Link needed one more Pendant of Virtue, and according to his map it was on top of Death Mountain. Link couldn't figure out how to get to the top, but he found a cave blocked by a boulder, and used the Power Glove to get it out of the way. Inside the cave Link fended off Keeses, bat-like creatures, and stumbled across and old man who had lost his lamp. He asked Link to accompany him through the tunnels.

As they traveled through the dank cavern, the old man gave him directions and told him to watch out for pitfalls. The old man guessed that Link's quest was to look for the Golden Power, and, knowing that many had vanished on the mountain while looking for the Triforce, advised him not to get involved in such a mad quest. As the old man kept talking, the conversation turned to his granddaughter, a girl about Link's age. The old man remembered how the King had taken her and never returned. He blurted out that kidnapping the maidens must have been part of the wizard's plot, and that he was sure Agahnim was trying to use the power of the sages' descendants.

At last the pair reached the top and came out into bright sunlight. Outside of the entrance to his hideout, the old man told Link that he believed the maidens were still alive somewhere, and that a Hero would rescue them. He realized these were dangerous times, and regretted talking too much. But he was grateful for Link's kindness, and gave him a special gift: a Magic Mirror. The old man told him to gaze into it if he walked into a magical transporter.

Link followed the old man into his dwelling, and stopped for a rest. The old man now fully trusted Link, and believed him to be the Hero. He expressed his full belief that the wizard had deceived the King and was trying to open a way to the Dark World. Before Link left, the wise old man told him that to complete his quest he would need the Moon Pearl, which was in the tower on top of the mountain. Link explored Death Mountain, avoiding the dangerous boulders that constantly rained on his head, and at last found the tower. However, he had no idea how to reach it.