Chapter 7 Hot spots….

Chapter 7

 

 

Hot spots….

 

 

After another month and a half at Kakariko Village the group was packed and ready to make the journey to Death Mountain. Their reports, miraculously, had been written. Sheik was completely his old prankster self once again, though on occasion he tended to stare off into the distance thoughtfully.

"Be careful, listen to Darunia's instructions." Impa said straitening Sheik's hair. Sheik brushed her hand away but gave her a hug goodbye then mounted Spider.

"Goodbye Impa, Sheif," Gerad said, inclining his head toward them, "Thank you for your hospitality.”

Impa and Sheik bowed back, “We were honored to host your stay here with us.”

“Don't worry; we'll take care of Sheik." Gerad smiled at Sheik as he denied the need to be looked after. The others laughed as Sheik continued to complain as they made their way through the gate to Death Mountain Path.

Impa and Sheif continued to wave goodbye as the group disappeared from view. "They'll look after each other, don't worry." Sheif said holding his wife closer to himself. Impa looked up into her husband’s face and was comforted by the peace she saw in his eyes. She smiled and let her head rest on his shoulder.

 

As they made their way up the path the scenery slowly changed from green to brown. "So what kinds of animals live up here G-Link?" Aerica asked; Meko sat on Orchid’s head holding onto her ear.

G-Link maneuvered Bob around an outcropping in the wall, "Not too many animals as you would think of as animals, we have Durongoes, Jumpers, Skulltulas, Rockiries, things of that nature."

"Rockiries?" Dahrin asked as Desertstorm followed Starfire around the outcropping.

"Yeah they're these large carrion birds that live higher up Death Mountain, good eating if you can stomach meat, or so I’ve been told, personally I prefer to stick to rocks." G-Link answered over his shoulder.

"Isn't that kind of cannibalistic?" Sheik asked smiling at G-Link's back; Gerad reached over and hit Sheik in the back of the head. G-Link ignored the comment and concentrated on keeping Bob on the path instead of climbing up the cliff wall to home.

A few hours passed with little conversation. Calhan hardly said a word the entire way; he had pulled out the book and was too absorbed in his reading to do much else. Once again he was dressed as a guard, but he wasn’t doing in obvious guarding. The group was just making their way around a bend in the path when the horses started to act up.

Bob stopped in the middle of the path and stood perfectly still with its "ears" pricked forward and its tongue flicking in and out of its mouth.

"G-Link?" Lucius asked nervously.  Calhan glanced up and snapped his book shut as he saw G-Link dismount. He pulled his hammer from the saddle and he motioned the others to do the same. They did as bided and waited for whatever had G-Link and the horses spooked.

A cry startled them; they whipped around and saw the most humongous bird they had ever seen in their lives. Its wingspan was eight feet long and the body was as tall as G-Link and just as dense.

"That's a Rochiry!" G-Link yelled as the bird dove for them.

G-Link swung his hammer at the Rockery, but missed and was rewarded by a hit from its feet. G-Link went rolling down the path, the others diving out of his way. He came to the end of the line where Lucius was standing with Fish. Lucius dug the butt of his spear into the ground in front of him as G-Link approached. G-Link rammed into Lucius's spear pole and miraculously stopped his tumble.

The others were trying to fight off the Rockery, but were fighting a stalemate. Aerica managed to get a few arrows into it but no one else had much luck. The Rockery dove for Gerad who stood his guard by Artimus. Gerad had his long sword out ready to slice off a foot if it came into range. The Rockery came closer and closer. As it drew closer Gerad realized just how big the bird was.

Gerad swung for the left foot, the bird shrieked and veered off. As it came back for another pass, Aerica aimed an arrow at its heart. She let loose the arrow; it flew true to its mark.

The Rockery gave a deafening screech as it plummeted toward the group in a last ditch effort to take out one of them with it. It hit the path wall where Dahrin and Gerad stood. They tried to dive out of the way but the Rockery’s wings knocked them off the path.

As Gerad tumbled down the cliff face with Dahrin right beside him, he started to panic. Selene screamed her brother’s name as he fell further and further away. Aerica watched in horror as they got closer and closer to the bottom of the cliff, she felt a hot surge start from the top of her head and travel straight down her body to the earth at her feet.

She reacted to the urging she felt. She bent her knees and pulled her arms back then shot them out. Two trees shot out of the cliff face and caught Gerad and Dahrin. Meria looked over at Aerica and saw her enveloped in a green glow, a look of strain on her face. Moving her arms again Aerica looked like she was dancing. The trees slowly morphed around Gerad and Dahrin moving them back up the cliff. When they reached the top the trees folded back and deposited them onto the path. Aerica came to a standstill and the glow faded, she started to fall back but Sheik caught her.

