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     Anyone who had seen the hero since he and Princess Zelda had disappeared before the Upheaval knew he was different from before. Of course, he always had been a bit odd. He never seemed to stay in one place for long, and he always looked tousled and a bit battle worn. (Not to mention his… eclectic taste in food and mounts, which was a subject that most every stablehand in Hyrule had discussed at length.) But ever since his return, there was definitely something different about him, There was the arm, most obviously. But, to those who knew him well and looked closely, there was a marked difference in how he carried himself. Jumpier, less sure of himself. He tired much more quickly and seemed to have lost much of his fabled resilience to injury.
     Of course, by the time Link started the trek through the Eldin Range to Goron City nearly two weeks after he had first shown up at Lookout Landing, dressed in rags and looking like he'd seen a ghost, the rumor mill had caught only the faintest whiffs of all this– obviously, everyone knew about the Upheaval, although the cause was anyone's guess. Most people knew Princess Zelda and her knight had disappeared into Hyrule Castle only hours before it lifted into the sky, but only one or two had heard of the hero's return, and none of his weakened condition. Link himself wasn’t exactly broadcasting the fact to the public, anyway. He was the Hero of Hyrule, after all– with the Upheaval throwing everything into chaos, it was bad enough that Princess Zelda was still missing. The idea that he– the young warrior who was whispered to have some kind of supernatural power from Hylia herself– could be so thoroughly decimated by the Upheaval would only throw people into a panic.
     And he didn’t want to admit it to himself, but the idea scared him too. More than he would like to admit. How was he supposed to protect Hyrule if the weakest monsters sent him reeling?
     How was he going to find Zelda?

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Maybe ignorance really was bliss.

Aside from the few fragmented memories Link had regained from before the Calamity, he had only really known life as a traveler. Even in the seven years since Princess Zelda had sealed away Calamity Ganon, Link had journeyed all over Hyrule with her, overseeing the reconstruction efforts. Under Zelda’s guidance, Hyrule had grown from a scattered collection of survivors to a proper kingdom. So it wasn’t the travelling that was difficult. He was well used to it by now.

It was the uncertainty.

When Link had woken up on the Great Plateau, scared and alone and not knowing who he was, he’d at least had the Old Man. And when Link was ready, the Old Man–even after all these years, he still had trouble thinking of him as King Rhoam–had filled him in on everything he really needed to know: who he was, the general gist of what had happened to Hyrule and why, and his role in the solution.

This time, though… Link shuddered, trying to supress the images that flowed so readily to his mind. The trip to Hyrule Castle had started out fine. Link had been off his guard. 

He hadn’t been able to catch her.

Not only was the princess still missing without a trace, the whole kingdom of Hyrule was in turmoil as the effects of the Upheaval spread across the land. And nobody knew why.

So here Link was, trekking through the Eldin Range on his way to Goron City to investigate rumors of what Purah had called “regional phenomena” in the major regions of Hyrule. He was basically on damage control. 

Purah had promised that as they did more research, they would learn more about the causes of the Upheaval and what they could do about it, but Link couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever threat they were dealing with was much greater than anything Hyrule had faced. Even Calamity Ganon hadn’t managed to lift Hyrule Castle into the sky, or bring debris raining down on everything. Apparently there had been islands in the sky this whole time that they just hadn’t seen because they were too high up. Even the monsters were different, their horns long and razor-sharp. 

There was no question about it– the Hyrule Link had found his way back to after the Upheaval was not the same Hyrule he had known. And now that it had somehow fallen to him to save it again, Link really didn’t know if he could. This time he had more to lose, more people to protect, and absolutely no idea what he was doing.

Link stopped to rest for a moment in the shade of a ledge, wiping the sweat from his forehead. It had to be at least 95 degrees out here, and the ledge did almost nothing to lessen the heat rising from the sun-baked stones around him. 

At the same time, though, it definitely should have been hotter. Remembering the literally blistering temperatures from his previous visits to Death Mountain, Link had captured every fireproof lizard he could so he would have plenty of fireproof elixirs. But so far, even though the map on his Purah Pad showed he was more than halfway up the mountain to Goron City, he hadn’t needed even a single one.

Link supposed it made sense. Although he couldn’t see the summit from where he was standing right now, he remembered that the volcano, which used to erupt regularly and had a constant flow of lava from the mouth, seemed to be much less active now. It was probably a good thing, since the mountain’s extreme temperatures had been caused by the Calamity and by Vah Rudania, the Divine Beast that had belonged to his friend Daruk. 

Link paused. Had it really been that long since he’d visited Death Mountain? Now that he thought about it, it had been years since he’d seen Yunobo, Daruk’s grandson who had helped him scale the volcano to neutralize the Divine Beast and free the spirit of the Goron champion. If anything good came of this whole mess, it was a chance to see all his friends across Hyrule again. This time, at least, he already had friends and allies to help him. Whatever problem was plaguing the Gorons, he and Yunobo would figure it out together.

He could only hope that it would be enough.

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When Link reached Goron City, what he really wanted was to head straight to the inn and sleep for at least twelve hours. He only made it a few steps through the city gate, however, before he instantly knew something was very wrong. Goron City was normally a very cheerful place, everyone calling out to greet you as you passed, but the city was nearly silent. The young Goron outside the clothing shop eyed Link balefully over a strange-looking roast as he passed, eyes glowing pink. Link had been around Gorons enough times to know they ate rocks, and had even tried some of their dishes on occasion, but he definitely didn’t recognize that particular roast. He hurried on.

Every single Goron he passed was completely preoccupied over a meal of that same strange, glowing red roast. Wait, not every Goron– the two old ones who ran the inn seemed to be unaffected, as were the two children standing in the square next to an old Goron. Link recognized the largest of the three as Bludo and jogged over. Maybe he would have some answers about all this.

