The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time

Dodongo's Cavern

Link was greeted by a musty cave smell, like the one inside the Great Deku Tree, but different. The darkness of the cave entrance was overbearing, as his body was plugging the only entrance of light. Once he wriggled through, the dusty ray from the hole illuminated Link's first sight of a bomb flower. It was a green fern-like plant... with both flower and fruit. The flower's pedals pointed upwards, and were colored with a gradient of yellow on bottom, to orange on top, almost like a fire's flame. The fruit was a dark blue sphere the size of Link's head, like a giant explosive blueberry.

Intrigued, Link walked towards it, reaching to pick it.

"Hey!" Navi shouted. "Be careful with that!"

Link stopped, remembering that the fruit was the raw material for Goron bombs. He stepped back, proceeding to reevaluate his immediate objective. As his eyes got used to the darkness, he noticed a red glow. He followed it, discovering the way into the heart of the cavern. The emanating glow filled the large passage like a heavy air. This feeling was also supported by a rise in temperature.

The source of this glow and heat was lava, located inside a large room of the cavern. Fortunately, it was bound in a central pit, and it didn't make the room too hot to bear. Scattered throughout the room were scaffolding, carts, and other mining tools, including bomb flowers growing abundantly throughout. The room had a second level, accessible by a crude lift. Curiously, the room boasted a shocking ornament: an enormous skull of a reptile-looking creature.

"Navi, is that a Dodongo, you think?" Link asked.

"Yes, actually. Darunia said they lived alongside their ancestors," Navi replied thoughtfully, "it must be like an heirloom trophy, proudly displaying the triumph of the Gorons over the dangerous Dodongos."

Now that Link knew their appearance, he could conduct a search to exterminate them. On the right side of the room, there were tunnels cutting through the rock of the cavern. He took one of them, only to find a darker, smaller chamber. Mining activities had been occurring in this room, but it was empty and dead, just like the main area.

It was the next tunnel that led to what Link was looking for. The next room was very similar, only it was full of large reptile-like creatures. They looked like the painting on the wall in Goron City: they were live Dodongos.

They were like alligators, only with sharp scales down their backbones, and two legs that waddled to carry them about. They were just larger than Link, making loud thumps against the rock floor as they wandered aimlessly.

One of them was coming closer, but not approaching. Perhaps the darkness was too much for its beady black eyes. Link unsheathed his blade, and as it wandered by, he ran up to the creature and slashed at its torso. The steel rebounded with a clang. The beast swung its body around, sweeping its tail violently, inhaling through its wide red mouth. Stricken with panic, Link suddenly remembered the image of swirling orange paint on the wall in Goron City.

"Watch out!" Navi was bumping into him.

Link dove out of the way, barely escaping the flame erupting from the jaw of the Dodongo.

"Thanks," he said to Navi, "I should have remembered."

Their green scales were tough as rock, and his blade proved to be useless against it. A cluster of bomb flowers lay straight ahead. He ran to them, not caring if the Dodongo noticed where he went. He put his hands on one. It felt like a soft rose pedal, but it was firm in whole. Link picked it up, off its leaves, like an apple off a tree. As it began flashing a glowing fiery orange, he knew he had to get rid of it. He chucked it at the nearest Dodongo and plugged his ears. It flashed more rapidly and rapidly. Curious, the Dodongo investigated it. Finally, a bright red flash filled the room as a booming blast followed it.