Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend of Zelda: The Sword of the Winds ❯ Into the Mountain ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4

Yay! I'm so excited!! I got ONE review!! Thanks, Protoman001, du bist ganz toll!!! (that's about the same as you're awesome dude ^_^) Well, I was all excited anyway, then my STUPID COMPUTER LOST THE FIRST PAGE OF THIS CHAPTER!!!!! *sob* Now I have to start it all over…grrrrr…..hopefully I can remember it!!

Disclaimer: We all know I'm poor and own nothing but the plot…*sigh*

"Darunia, Zelda, I'd like you both to meet Darmani," Link said, slipping on the mask. Once his transformation to a former Goron warrior was complete, he inspected the dumbfounded looks on the others' faces. "I picked this up during my travels in Termina."

"Link…" Darunia said, his jaw not far from the ground, "All those times I told you about how the other Gorons and I wished you'd been born one of us…it took you seven years to show me this?"

Shrugging apologetically, Link answered, "Sorry, Brother, but the time never seemed quite right before. Besides, even the Hero of Time needs to keep a few tricks up his sleeve."

"Anything else you'd like to share with the class, Link?" Zelda asked wryly once she'd regained her composure.

"As a matter of fact I do." Walking back over to his packs, Link pulled out the Zora and Deku masks. It would be better to start slowly and work up to the Fierce Deity's mask. "Here," he said, sitting down again by the fire, "These masks turn me into the creatures they look like as well. It would have been impossible for me to save Termina without them."

"How did you get them though?" Zelda asked, sounding puzzled, "They're so exact, you'd need a model to base them off of, as well as a considerable amount of magic."

"Well," Link explained, taking off his Goron mask, "When I first arrived, the Skull Kid cursed me and turned me into a Deku Scrub. After I got my mask back from him, though, the Happy Mask Salesman that Majora's Mask had been stolen from taught me the Song of Healing. It freed me and turned the Deku body into mask, courtesy of the Ocarina's magic, so that I could return to that form if I ever needed to."

Nodding, Zelda slipped into her scholar's mode and reasoned, "Well the Ocarina most certainly has enough magic for that. Since you've told me about most of your adventures there, I'll assume the Goron and Zora masks were once people. Didn't you mention the name Darmani?"

Smirking at his wife, Link replied, "I should just let you tell the story, you've figured out most of it!" Chuckling a little, he then continued, "Yes, I did meet Darmani the Goron in my travels. However, he was already dead. He was a ghost that had been a warrior, and got knocked off trying to restore the local temple. He was so ashamed he couldn't move on, so I played the Song of Healing to make him feel better, and in exchange the mask that would let me inhabit his body was created."

He then proceeded to tell the story of finding Mikau and healing his soul as well. Zelda payed rapt attention, but Darunia's mind seemed to wander a little now that they were no longer talking about a Goron. Once that was done, Link decided it was time to share his secret weapon. Stretching and leaning back, he said thoughtfully, "As helpful and as powerful as these masks were, all of them pale in comparison to the final mask I kept." Launching into the explanation he'd been wanting to say for years, Link brought both of his listeners back to full attention as they sat around their campfire under the stars.

Nabooru sat dejectedly on the floor cross-legged, looking dully at the mess before her. The riddle had been easy enough to figure out. There was a sun face above the door waaaaaaay on the other side of the chamber. The only problem was the multitude of big blocks that stood in her way. They all had moons and stars on them, and they weren't going anywhere. Try as she might, they wouldn't budge! I'll never be able to move these rotten stones in a million years! Too bad I can't just hop on over to the other side of this room and… Falling flat on her back, the Gerudo not so silently cursed herself for not seeing it sooner. The damnable blocks didn't need to be moved! They formed a twisting and obscure path to the sun door! "Oh for the love of Din…" she muttered, and launched herself to the first block.

When she finally made it to the end, Nabooru was panting from exertion. Once weight was applied to the stones, they started to sink! She had been constantly moving from block to block with hardly a chance to check where she was jumping! By some stroke of luck however, she had made it. Time for the next room.

The door slid open, and as soon as she was inside, out popped a lovely Wolfos from the ground. "Finally," she chuckled ruefully, "I actually get to kill something!" The fight wasn't precisely one for the legends, even if she was taking on a Wolfos bare-handed. After all, she was a Gerudo, a thief who could make do with anything. In the corner was a Deku-baba, that apparently needed to be disposed of before Nabooru could advance again. Giving it a halfhearted side kick, she then leaned down to pick of the remaining Deku stick. "It's not much, but at least I have a staff of sorts now," she mused to herself. Seeing that the door was now unbarred, she continued on to her next challenge.

Or so she thought. In front of her feet was another plaque with writing, and beyond that, a pedestal above which a hammer floated. Looking back down, she read the inscription.

Chosen, thou hast proven thy wit

Chosen, thou hast proven thy might

Receive thy prize and cherish it

And hasten quickly to take flight

Grinning, Nabooru climbed onto the pedestal, inspecting her new weapon. It certainly looked impressive. It had a slender but strong 5 foot handle, and a head that looked about 8 inches in diameter. Although somewhat plain except for the metal studs that circled the ends of the head, it was obviously well crafted. Duh, Nabooru, she thought, it's a legendary weapon! No shit it's well made! As soon she grabbed the Hammer of Earth, Nabooru understood the last line of the inscription. The entire temple began shaking, and she raced as quickly as she could back to the entrance, which was not the easiest task when carrying a giant hammer! Once she reached the room she'd first found herself in, she looked around for a way out. Franticly searching the wall for a switch near where the door should have been, she pounded the wall shouting, "I…refuse…to die!!!" Stones fell from the ceiling, threatening to entomb the sage before she could take the Hammer away. The Hammer! She thought as realization hit her. With a final burst of determination, she swung the weapon over her and crashed it into the wall. Crumbling easily, Nabooru found herself staring at her companions through the whole in the mountainside. Well, two of them looked like her friends, but Link was nowhere to be found, and instead there was a frightening looking character who seemed to radiate power. Everyone's jaw seemed to drop at the same time, excluding the stranger. However, he reached up to his face off, only making Nabooru even more frightened. Is this guy nuts?? She wondered, more than half shocked. She had only thought she was shocked, though, when the person melted into Link! There was silence for a few more moments, and then everyone tried to tell their story at the same time.

Eventually, things were sorted out, everyone calmed down, and Link retold his mask explanation, which Nabooru followed with her information about the temple. By the time everyone was satisfied, daylight was about to break, and no one had gotten a wink of sleep at all.

Ok, sorry this one was pretty short, but this seemed like as good of a stopping place as any. Granted, I could have made it a cliff hanger…perhaps next time. Heh, I did feel kinda bad about complaining that my chapters were getting long….but then I read this fic where the author complained about the thing being super long. Oh yeah, the thing that made me feel better was that it couldn't have been much longer than a page ^_^