GERUDO, VOLCANOES were very hot! Link nearly tripped on the hard rocky path as he climbed upward. The path had led him into a dark expansive cavern. He had gotten very sweaty. There was molten lava all around him.

This was where the Rito took their kids? There were rickety bridges going over lava! What's more fun than being dangerously high up? High up above lava!

He pushed through his increasing uneasiness. It was okay. If a board broke, he could grab onto the chains holding up the bridge. Thankfully the bridges held, but they liked to sway.

Link finally got to a part of the cavern that was away from the lava, and the air became mercifully cooler. He rested a moment. He had done a lot of hiking today, and was very grateful for the cooler breeze of this part of the cave.

He took his cap off and let the wind blow through his hair closing his yes.
He thought for a moment about just stuffing the cap in his pocket, but he felt it would be disrespectful to wear this clothing, but reject part of it.

Besides, he had grown used to it, and he felt a bit weird without having it on.

It had been a long day. He felt a bit guilty in a way. He was doing this to help the Rito, but he also wanted to find a way to get Din's Pearl.

This was like when he'd first met Tetra, when he had been conditionally kind. He felt worse this time though.
Last time, Tetra had barely been grateful at all, and she had said they wouldn't have had a problem attacking the island.

The Rito hadn't threatened him, but he felt as though he was taking advantage of their problem to use it as a bargaining chip.

He had become little more than a mercenary - putting himself forward as a good person - but only if they gave him what he wanted. Would he be doing this if he didn't need Din's Pearl?

He didn't have time on his side. Aryll was in danger, and he needed to do all he could to get closer to saving her. He wasn't sure if he'd have decided to help the Rito. He tried to rationalize that it would because he didn't have time, but...

This was a very, very, dangerous, treacherous place. Every time he set his foot down he was afraid it would be the last footstep he ever took. The ground sometimes crunched beneath his boots. It wasn't very reassuring.

The volcanic cavern appeared to be criss-crossed throughout by Rito made tunnels. Link tried to use these cooler, more stable passages as much as possible, because they had wooden supports. Plus, the Rito probably knew better than he did.

However, it seemed like they hadn't been taken care of for a bit. Torches throughout the caverns were dark.

With the lack of light in the passageways, it was hard to see without the illumination of the lava.
If he got anywhere near the lava though, it became extremely hot.

Walking through a new network of tunnels, they seemed... old. They seemed like they belonged to a very different time. On several, he found drawings in faded black paint on them.

Though he'd seen paintings on the walls of the caves the Ritos lived in, they were bright, vivid, colorful murals.

These... these were different.
He'd heard people speculate before that Dragon Roost Island was what remained of ancient Death Mountain.

It seemed incredible to him. Perhaps he was touching the work of a Goron that had lived during the life of the hero of time. Perhaps the hero himself had walked where he walked.

He continued on, despite the stifling heat. It seemed that if these were ancient Goron caves that they were used for mining. Unfamiliar tools laid around.

After a somewhat precarious climb up a slope of rock, the path went down again, but into a swath of lava. He looked back behind him. It was going to be a slow, tedious climb back down the way he came, but he felt like he hadn't seen another path.

Link was afraid he was going nowhere, and that he wasn't going the path that the Rito traveled.

Looking back towards the patch of lava, Link saw, shielding his eyes against the bright light, a metal platform, suspended by chains bolted into the ceiling. In the roof of the cave nearer to him was the mount for what appeared to be where another platform would've been. Perhaps the first one had fallen into the lava.

The lava blocked his path.

Link sat on a rock for a moment, thinking about his options.
There was more of the old forgotten equipment next to him. Examining it for a second, he found a long coil of rope with several hooks at the end.
He held it in his hand, looking out over the lava. There was another platform beyond the one that was in front of him. He could see it.

He stared at the rope with the hooks. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea.

He tossed the hook as hard as he could towards the metal mount in the ceiling, where the first platform used to be. He missed.

The hook just barely scraped the lava, and he quickly grabbed it out. He discovered that it wasn't fully liquid lava, but broken ground with only a few patches of lava coming up.

Link waited a bit for the hooks to cool down. He swung for the mount again. To his amazement, it actually caught. He tugged on the rope. It held. He pulled on the rope from side to side. It didn't come off.

He took a deep breath. Farore help me, he thought. He pulled the rope back a few steps, then running forward, jumped onto it.

He swung for a horrible second or two over the cracked patches of lava. He couldn't muster the guts to jump off though, and swung backward over the bubbling fire beneath him.

This was not good. He had to jump this next time or he could be stuck hanging over lava.bHe leaned into his swing as he came back towards the platform, and mustering all his will power, jumped.

He fell onto the edge of the platform with a teeth-gritting amount of force. The platform swayed a bit, and he held to one of the supporting chains to steady himself.

He also grabbed the rope he'd swung over the lava with. He whipped a wave up it, and it unhitched the hooks. Quickly snatching it inward, he avoided dropping it in the lava. Once he regained his balance, he slung it over his shoulder.

He took a deep breath. That was... horrible. He imagined in his mind for a moment that he wasn't here in the middle of a volcano. Anywhere else would've been great.

He looked ahead. There was a gap of a few feet between him and the edge of the lava pool. Sucking down his fear again, he jumped, landing safely on the other side.

He sighed in relief that it was over. Until he turned around the corner and found another line of the hanging platforms.

He let out a few quiet, probably insane laughs, and proceeded to slowly jump between the platforms. With difficulty, he finally reached the end.

Walking on solid ground again, Link came to a winding path that wove tightly through the walls. He was barely able to squeeze through some sections.

As he moved through it though, he saw light up ahead. Not the light of lava, faint natural sunlight. He moved with increased vigor through the cracks in the rock, and finally broke free from the caves.

And immediately wanted to go back inside.

He stood on a path directly adjacent to a cliff. He was very, very high above the ground. Daring just slightly to peer over the edge, he saw the mountainside slope beneath him to the island's shore, hundreds, maybe a thousand feet below.

This was even higher than where Aryll had been imprisoned in the fortress. And he still wasn't at the top.
It didn't make things any better that there was a vicious storm going on. It wasn't raining thankfully, but there were unceasing gales blowing along the face of the volcano.

He finally came to a place that was solid ground, and away from the edge.
Link took a moment to rest. If it wasn't raining now, it would be soon. The sky was dark with storm-clouds.
Down on the beach, he could see the palm trees bending in the wind.

He looked up higher. It was faint, but he could hear... the sound of a large, bellowing creature. It was the dragon. Valoo.

Did he trust what the Rito said? Was the dragon actually friendly? Or was it only friendly to Rito? Looking up above him, he could see ripples of heat in the air.

This was going to be almost as fun as walking through the baking oven of the caves. If he survived his encounter with the dragon, he wasn't too excited about getting back down.
He continued walking up the path. It was starting to get rather slim...

He hugged the cliff face, keeping as far from the age as he could. As he pushed himself up against the wall, he fell backwards into another cave, sliding down a slope of rock into the dark.

His skidding ended. He'd gotten several scrapes from his fall. He slowly stood up, checking his things to make sure they were alright.

He was in a chamber, illuminated by the light of another cracked patch of lava. The ground shook beneath him.
Uh oh.

There was an inhuman, soul wrenching sound that moved through the chamber.

Link looked up to the roof of the cavern. Surprisingly, he saw a long spiny tail, sticking down through a crack in the roof. It was the dragon.

The sound bellowed again.
As he listened, he swallowed nervously. That sound... that was not Valoo.