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Goron City did not impress me. In fact, I reckoned I'd never felt more out of place. In all of our travels I'd never been in a place that was quite so... discontenting. Nor had I ever seen so many rock creatures, each of which were sporting nothing but white, diaper-like bits of fabric. Truly, if I could've returned to the comforts of Gerudo Town, I would've done so with hesitation.

Gerudo Town had been rather hot, but that sort of warmth was nothing compared to the skin melting heat of Death Mountain. The heat resistance potions did what they could, but as they dissipated, I became conscious of the beads of sweat coating my skin. I took a deep breath and relaxed, knowing Link would return soon. My back pressed against the shrine we'd spotted not long ago. Link had gone inside to solve the puzzles awaiting him, leaving me to lounge about outside. I would've traveled further into the city... but I much preferred to sit here, resting my head against this ancient Sheikah technology and staring out over the molten sea.

I didn't have to wait long, as Link soon reemerged from the shrine, stretching as he did so. I heard him stop and look around. "(Y/n)?" I leaned out from behind the shrine. "Done?" Link jumped and slowly gazed over his shoulder. "What're you doing back there?"

"Just watching the lava," I said, standing up and brushing the dirt from my pants. "Let's get going." Link shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. "Alright then." The blonde hero looked back to the city. "I'm assuming we'll need to speak to some sort of leader first. They usually know more about the Divine Beasts than we do." I nodded in agreement and waved a hand out in front of me, gesturing for him to go first. Link tilted his head, but proceeded into the city with me following close behind.

Goron City was just as industrialized as the path leading towards it. Things were either composed of bars of iron or solid rock, including the people. Each Goron I passed towered above me. I was rather glad they were a peaceful race. Though I still was worried I'd be stepped on or rolled over in this city of giants. Link seemed a bit more at ease with the situation. I kept in mind that he'd met a Goron before.

As we strode through the city, I gained a newfound appreciation for the potions we'd forced down earlier. The ground itself was steaming, and fiery flecks and embers were drifting through the smoky atmosphere. They floated past my face harmlessly, so long as the effects of my potion persisted. Drinking that thing had been an awful experience, but it beat burning to death by a landslide. Or, more fittingly, a rockslide.

I was torn from my thoughts as we reached a rather elderly looking Goron. I'd never seen how age affected their race, but I assumed from his long white beard and slightly droopy features that he was older. Link nudged my arm. "Let's talk to that guy." I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he'd chosen this man over the many others roaming about. "C'mon. He looks old. That must mean he's important." He had a point, but a light kick to the shin let Link know to keep that comment to himself. He quickly recovered and stepped up to chat.

"Uh h-"

"That BLASTED Rudania!" the man suddenly shouted, knocking his fists together angrily. The tips of Link's ears drooped downwards as he was taken aback by the sudden display of anger. The man sighed. His gravelly voice made this noise sound a bit more like a growl. "That thing's been runnin' wild recently. Death Mountain's eruptions have gotten real bad 'cause of it!" He pointed a rocky finger to the mountain. I could see the tail of the far off Divine Beast as it disappeared behind the volcano. It must've been climbing around on the outside of it.

"Do ya see it stompin' around over there? And to think, that dumb lizard was meant to protect us just 100 years ago!" he said, as though it were a meager amount of time for that machinery to switch loyalties. Link and I exchanged a look, as we often did. A lot could change in 100 years. "But who cares! Now all it does is mess up business. All the ruckus it's causin' is keepin' us from our jobs." He gave a heavy sigh and waved his hand towards the beast again. "... Can't tell you the amount of times we've shot our cannons at that thing. Not that it means much. It ALWAYS comes back!" he proclaimed, yelling again despite us being about a foot away.

Suddenly, a sickening crack came from the elderly Goron, followed by a groan of pain. He leaned over and rubbed at his back, sounding pitiful. "Are you alright?" I asked, peeking out at him over Link's shoulder. "Just a bit of back pain..." he grumbled. He looked up at us after a moment and came to a realization. "Wait a second, who are you two?"