“Krane! Not you too!” Bludo was saying as Link moved close enough to see the Goron they were standing over. He lay on his back, muttering faintly and his eyes pink just like everyone else. “And after all my warnings about the marbled rock roast.”

One of the kids looked up at Bludo. “So everyone’s acting funny ‘cause…”

“‘Cause of the marbled rock roast that President Yunobo is mining,” the other child finished.

President Yunobo? That was certainly a new development.

“What’re you mumblin’ about over there?” a familiar voice demanded behind them. Link turned and did a double take as he realized who it was. 

Yunobo swaggered up to the four of them, his heavy footsteps positively shaking the stony ground. But he was so different from the Yunobo that Link remembered as to be nearly unrecognizable. A massive chain, nearly as thick as Link’s leg, was draped across his chest like a sash. He’d grown a goatee at some point. But oddest of all was the golden mask over the upper part of his face.

Frankly, he looked a bit ridiculous. But the boys were almost cowering, and Bludo had taken a couple steps back, face suddenly stony.

“You all talkin’ about marbled rock roast, are ya?” Yunobo sneered. He eyed the young Goron, who was still lying on the ground. Then he snorted. “There’s nothing to worry about, in my opinion.” Link raised his eyebrows as the other Goron’s head lolled a bit before flopping woozily to the ground. “Now stop flapping your rock chompers and get over here, goro!” As the two boys scrambled over, he finally seemed to notice Link.

“Well, if it ain’t Link. You’re so tiny, I barely even noticed ya,” he said dismissively. 

Before Link could even begin to formulate a response to that , Bludo stepped in. “Yunobo! What’s the big idea, talkin’ like that to our esteemed guest?” he said indignantly.

“Bludo. Or should I say “Boss?” You really don’t know your place, do ya? Slergo!” One of the boys snapped to attention. “Tell me, who runs Goron City these days?”

“YunoboCo,” Slergo replied dejectedly, kicking at a rock.

“And Offrak! Who’s in charge of YunoboCo?” Yunobo demanded.

Offrak flinched. “You are, President Yunobo.”

Yunobo nodded, satisfied. “You hear that, Bludo? You’re not needed ‘round here anymore.”

Bludo clenched his teeth. “Ya think I’m just gonna sit here and-”

“So, Link,” Yunobo said, turning his attention back to Link and ignoring Bludo completely. “What’s your business in Goron City, huh?”

It seemed like Link’s business here had just gotten a whole lot more complicated, but he explained nonetheless.

“Princess Zelda, huh? And you’re wondering about any strange goin’s-on?” Yunobo asked, seeming genuinely curious for the first time.

“Princess Zelda?” Bludo repeated. “I’d heard that she’d gone missing, but you’re telling me she’s still missing? I mean, it’s hard to miss those lovely blonde locks of hers, after all.”

Link nodded, although he did wonder if Bludo knew how common blond hair was among Hylians. At the same time, though, it wasn’t likely that many other Hylians made their way up here often.

Offrak looked up. “Locks? Does that mean hair?”

“Oh! The lady with hair like that!” Slergo chimed in. “She’s the same one President Yunobo talks to about marbled rock roast!”

Link glanced at Yunobo, who suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

“Pipe down, you two!” he scolded. “You’ll keep your traps shut if ya know what’s good for you!” He turned his attention back to Link and cleared his throat. “As you can see, Goron City is the picture of peace. And we can’t help with Princess Zelda, so you’d better shove off. I’ve gotta go get more marbled rock roast. Can’t afford to keep her waiting.”

Her?

Bludo raised his massive fists. “Yunobo, I swear if you bring in any more of that stuff, I’ll-” His back made a horrible cracking sound and he groaned. “My achin’ back…”

“Stodgy old guy. Stickin’ your nose into things when you’ve got your spine to worry about,” Yunobo sneered. “Slergo! Offrak! Time to head off to YunoboCo.”

Offrak glanced at Link over his shoulder before the three of them rolled and trundled off, leaving Link and Bludo to cough on their dust.

What exactly had happened since the last time he’d visited? Yunobo was so different now as to be almost unrecognizable. Something felt fishy.

Link gave Bludo a questioning look.

“Ugh, that kid,” Bludo said, still rubbing his lower back with one hand. “Used to be just a kid following me around cryin’ ‘Boss’ this and ‘Boss’ that.”

Link nodded, remembering. Despite the fact that Yunobo had inherited Daruk’s power of protection that made him basically invincible, the young Goron had been afraid of his own shadow and incredibly clumsy.

“It was all business as usual ‘round here until he created YunoboCo,” Bludo explained. “They’re a group of Gorons who work the mines. Once they started diggin’ up that marbled rock roast, Yunobo and all the youngsters… well, they changed.”

Link took another glance at the Goron lying on the ground behind Bludo. “Changed?”

“You heard me– changed! All due to that strange marbled rock roast Yunobo dug up. Now all the youngsters just sit around eatin’ it instead of workin’! Why, some of them are even running scams, tryin’ to get more marbled rock roast.” Bludo shook his head mournfully. “There’s no way he can’t see what a mess we’re in with it, but he keeps playin’ dumb. If it weren’t for my darn spine, I’d march straight into YunoboCo HQ and give Yunobo a piece of my mind!”

Link nodded. He had half a mind to do just that himself.

“But HQ is in a pain-in-the-neck location, ya see. For starters, I’d have to go through the northern mining site.” Bludo rocked back, pain tightening his grizzled features as his back locked up again. He slumped forward with a deep sigh. “In this condition, I can’t even ride a cart… what to do…”

Link placed a hand on Bludo’s arm. “I’ll head up there and see what I can do.”