“HALT!”
Link stopped in his tracks. Maybe something was amiss.
“Hello? Who is there?” He called. The Hero of Time noticed a large shadow in front of the temple; whomever the shadow belonged to was carrying a very large weapon.
“Who are you, is the more important question. And what is your purpose at the Fire Temple?” The voice was definitely female. Zelda stepped slightly forward, being careful not to anger whomever it was.
“Ma’am, my name is Zelda, princess of Hyrule. I am here with Link, known as the Hero of Time. We have come to seal the Fire Temple.” At this statement, their ‘adversary’ began to lower her weapon, slowly stepping out of the temple’s shadow. She was a middle-aged Goron, dressed in minimal clothing with her hair tied in a knot on the top of her head. The two travelers immediately recognized her; this was Igari, Darunia’s wife.
“My apologies, princess.” She bowed slightly at Zelda and Link. “I guess I’ve been a bit paranoid lately. I assume you’ve heard about Darunia.”
“Link told us.” Link replied. “How is he?” Igari sighed heavily.
“I will not lie to you. This illness has really taken its toll on him.” She replied. “He has been weakened severely by it.” Igari paused for a few moments. “I’ve been guarding the temple for him. There have been a lot of strange creatures around here since early this morning. I wonder why….” Her voice trailed off. Taking the initiative, Zelda explained everything—about Nabooru’s death and Ganondorf’s return—and Igari immediately became concerned. “Darunia cannot possibly fight! He doesn’t even have the strength to stand, much less fend off an attack from Ganondorf’s forces!”
“Which is why we are here.” Link tried to calm the startled Goron matriarch. “Zelda can seal the temple with her power. Once that is done, the likelihood of an attack is incredibly low.”
“Then by all means, seal the temple!” Igari exclaimed. Her tone of voice had a definite edge to it. Link shrugged it off as the reaction of a worried wife. Zelda nodded in compliance and stepped upon the Triforce Seal near the temple doors. Closing her eyes, a strange pink glow began to shine around her, bathing the lava-laden crater in a soft pink light. A few seconds into the sealing process, a loud, ferocious roar echoed through the air, immediately putting Link on edge. The sound didn’t do much for Igari, either.
“I recognize that sound.” Link said in a low voice. Almost immediately, a frightening dragon-like figure appeared out of the air and began descending upon them. Link immediately pulled out his bow and his quiver of ice arrows. Igari readied her own weapon, which Link recognized as being the megaton hammer.
“Volvagia….” Igari breathed. The lava dragon spewed a stream of fire from its mouth, aiming directly for Zelda. Quickly Link pulled out an ice arrow and shot it directly in the flame’s path, quelling the blaze. This caught Volvagia’s attention; it drifted down toward where Link and Igari were waiting.
“Hit it with an ice arrow!” Igari shouted. “When it’s stunned, I’ll bash its head with the hammer! Go!” Just before Volvagia reached the two defenders, Link pulled back on the bow’s string and released another ice arrow. The arrow found its target and pierced the lava dragon’s side; Volvagia shrieked and froze in its tracks, giving Igari the opportunity to use the megaton hammer. With great strength, the Goron matriarch brought the hammer down upon Volvagia’s head, causing the creature to reel backward in agony. Before it could shake off the effects of the ice arrow, Igari struck again; the blow was enough to crush its skull, killing it. The great serpent burst into flames and disappeared within seconds.
“We did it.” Link breathed a sigh of relief, as did Igari. They both looked at Zelda, who was just finishing her task. Her hands raised in the air, gathering the pink light from around her; once all of the light had gathered in her palms, a blinding ray of pink burst from Zelda’s hands and surrounded the Fire Temple. Zelda finally opened her eyes.
“The temple has been sealed. Not even the Triforce of Power can penetrate this barrier.” She stated. Her eyes fell upon the ice arrows and the bow that were still in Link’s hand. “What just happened?”
“Volvagia.” Link answered. “Somehow, Ganondorf was able to resurrect the evil entity that guarded the Fire Temple.”
“He probably figured that since the Fire Sage was weak, he would be able to take the Fire Temple easily. Volvagia was the perfect tool—or so he thought.” Zelda added. “If that’s the case, though, he may have resurrected his minions that guarded the Spirit Temple as well.” Link shuddered at the mere thought of those two old hags in the land of the living again.
“We’ll cross that bridge later.” Link flatly stated. He looked at the sky above him; in their battle with Volvagia and the sealing of the Fire Temple, no one had noticed that night had fallen.
“It’s gotten late.” Igari pointed out. “If you’d like, I can prepare rooms for the two of you to stay the night.”
“Well….”