"Travelers. My name's Link, and this is (Y/n)." I gave him a little wave. "I see... so both of you came all the way here just to pay me your respects?" he chuckled. "I like you already, brothers!" I stared back at him curiously, having never been called a 'brother' before. "Well, my name's Bludo. You may know me as the great Goron boss! Fearsome enough to silence a crying child, or make a silent child cry," he chuckled again. "Yep, that's me alright!" He was quickly reminding me of a few other cocky people I'd met along my journey.

"Y'know, I was plannin' to scare off Vah Rudania myself... But then this blasted back pain flared up outta nowhere!" He scratched his head in confusion. "Where did that Yunobo run off to?"

"Who's Yunobo?" Link asked curiously. Bludo shook his head. "This young Goron who's supposed to be helpin' me drive off Vah Rudania. He turned to the side and gestured forward. "He went down to the abandoned North mine to fetch me some painkillers, but he hasn't come back yet." I silently wondered why he stored his painkillers in an abandoned mine instead of in his home, or literally anywhere else.

Bludo turned back to us. "That slacker's probably off somewhere wastin' time." He thought for moment before asking us a favor. "Hey... if you happen to see the kid, would ya tell him I'm lookin' for him?" Link and I nodded as he was struck by another bout of pain. "Argh!" He leaned over again, just as pitifully as before. "Ouch..."

The two of us wasted no time making our way towards the abandoned mine. We stepped across a short bridge, leading us back to the shrine we'd conquered and continued onto the next path. This trek was somewhat riddled with monsters and the occasional large birds. It was lined with waterfalls of lava, each glowing dangerously as we navigated past. "Gorons must be pretty tough," I mused. "Can you imagine living in a place like this?" Link shrugged as we finished our short journey.

Soon enough, we reached a crude iron railing that seemed to surround the mining area. Another Goron, smaller than the one we'd met with before, stood guard at the gate. He wore a bright yellow hard-hat to signify that he was a working man. Well, a working Goron at least. I wasn't exactly sure how Goron genders worked.

The stranger gave a strange sigh as we approached and immediately launched into conversation, without so much as a greeting. "Yeesh.... what's with all these peeeople out and about?" he asked, dragging out his words for some unbeknownst reason. "Y'know it gets a lot hotter past here. And, there are looots more monsters. It's reeeally dangerous." Link crossed his arms. "Uh-huh. Well, do you know where we can find Yunobo?"

The Goron eyed us curiously. "Why would strangers like yooou guys ask about Yunobo?" Link froze and stared back at him, wondering what he could say. I cut in with a quick excuse, not knowing just how effective it would be. "Boss wants to know."

The Goron worker looked completely stricken. He jumped, his eyes widening as he confirmed what he'd heard. "H-huh? Boss does?!" I nodded slowly. "Weeell, I better tell you then," he said, turning around. The large club-like weapon on his shoulder swung behind him. Link and I ducked and took a step back to avoid being knocked down.

The Goron's body made a shifting noise, like rocks scraping past one another, as he lifted an arm to point off into the distance. "Yunobo went over to the vault to grab some painkillers. But, now that ya mention it, he never did come back." Beads of sweat rolled down my forehead as I pondered that statement. How could someone not notice that that kid had never returned?

The Goron turned back to us. "That place is daaangerous, so you probably shouldn't go lookin' for him." Link narrowed his eyes in confusion. "So, is someone else going to go find him?" The Goron stared past us, presumably thinking. We spent an awkward few moments in silence, watching bits of flame drift past on the wind before he finally spoke up. "Hmm... I don't know. He's probably okay. If he doesn't come back at all, I'm sure the boss will handle it."

"Right..." I said, unnerved by his blissful smile. It seemed Link and I would have to find this kid ourselves. Link took a step past him and immediately stopped. He instead held his hand out, as though testing the waters. He pulled his arm back immediately with a hiss of pain. "That guy wasn't kidding," he said to me, nursing his burnt fingertips. "It's way hotter past here. I don't think potions are gonna cover it." I wrapped my hands around his, examining his wound as the Goron behind us spoke up again. "Y'know, I heard there's some gear in the city to help Hylians with this stuff. You can buy some of your own in the armor shop. It's suuuper helpful for... y'know, not burning to death."

