…to see what lay beyond. He room reminded Link faintly of the arena he had faced Barkbite in, save this one had no stands and that other than the entering persons, it was completely silent.
In the center of the room sat a pile of rocks. They seemed cold and lifeless, though Link had seen enough times by now that rocks in this temple weren’t always what they seemed. He held his sword, ready for what ever he was about to face.
There was a flash of light. Once the light passed, Link looked at what had appeared. A large chest sat in front of the beast. Zelda muttered, “Well, this is curious…usually he gets the item after the fight, right?”
“There is nothing usual about the Goddess Reeckha,” Endeavor answered. “She believes he will need it now, so She gifts it now.”
Link approached the chest, hesitant about what was going on. The lid fell off, crashing to the ground, before disappearing. Link winced as the heavy, metal piece rattled the room and the loud bangning noise echoed all around him. He reached into the fading light coming out the chest to move on past the fumble.
“You got the Stone Hammer. This hammer was crafted by the Goddess Reechka, Herself. It can crush massive stones with a single swing. Pounding the ground with this hammer will create a wave of earth to knock enemies back.”
Link gripped the long staff of the hammer in his hand. The staff had to be as long as his blade. The head had a round face that was as large as a wagon wheel. It was a simple design, with a round steel frame holding the two pieces together. A bright, purple gem sat on both ends of the staff, acting somehow to balance the hammer on both ends. Other than the gems, and the studs that held it together, there were no other details to the weapon.
The pile of rocks stirred. It hardly surprised Link, and he went into a ready position with his two handed weapon. He had never fought two handed, but now was the time to try.
The rocks began to climb and pile up on top of each other. Like the rock creatures before, a light flowed through the cracks to hold the pieces together. Once the rocks all found their positions, the pile had formed a massive stone man, twice the size of even a large man like King Deopon. It roared at them, and pounded its feat. It was ready to fight.
Link led the battle with his new weapon. The weapon broke through shards of rock, sending them flying. The light remained, and after a short while, the pieces of stone came back to the golem. This would take some battering.
As Link went after the rock giant some more with his hammer, he thought of Groko, and how the goron’s strength would be useful in this fight. Though, those thoughts were useless at this point and he just went on battering the golem as best he could with his hammer.
Eventually, the golem fell, with enough of its stony armor gone that Link could see the core of the energy inside of it. He drew his sword, and plunged it into the glowing ball of energy. There was a wave of light, and it tossed Link back away from the golem. He tumbled a bit, but regained his footing quickly.
The stone monster stood again and roared at them. Link gripped his hammer by its long staff. He swung wide, before pounding the ground with its flat face. A wave of earth came up, and tossed the golem back. It struggled to its feet again, giving Link the opening he needed to pound its sides some more. The armor came back quicker, but Link felt like the gap he was make was larger than what was filling back in.
Eventually, the monster punched the ceiling. Boulders began to fall from the ceiling, causing Link to have to back away to avoid being crushed. As soon as the falling hazards stopped, he went back to battering the sides of golem.
After a while, between dodging rocks and beating the golem with his hammer, Link managed to knock the golem down again with the core of energy exposed. Zelda fired an arrow from behind into the core. The wave of energy shot out, but since Link wasn’t near it, he didn’t get thrown.
Zelda shouted, “I thought I should do something!”
The monster came back to its feet. It roared at them, before proceeding to charge Link. He rolled out of the way just in time. The stone giant slammed into a wall, causing rocks to fall and the monster to fall over.
Link weaved his way through the falling stones, and slammed his hammer into the monster’s head. The rocks turned to dust, leaving only the bright inside. Though at the head, the energy wasn't concentrated enough to hit. Link continued, knocking as much stone from the creature as he could before the golem got up and decided to charge again.
Every time the golem hit the wall, it gave Link another chance to crush the rock armor. Some of it rejoined the golem, but most of it, from all the beating it had already received, turned to dust. Slowly, the golem was chipped away, until very little of its armor remained.
Finally, the energy core was revealed for the last time. Link drove his sword into it, not worried about the wave of energy that would come, figuring that it wouldn’t. He was knocked off his feet as the bright energy sent him tumbling back across the arena. He rolled once or twice before being able to regain his footing.
Fully exposed, it wouldn’t be that hard to get up close to the core again, but the fact that it didn’t die surprised Link. He stumbled to his feet, before charging the monster again. Using a jump attack with his hammer, a massive rock wall came up, sending the rock-less golem flying back.
An arrow whizzed past Link’s head, embedding itself in the teetering form of the golem. With a brilliant flash, the light covered the room. Once the blinding light faded, they were left with the arena, entirely empty save of anything else.
Endeavor crossed the room to the other side. She waved to Link and pointed up at the wall in front of them. She asked, “Do you see something wrong with this symbol?”
Link joined her and studied it for a moment. It was the Drex symbol. He replied, “It’s not Reechka’s.”
“Then it is not supposed to be here,” Endeavor said.
Bringing his hammer back, Link prepared for a massive swing. He brought the hammer face around to that the full face of the hammer hit the wall. The stone cracked, and then collapse down from where it stood. And as the dust began to settle, the path onward was revealed…