No one said anything for a long while. Selene ran to her brother and flung her arms around him when he stood up. Gerad stood there with Selene crying on his shoulder holding her tightly. “I thought I’d lost you for good!” She said after she had gotten a hold on herself.

She then wacked him across the arm with her hand, “What were you thinking?”

“Ow, Selene it wasn’t entirely my fault. I sort of couldn’t help it.” Gerad said blocking her next blow.

She then switched to Dahrin. He stood there taking the blows till she had calmed down. After she had stopped he gently put his hand on her head and smiled down at her tear stained face. Blushing bright red she slowly walked to Starfire.

 Artimus and Desertstorm came up to their masters to see if they were alright. Gerad patted Artimus’s neck as the horse muzzled his shirt. Dahrin patted Desertstorm then mounted.

Aerica came to consciousness with Gerad, Meria, Selene, and Sheik looking at her with concern. Meko was perched on the end of her nose looking anxious, he had been crying. She had to look cross-eyed at him to get him into focus.

“So what’d I miss?” She asked as Meko shouted in joy and hugged her forehead.

 She glanced at him with an irritated look on her face and she moved his right wing out of the way so she could partially see.

 “Well I think we have an idea of what Aerica’s powers are.” Calhan said as Gerad helped her to her feet.

Gerad tried to get Meko to let go but he wouldn’t, Aerica finally shooed Gerad away and let Meko stay where he was. Orchid came to her and she mounted. Meko still didn’t move from his spot on her face. The trees Aerica had morphed stayed the same shape as they were when they had deposited Gerad and Dahrin onto the path. Aerica looked in puzzlement at the trees.

The group reached the home of the Gorons with no further adventures or mishaps. Darunia greeted them at the mouth of the cave that led into Goron City with a huge smile. “Welcome to Goron City!” Darunia said/yelled.

The group smiled back at him as they dismounted. G-Link dismounted Bob who took off to his stable. He walked up to his father and gave him a hug. Darunia hugged his son back then addressed the group.

“Please come in, some men will show you where you can stable your mounts.” He motioned to a group of Gorons who bowed then started off into the city. The group followed their guides as they were led into the massive cavern of Goron City.

Gerad stared around him astonished at how huge the cavern was; it was easily as large as Hyrule Castle. They were lead to a room that was a stable of sorts. It was carved out of the rock that made up the mountain with the stalls carved of the same rock. The doors to the stables were made of wood but everything else was rock. The group stabled their mounts giving them a rub down and filling their troves with feed.

Their escorts led them out of the stables into the main cavern. Walking along the edge of the cavern they made their way to the cavern floor where Darunia and G-Link waited for them. The escort bowed to Darunia and left.

“Link has told me of your ordeal on the mountain path.” Darunia started off, “I am exceedingly happy that none of you were injured.” The group exchanged grim smiles as they stood in front of Darunia.

“On that note I have arranged a celebration to be held.” Darunia clapped his hands together signaling a group of Goron servants to enter with large platters with food piled high on top of them. The group marveled and stepped out of the way as more Gorons came in and set up a dining table with rocks sculpted into small chairs for them. When the table was set and waiting Darunia motioned for his guest to sit. The group sat five to a side with Darunia in the middle facing the door. Gerad, Dahrin, Sheik, Calhan, Lucius on one side with Selene, Aerica, Meria, G-Link, and Darunia on the other. Meko took his usual spot by Aerica’s plate.

The food was of a lighter variety than they were used to at celebrations, there were berries and breads, and many different kinds of mountain fruits. On one platter were rocks. Darunia and G-Link munched on these as the rest munched on the fruit and bread. They ate heartily and laughed as Darunia told embarrassing stories of G-Link and Gerad and Selene’s father Link.

When the sand clocks finally gonged high-night, the group was worn out from the celebration. Darunia called for the servants to clear the table and lead the guest to their quarters. As the group stumbled along the corridor the Gorons lead each member down a different tunnel.

The night passed with no interruptions. As the sand clocks gonged early morning the whole city was rocked by the deafening sound of Darunia’s voice.

“Fair Sunrise small ones.” He shouted, sending the group scrambling from their beds to their weapons thinking they were under attack. G-Link slept through it till Darunia came to his bed and flipped him out of it, which was a feat considering G-Link slept on a slab of rock that probably weighed at least five hundred pounds.

