this time of night.
Following the orb, Link reached what seemed a large graveyard, and he read the large stone slate in front of the graveyard.
R.I.P. Here lie the souls of those who swore fealty to the Royal Family of Hyrule. The Sheikah, guardians of the Royal Family and founders of Kakariko, watch over these spirits in their eternal slumber.
“This place seems to be the graveyard of the soldiers and knights of Hyrule,” Navi said. “But why are we here?”
Link soon spotted the orb again and began to follow it until it stopped over one of the tombs, soon getting into it. Confused, Link began to inspect the tomb. Without warning, the tomb moved, making Link fall into a hole under it.
Groaning after falling on his butt, Link stood up and looked around.
“Link! Are you okay?” Navi asked as she flew into the hole to where Link was.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Link said, looking around. “Why has that thing taken us here?”
Looking at the cavernous area, Link spotted a chest deep in the cave. Piqued by curiosity, he opened the chest and took what was inside it, which was a large steel shield with a blue inner, and the Triforce symbol showing it with a red bird under it.
“And this shield?” Link asked while holding it. It was twice as big as the Deku Shield, and it would be hard to use it with his height.
“This is a Hylian Shield!” Navi exclaimed. “This kind of shield is used by the Knights of Hyrule. There must be one resting here.”
“Then why did that thing guide us here?” Link asked.
Suddenly, the whole room was covered with a deep fog, making it impossible to see around them. Link tried to move forward, trying to find something to guide himself out of the fog, but he wasn’t lucky.
Then he heard a loud noise similar to an explosion, followed by the sound of an impact against a metallic object. And soon they saw a pair of figures: one looked like an armored man welding a sword and a shield, while the other looked like he was wearing what seemed normal clothes, but the fog prevented him from seeing who it was.
“Pretty clever, following me here, head of the guard.” Said the unknown figure, aiming a strange weapon at the knight, his voice somehow twisted.
“Look who's talking. It's clear you incited the rebels to attack the castle, just so you could sneak in and find information about the sacred Triforce.” The knight said to him, keeping some distance between the figure and his weapon.
“I didn't do anything. I only suggested some targets. It's not my fault they chose to attack the castle. After all, they hired me as an advisor.” The figure said.
“And yet you did nothing to stop them. You're truly a despicable person.” The Knight said. “Tell me, how do you find out about the existence of the Triforce?”
“Come on. These days, almost everyone seems to be talking about the treasure of the gods that can grant wishes. So I thought, why not try our luck? Maybe that way we could get back home.” The figure said.
“No matter what you do, you'll never find what you're looking for here. Only the royal family knows his whereabouts, and I will not allow you to obtain that information from the king.” The knight said.
“So I've come here to waste my time. I'll have to find another way to get to that treasure.” The figure said after sighing.
“I doubt it. As soon as I arrest you and what you're capable of becomes known, both you and your army will be arrested and convicted of conspiracy against the royal family!” The knight warned him.
“In that case, it seems I'll have to eliminate all witnesses to my presence here.” The figure said.
Before the knight could advance to the figure, a small explosion was heard with a small metallic sound, startling Link when he saw a flash coming from the figure’s weapon. The knight stopped just at that moment, and a few seconds later, he coughed blood, dropping his shield and placing a hand on his chest, revealing a bleeding hole there.
The knight fell to the ground on his back, breathing hard, while the figure walked to him.
“My King… Hyrule…” The knight said with a raspy voice as he struggled for breath, soon seeing the figure aiming his weapon at his face. “Link…”
Link was surprised to hear his name from the dying man, but was startled when the weapon fired at the knight, finishing him. For a moment, the flash illuminated the figure’s face, but he was unable to see the face clearly.
Just then, the fog began to hide the scene in front of Link and Navi, and when the fog dissipated, they were back in the graveyard, in front of the tombstone, and with the Hylian Shield in Link’s hands.
“Navi… what just happened?” Link asked, confused.
“I… I have no idea…” Navi replied as she floated close to him. “But maybe… that thing before… could be… the spirit of this man?”
Link stared at the shield in his hands, with lots of doubts. Who were these two? Who was the knight? And why did he want him to have this shield?
And why did he know his name?
“So, they defeated the King Dodongo as well?”
Hoffmann was walking in circles in a secret place, with Speidel standing near him.
“Yeah, that’s right.” The woman said. “It's clear that those two are not ordinary children.”
“Yeah, I know,” Hoffmann said. “And this only proves that they are searching for the Spiritual Stones. And they've already beaten us to it twice. The first time in that forest, and now on the mountain.”
“Not to mention that they've killed two of my little ones,” Speidel said.
“Yes, that says a lot about the current state of Project Chimera. If those two monsters couldn't beat some kids, I don't see much of a chance for your creations.” Hoffmann said.
“Don't mess with my little ones! It's clear those two are more skillful than expected!” Speidel said. “Besides, the Beetle Soldier and the Lizardman aren’t the only Chimeras I made. We still have the Cetus taking care of the third Spiritual Stone.”
“And speaking of them, why are these two recollecting the Spiritual Stones too?” Hoffmann asked.
“It’s simple if you think about it.”
The two turned to see who spoke. Ganondorf was standing in front of them with his arms crossed.
“I had my suspicions when I saw them for a second, looking through the window next to the princess. Clearly, those three are up to something. And clearly, this has something to do with the Triforce.” Ganondorf said.
“Don't tell me they're trying to get ahead of us?” Hoffmann said. “If they get to the Sacred Realm first and obtain the Triforce, all our plans will be ruined!”
“And that would be very bad for us,” Speidel said.
“You needn't worry, because I have an idea. But for now, prepare all your men.” Ganondorf said, smiling darkly. “We will soon reclaim this kingdom.”