“That would be nice. Thank you.” Zelda smiled in thanks. “We can’t fight Ganondorf if we’re falling asleep during the battle.” Igari chuckled at Zelda’s statement; the Goron matriarch led the two travelers back to Goron City via Darunia’s sitting room. Once there, they noticed a tiny Goron sleeping on the floor near the entrance—Little Link. Igari chuckled slightly and effortlessly picked him up. The tiny Goron twitched, then opened his eyes.
“Mama?” Little Link groggily said.
“Shhh. I’ll take you to your room.” Igari softly assured her son. Link and Zelda quietly followed Igari through the many twists and turns of the city and into Little Link’s room. There, the Goron matriarch placed her son on his rock bed and kissed him goodnight.
“He’s so cute.” Zelda smiled at the tiny form sleeping nearby. Link, Zelda, and Igari exited the room. As they reached the outside, Igari noticed a single Goron walking along the path. He also noticed her and began walking in her direction. The two met back in front of the sitting room.
“Igari? You’re back from the temple?” He seemed surprised.
“Thanks to Link and Zelda, the temple is sealed and nothing can happen to it.” Igari replied. “Link, Zelda, this is Sidian, the tribe’s physician.” Link and Zelda both shook the lanky Goron’s hand. “How is Darunia?” Came Igari’s inevitable question.
“He can’t fall asleep.” Sidian explained. It was obvious from the look in his eyes that he was concerned. “The fever is down slightly, but not by much. Go ahead and see him.” Igari motioned for Link and Zelda to follow her. They ended up in a small chamber not too far from where the sitting room was. Igari gently pushed open the door, taking care to make as little noise as possible.
“Oh my gosh….” Zelda gasped. The sight they saw was shocking. Darunia lay sprawled on his bed, moaning softly. His appearance almost gave the impression of death; from what Igari and Sidian had said, that was a distinct possibility. Three Gorons kept vigil near Darunia’s bed, each holding a candle and seeming to be praying.
“Now you see why we are all worried.” Igari stated, sitting by her husband’s side and stroking his hair. Responding to the touch, Darunia stirred; his eyes fluttered open. Though his vision was fuzzy, he could make out the faces of his wife and two close friends. He smiled wanly.
“Little Brother….” Came a raspy voice. Darunia started coughing from the effort then decided it would be best not to speak at this time. The usually strong Goron leader looked pitiful; he didn’t have to speak for Link to know that he was miserable.
“I wish there was something we could do.” Zelda finally piped up.
“He can’t sleep hardly at all.” Igari stated. “It’s only making the situation worse, too.” Link thought for a moment; suddenly an idea struck his brain. Well, it worked in Termina. There’s no reason why it can’t work here. He pulled out the Ocarina of Time.
“What are you doing?” Zelda asked.
“Just listen.” Link placed the Ocarina to his lips and began to play a slow, soothing melody. As he finished the song, all five of the Gorons in the room fell fast asleep—including Darunia. Zelda looked at the Hero of Time in bewilderment.
“What did you just play?”
“The Goron Lullaby.” Link answered. “I learned it from the Goron Elder and his son when I was stuck in Termina. Comes in handy, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll say.” Zelda replied as Igari and the three other Gorons in the room slowly began to awaken. Igari stood up and looked at Darunia, who was still fast asleep. She smiled.
“Sleep well. Heaven knows you need it.” She slowly walked away from the bed and led Link and Zelda out of the room. Once she had closed the door, she looked at Link with an amazed look on her face. “What was that tune? I fell right asleep!”
“The Goron Lullaby.” Link repeated. He quickly pulled a piece of parchment from his satchel and began to scrawl the melody upon it. After he finished, he handed the piece of parchment with the song to Igari. “You may need this for later. As far as I know, it doesn’t put the singer to sleep—at least, I don’t think so.” Link yawned audibly. “Well, I won’t need any lullaby to put me to sleep.”
“You’re like a walking zombie.” Zelda jokingly replied.
“Here. There are two rooms on the far side of the city that are open.” Igari pointed in the general direction of the rooms. “You may spend the night there.” With a slight bow, the Goron queen returned to Darunia’s chamber, leaving Link and Zelda in the corridor.
“C’mon. We need to get to sleep soon so we can get an early start.” Zelda suggested. No reply came. “Link?” Still no reply. The princess turned around to see Link leaning against a wall with his eyes closed; he was snoring. Shaking her head, Zelda approached her fiancée and kissed him on the cheek. “Wake ¯u-up¯.” She sang in his ear.
“Huh?” Link opened his eyes. “Whazzat?”
“Wake up, it’s time to go to bed.” Zelda took hold of Link’s arm and pulled him toward their rooms.