The group was dressed and assembled outside of their quarters. “Today we will be clearing out tunnel 47. The boys will help in the actual digging while the girls handle rock removal, Shanmo will direct the boys and Shanme will be in charge of the girls, listen to everything they tell you to do, this kind of work can be dangerous. No goofing off.” He said this last bit eyeing Sheik.

Sheik tried to look innocent but lack of sleep only made him look deranged. The two Gorons Darunia pointed out stepped forward to the groups they would be leading. Shanmo looked like any other Goron but had a tattoo on the left side of his face. Shanme had the same tattoo but on the other side of his face. The two Gorons signaled their groups to follow them.

“Hold up. Father, they need to eat breakfast before they can begin working it’s a tradition they have.” G-Link said.

“Oh I didn’t realize this. What do you all eat for this ‘breakfast’?” Darunia said trying the word.

“Fruit mostly.” Gerad said rubbing his eyes trying to wake up.

Darunia nodded and clapped his hands together; the sound in the small corridor almost deafened them. Two Gorons appeared at the end of the corridor.

“Gather some fruit for our guests to eat ‘breakfast’.” The Gorons bowed and rolled off. Darunia motioned the group to follow the two Gorons, they did as bided. The group arrived in a smaller cavern that was furnished with a large table carved from solid rock. They arranged themselves around the table and waited for their meal. The two Gorons brought out the two large platters from the night before, both piled high with fresh fruit.

They began to munch on the food trying to stay awake. They ate light trying to not consider the amount of work they would have to do this day. Breakfast passed with no conversation and all too soon they were herded to their designated areas of work. Shanmo instructed the boys on how to mine out the rocks and which buckets to put what rocks in. Each boy was paired with a Goron, Lucius was paired with G-Link.

They began their work and in no time flat were being instructed again by their Goron partners what to do. The girls were showed by Shanme who was in fact a girl Goron, though to them there was no evidence to tell the difference, where to bring the buckets of rocks once they were full. They were also paired with Gorons and also were being told multiple times what to do.

They were all finally starting to catch on in the subtle differences in the rocks when the sand clocks gonged noon. Shanmo told the guys to put down their picks and follow him. They gratefully did as bided and met up with the girls in the same cavern they had eaten breakfast in.

A group of Gorons brought in a tray of food consisting of fruit, bread, and some type of meat. They set the platter down and left. Gerad took one look at the food and quickly turned away.

“Is something wrong?” Lucius asked selecting a piece of the meat. Gerad glared at him, Lucius and G-Link were the only two of the group not passing out from the hard labor. Sheik was lying on the ground of the cavern trying as hard as possible not to move a muscle. Meria looked at him with concern, “Sheik you gonna live?”

“I don’t know my back and arms feel like they’re on fire.” Sheik groaned as he tried to sit up. Dahrin reached down and gave him a hand and almost fell over in the process. They managed to balance themselves and get situated on the bench next to Gerad.

Darunia came in at that moment, “How are you all doing with the work?” he asked slapping Gerad on the back.

It was all Gerad could do not to fall on the ground and cry in pain. Selene picked up a fruit and munched on it.

“What is going to be at the end of this tunnel once we are done with it?” She asked as she munched.

“Don’t know.” Darunia shrugged.

Selene almost spit out the fruit, “If you don’t know then why are you digging it?”

Darunia laughed patting Selene on the head, she almost lost consciousness, “Digging is what we do my dear girl. We dig till we feel like digging somewhere else, then the Arbacks come in after us and make the hole into something useful like a cavern or storage room.”

“Who are the Arbacks?” Aerica asked.

“The Arbacks are the Architects who come in after the diggers and refine the tunnel to make it into a place to live. If we didn’t have them we wouldn’t have this very nice cavern to dine in or the great cavern.” G-Link explained.

“Oh…” Aerica fell silent munching on a piece of meat.

The dreaded sand clocks gonged again, Shanmo and Shanme appeared as if from thin air at the entrance to the cavern.  The group jumped then immediately regretted it. The two twins stood patiently waiting for the group the make their way out of the cavern and back to their post.

When the sand clocks finally gonged the end of the day the two groups set down their equipment with a sigh of relief. The two twins lead their parties to new quarters. They were placed in the same cavern with seven beds, a tank of water, and a slab of rock ringing the edge of the walls, a thin sheet separated the room in half so there was some privacy, but not much.