Link's eyes lit up as he heard the news. "Thank you!" the hero exclaimed, enclosing his fingers around my own. We took off towards the city again as the Goron waved after us. Our path was cleared this time, as we'd traveled through here just moments ago. We passed through and re-entered the strange city, searching for any sign of an armor shop.

Goron City was set up quite strangely. Buildings seemed to be wherever was most convenient, given the shape of the mountainside. All the structures we did come across were just as strange, as they were just hollowed out masses of rocks. The only real decorations in sight were circles of white paint smeared across the boulders. I wondered what they were for as we finally stumbled across the armory.

Link walked in as I poked my head through the doorway. I tried to hide my distaste as I examined the items on display. I silently hoped against all logic that we wouldn't be needing that outfit. The blonde hero had gone ahead to speak with the shop owner as I stepped closer to the items. They were made of thick material that I could hardly call fabric arranged in rounded layers. Bits of metal lined various parts of the armor, including the shoulders, boots, and a grating around the face. Yellow belts ran across the chest and waist and strange red tubing covered the arms. It didn't seem easy to walk in.

Link tapped my shoulder. "Looks like we're going to need about 3,300 rupees." I raised a hand to my chest in shock. "A-And how many do we have now?" Link simply smiled guiltily. I took that as a bad sign. "Ok well..." I said, searching through the contents of my pack. "What's worth a lot that we can sell quickly?" Link thought for a moment. "They mentioned a mine... maybe if we look around, we can find some precious stones." I nodded in agreement. Memories of my trip filled my mind as I pondered what I could sell. I finally caught hold of the items I was searching for as I addressed Link.

"When you left me in Zora's Domain, I helped them with their rebuilding process..." I trailed off as I caught Link's eye. He didn't seemed pleased with my choice of words. "When I left you?" I avoided his gaze this time as I returned to my pouch. "Yeah. Anyway, I supplied this craftsman named Ledo with about ten luminous stones..." I stopped myself again as Link was still watching me apprehensively. "What?"

"Nothing it's just... I thought we were over all that," he responded lowly. I narrowed my eyes, having never meant for this to be a bigger deal than it needed to be. "It's whatever. We need to focus right now." He blinked a few times and nodded in agreement as I pulled a handful of precious stones from my bag. "Anyway, in return, he gave me two of these," I said, holding the stones out for Link to see. "Diamonds!" he exclaimed. "Where did the third one come from?"

"Stone talus attack. I found one on my way to the Fairy Fountain. I'd say it was worth it," I said, spinning one of the jewels between my fingers. Link whistled. "Wish I'd known about that last night..." he mumbled silently. "Why's that?"

"Nothing, nothing," he said, dismissing my question. I hoped money hadn't been an issue at the inn. We'd ended up sharing a bed, after all. I pushed down that thought as I carried the jewels over to the counter. "Hi, how much would I get for these?"

"Ooh..." the Goron's jaw dropped. "I'd say.... 1,500 rupees. Those look real delicious!" I frowned. "Delicious?" The Goron nodded and held out his hand. I set them down, receiving the promised 1,500 rupees in return. "Anything else?" I shook my head. "No, that's it," I said, wiping my hands and following Link out the door. This was truly a strange place.

"So, that almost covers one of our armor sets, right?" Link bit his lip. "Yep!" he responded quickly. I smiled, before stopping in my tracks. Link's breathing hitched. "Wait... Did you get directions?" Link glanced around before saying no. "I'll go ask!" I shook my head with a laugh as he disappeared back into the building.

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We'd set off as soon as Link returned. Luckily, the mine wasn't too far away. The Gorons were still hard at work, despite the sun rapidly dipping towards the horizon. Link looked around, hoping to mine something from the area. I caught his shoulder and pointed out, a ways past this area. As the sun disappeared, lava became the only thing lighting this area. It's warm glow, however, wasn't bright enough to stop a certain rock from flickering to life. The same luminous stones that'd provided me with two diamonds were scattered across Death Mountain.

