The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time - Part Two: The Quest

Chapter Nine: Dodongo's Cavern

"These things are dragons?! Darunia called them lizards!" Link whined as he made his way into the cavern. Navi sighed.

"Dragons are lizards, Link."

"There's a big difference though!"

Even in the forest, where creatures like dragons did not exist, they were well-known in legends and stories told by the Great Deku Tree. Oftentimes they were giant, fearsome creatures that knew how to wrought naught but destruction, and fear with it. However foreboding, though, there was always some hero, a knight or wizard usually, to dispatch of them, sometimes at the cost of their lives.

And while Link did like the idea of being one of those heroes, and certainly the youngest, he did want to keep his life in the process.

"I mean, they're big! Really big! And they can do all kinds of stuff normal lizards can't do, like fly, or breath fire, or both!"

"Well, that is true, usually," Navi acknowledged, frowning some. And Darunia sent a kid to slay a dragon? Against his better judgment indeed! But, that was exactly what he needed to do to get the stone, and there was no other way.

"We'll be able to figure something out, just like last time," She said finally, hoping it would reassure him. He nodded.

"I suppose. Not much else we can do but move forward, it's no use going back."

She nodded, appreciating the words he had spoken. He may not have intended it, but they were wise ones.

The tunnel widened into a small chamber, where a few bomb flowers and grass grew, but aside from that there was little else.

"I don't see a dragon, do you?" Link asked, looking about. Navi chuckled, accepting the humor.

"No, I don't. I think this a kind of antechamber; maybe one of the bombs can open a path."

Link paused in his exploration, considering her words. It made a lot of sense, actually. Backtracking, he carefully examined the rocky walls. When he had reached just about directly across from where they had come, he found the wall became fractured and was composed of several large rocks compacted together so well it really did look like it was part of the wall.

"Here," He said, tapping the spot as if marking it. Navi flew to where he had tapped as he made his way to one of the explosive plants. Carefully extracting it the way the Goron showed him how to do it before-so it would be a delayed blast-he ran over and placed it front of the wall, and backed away quickly, Navi following suit.

Seconds later, the plant detonated, and the rock wall gave way and shattered, revealing a huge cave as a blast of warm air followed suit.

"Whoa." Link stood at the entrance, staring in wonder at the foreboding architecture and earthen formations. At the very end of the cave, dominating the scene, was a massive skull of some beast from long past. What Link first took initially as arched pillars were actually rib bones, stretching from the base to the ceiling, where he could now see the spine.

To complete the air of danger, the ground in many places was lava, nearly hardened in most places, but occasionally a small burst or a bubble would pop up, continuing the cycle. This explained the wave of hot air from before. Fortunately, there was a good portion of earth that was not volcanic, and there was even a walkway that came out towards the center of the cavern, facing the giant skull, suggesting that this place had been used for something before. He had a mind to think it wasn't something good.

"This place is creepy," Navi said, looking around. "I sense dark energy all over the place, but not like from any monsters we've faced."

"Really?" Link asked, looking at her. She simply nodded staring at the skull.