Gerad shook his head and shuffled to a bed and claimed it as his own. He fell face down and tried not to move till he couldn’t breathe, he turned his head and was vaguely aware of everyone else claiming their beds and falling asleep. Gerad fell asleep and dreamed of large rock monsters that he had to chip apart with a pick that looked antique and about to break at any moment.

The following week they fell into a routine of getting up, working, then going to bed. When the weekend came they had gotten up before the sand clocks only to find out that they could have slept in.

“We don’t work on end of week days.” G-Link said rolling over and falling asleep again.

The rest of the group trudged to the ‘kitchen’. The girls fixed a plate of fruit and meat while the boys set the table with plates. They ate in silence as the sand clocks gonged softly. The group was still sore from their extensive labor.

“Who is up for some power training?” Calhan asked coming around the corner, he was once again dressed in his orange sage robe. The group glared at him. “What?” he asked innocently, as the group passed him on their way out.

After some debate, and a little coercion from Calhan, they had decided to work outside the city entrance where there was room and weren’t in the way of anyone.

“Ok since we have already gone over Selene and Sheik’s powers ya’ll can practice the drills I’ve taught you.” Calhan said motioning for them to move off to the side to practice a little way from the group.

Turning to the rest of them Calhan assumed a teacher’s posture, “Aerica let’s see if we can get you to use your powers on command and not only in dire need.”

Aerica nodded and stepped into the circle the others had created leaning against the boulders scattered around the entrance. She glanced around her and found a sad spurt of a tree growing next to a boulder. Closing her eyes she concentrated, dredging up the right feelings; the glow enveloped her body more easily than it had for Selene and Sheik. 

She opened her eyes, which glowed dark green, and began her strange dance. After a few moments the tree was enveloped in the same green glow that she was. The tree began to grow and bloom. The others moved back as the tree grew larger and began to take up more space. Aerica finally came to a standstill; the glow faded from both her and the tree. She began to collapse but Gerad caught her.

 “Amazing.” Calhan said, “The book said you would be able to affect the way things grow, it also said you can use this as a weapon. See if you can do something with that vine.”

Aerica looked up at the vine that twisted around the trunk of the tree. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. Nothing happened.

“She probably needs rest.” Gerad steadied her as she tipped sideways.

Calhan nodded and motioned for her to take a rest. She gratefully sank against the tree she had created. In the shade of its large branches she drifted off to sleep.

“Ok Sheik let’s see how well you meld.” Calhan said motioning Sheik forward.

Shrugging Sheik stepped forward next to Calhan. The others took up perches around the area and watched.

“See if you can meld from here to over there.” He said motioning from the shadow of the tree to the shadow of an outcropping ten yards away.

Sheik shrugged and stepped into the shadow. The group watched as the shadows swallowed him slowly. Once he disappeared they all looked to the outcropping. A few minutes later he emerged from the shadows.

Sheik glanced at them then stepped back into the shadows, a few minutes later he emerged from the tree.

“You’re doing much better Sheik.” Calhan praised him.

Sheik nodded slowly then moved over to stand next to Meria. She smiled at him as he sat next to her on the rock. He smiled back shyly. Dahrin noticed but said nothing.

“Ok Selene” Calhan mused flipping pages in his book, “let’s see if you can do this one.”

Calhan held the book out for her to read the page he was pointing at. Selene read the instructions carefully then slowly nodded to herself when she thought she understood. Calhan nodded then backed away from her. The others moved to stand a good distance behind her as well.

She faced out to the open sky that greeted her sight as she looked out over the edge of the path. She inhaled deeply then gathered her thoughts and closed her eyes. The yellow glow enveloped her but ran down her arm to intensify around her right hand. The others had to look away for the light became too bright to look at.

Selene opened her eyes that glowed yellow. She smiled then drew back her hand and shot it out. A spear of light shot out from her hand out into the open air in front of her. It crackled with energy till it hit the edge of the mountain directly across from her. It exploded from where the spear hit it; an avalanche cascaded down the mountain. She tipped slowly sideways but was caught by Dahrin before she could hit the ground.

“Dang.” Was all Calhan could say, the others stared in disbelief as the rocks continued to fall. The avalanche slowly stopped and all was quiet.

“I think that’s enough practice for today, let’s save that technique for another time.” Calhan said once he had obtained his composure.

The others agreed and they filed into the main cavern, Gerad helping Aerica and Dahrin carrying the sleeping Selene. At the impact site of Selene’s light spear, an orange figure slithered out of a dark cave and out of site unnoticed.