I took off in a dash to the nearest deposit of the bright stones. I ran my hands over the somewhat rough surface. These things were worth a fair amount of money. I was sure we could collect enough to fund our armor. "How're we supposed to mine this?" My smile faded. We couldn't just waste our weapons on this. Upon glancing back to the mining camp, I noticed an iron sledgehammer lying just far enough away to be out of their sight. Link followed my gaze. "Ah..."

"We'll return it," I assured him. He shrugged and silently walked towards it, making sure to stick the shadows as much as possible. He was back at my side in a matter of moments. "I still feel kind of bad for this," he said. "Y'know, mining here and using equipment..."

"It's alright, they'll have plenty to mine when Vah Rudania is back on our side."

"And when we defeat Calamity Ganon?" Link added. I laughed quietly and nodded. "Exactly. Now c'mon, we're going to need a lot of this."

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We took what we needed of the stones as the rest of the Gorons retired for the night. Luckily, we'd come across a few stones worth even more than the glowing rocks we'd aimed for. This made our job a lot easier. Still, I found myself wiping sweat from my brow when we'd finished. "This should bring us to 3,300 or so," I said. "That should cover both our suits, right?" Link gulped. His delayed response made me nervous. "Link...?"

"A-Actually... it'll cover one set." I froze. Link audibly gasped as I turned around to look at him, ever so slowly. "One set?"

"Look, I only saw one set of armor in there, and chances are, we'll only be able to afford one anyway!" I raised my arms in exasperation, before letting them fall to my sides. I closed my eyes, feeling my hands shake with wrath. "Are you kidding me? You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?" Link sighed. "I didn't think you'd help," he said lowly. "Of course I'd still have to help you. It's my job isn't it?" He glared at me. "You didn't have to lie to me. You could've asked them to start making another set, or at the very least talked it through with me."

His blue eyes shifted guiltily as I told him off. "I just did what I thought I had to do." I placed my hands to my hips. "Is this why you acted so weird when I mentioned your stunt back in Zora's Domain? You were just planning on leaving me behind again, huh?"

"What would you have me do?" He exclaimed. I sighed. "I'd have you tell the truth. Trying to hide from me isn't getting us anywhere." We stood in silence for a moment. "I can't stop you. Go find Yunobo, I'm sure he'd rather not spend the night in the abandoned mine alone." His eyes widened. "Are you-"

"Go find Yunobo. I know you can do that on your own. But, if you think I'm letting you take on another Divine Beast alone, you've got another thing coming." The hero watched me curiously. "I'll find a way to travel in that area, and we'll meet again very soon." He frowned dejectedly. "(Y/n)..."

"I'll be fine. Go find that kid." Link stayed by my side, still judging my emotions. "(Y/n) I-"

"I know. Sometimes it's easier to go alone. Whatever gets us to that bastard Ganon quicker is fine with me." I laid my hand on his shoulder. "Now go," I said honestly, hoping that he really could handle this on his own. He nodded and took off back to Goron City. Yunobo couldn't wait forever.

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At first, I'd felt confident in my plan. If I couldn't purchase any of that gear, I could find it by other means. Unfortunately, as the moon rolled over Hyrule, I remembered that I had no idea where I could get any of it. There were still a few bottles of fireproof elixir at my side, but I worried Link might not make it back before I'd run out. I held one of the bottles up, shifting the gel-like liquid uneasily. I knew my previous potion would soon wear off. Drinking this disgusting stuff was awful, but I was glad to have the extra protection. I kept that thought in mind as I tipped the bottle back, downing it in its entirety.

I jumped as I heard a voice ring out across from where I was sitting. Another Hylian was lying nearby, his back pressed against the rocks. "Something tells me that isn't very pleasant..." I sat up straight to listen to him. "My name's Kima," he said, offering me a shy wave. "(Y/n)," I responded.

"(Y/n), huh? Y'know, I just came back from Goron City. I'm heading out first thing in the morning." I nodded, feigning interest in this conversation. "I wanted to pick up some souvenirs before I left. The Fireproof lizards around here are really interesting... but they're also pretty quick."