A/N Hey! 10 chapters! I'm actually really happy that we reached so minor a milestone! I hope you guys will continue to enjoy the story of The Triumvirate and soon discover the secrets of our favorite Dragonian! Also, if you have Discord, you can join this channel I made to work as the general community for this story! Anyways, enjoy! (Tad problem: still figuring out how to get the link to all you dear readers XD)

Stats of Link: Level: 12.22 Health: 2.5 Defense: 2.25 Magic: 0 Attack: 1 Spells: 0

Seven days since the Great Deku Tree died...

After several hours of trekking in darkness, the Triumvirate emerged to find themselves in… The Lost Woods, the part of the Forbidden Forest that not even the Kokiri dared venture into.

"Interesting…" Julian muttered, perplexed. Link cheered and raced off toward some nearby bushes, where he started munching on some edible berries (The Great Deku tree had taught him what berries in the forest were edible and which weren't, and anyways, he was too hungry to care). Once he was done, he noticed a strange melody floating through the air, sounding peaceful yet exciting as well.

They soon got lost, hence the name of the forest. After wandering for hours, Link decided to fire a Deku Seed at a nearby tree in a clearing to mark where they were. After walking in a straight line, they arrived back in the clearing.

"This is ridiculous." Julian said as Link fired another seed at the same tree. "We couldn't have walked in a circle!"

They walked in another direction, while Julian tracked their direction by dragging his tail across the ground. Yet strangely, they soon arrived at the clearing once more.

"Farore!" Julian cursed. "Okay, I'll look at the forest from the sky. You stick here and don't move anywhere." He jumped high in the air, flapped his huge wings a few times, and soon reached beyond the treeline.

Since Link had nothing better to do, he pulled out his slingshot and fired one more seed at the tree. To Link's shock, a Deku Scrub popped out of the stump of a nearby tree and looked at the seed marks.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry…" Link said, reaching for his Deku Shield.

"Oh, no worries!" The scrub said. "I'm a huge fan of slingshots. You got 3 bulls-eyes in a row! You're cool! I've got to give you something for that! Please take this as a present!" He spat a large bag toward Link, which landed at his feet. Link picked it up, surprised at the lack of saliva, and saw it was an even larger seed bag, which could probably hold up to fifty Deku Seeds.

"That was great." Said a small voice behind Link. He jumped, and had already had his sword halfway out of its sheath before he saw who it was. There were two small, humanoid creatures who were pitch-black all over, and they wore a variety of clothes made from dead leaves, such as a tunic resembling that of Link's, a hat, shoes, and gloves. The hat had a series of some grey rings, as well as the belts around their waist. They had huge lips and carried flutes.

"That's a Skull Kid…" Navi whispered under Link's cap. "Is this what happens to kids who stray into the Lost Woods? He might be our friend if we do something…"

"That's a nice ocarina you have." Said the second one eyeing it attached to his belt, which also had the slingshot and his satchel. "Will you play a song with us?"

Link tried to see if there was any dangers, but he didn't have Julian's spot-on accuracy, and hence didn't see any. Link shrugged and pulled the ocarina off of his belt.

"Okay then!" Said the first. "Follow along with our song on your ocarina. We'll lead you into it."

They played six notes slowly, and Link repeated them. The Skull Kids played the six notes at a faster pace, and seven new ones very slowly. After Link repeated the thirteen notes, they replayed all thirteen along with eight new ones. Soon the three were playing all twenty-one notes at a fast pace, repeating the notes to create a great song.

"That was quite a nice session!" Said the first one after they stopped.

"As a token of our friendship, please take this." Said the second, handing Link a Heart Piece. Both of them ran into the woods, and soon disappeared.

"Bye!" Link called. "I would like to do another session with you someday!"

"Who are you talking to?" Julian demanded, flying down.

O-0-O

After Link described his encounter, Julian nodded slowly. "I see." He finally said. "It's probably a good thing that I wasn't around then."

Link quizzically looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Julian laughed. "I'm sixteen in dragonian years. In my home world of Dragonia, we age even slower than you humans. That means that in your years, I'm sixty-four years old."

"And why would they care about your age?"

Navi sighed. "Skull kids hate adults, Link." She said. "Maybe it's because they are cursed to wander the Lost Woods forever, never to grow up. But that's just a theory among us faeries."

"Regardless, We need to get going soon." Julian said. "While I was up there, I found the the way to a strange grove, and I have a feeling we need to go there."

"Link… Good to see you again!" Said Kaepora Gaebora, flying into the clearing.

Julian did a double take. "But-What the-How the- Where did you come from?" He said, clearly shocked. "I would have seen you if you were coming here!"

Kaepora's eyes seemed to smile. "I have my ways." He said. "Now… Listen to this! Hoot hoot… After going through the Lost Woods, you will come across the Sacred Forest Meadow, a sacred place where few have ever visited." He cocked his head. "Listen… Do you hear that mysterious tune?"

"Yes. We've been hearing it since we got here." Link said flatly. Julian smacked him.

"Don't disrespect him!" He said sharply. "Kaepora is wise, and sometimes you need to state the obvious to eventually tell something you never even knew."

Kaepora had continued on. "You should listen to it." He was saying. "If you are courageous, you will make it through the forest just fine… just follow your ears and listen to that tune! Hoot hoot!" He flew off, and after a couple seconds Julian took up to the air and came back down almost immediately.

"He's already gone." He said in awe. "I have to figure out how he does that stuff…"

With no other leads to follow, Link decided to trust Julian to locate the source of the strange music.

O-0-O

They followed the sound of the tune, making so many turns and roundabouts that Link soon lost all sense of direction. Soon, they arrived at yet another clearing, but this one had old, moss-covered stone walls forming a maze, It's length too far to walk around.. Julian flew on top of the walls, and guided Link through it, warning him whenever a Deku Scrub was around the corner.

They finally crossed the maze, and arrived at the back of the clearing, where a large, old castle rested, its doorway high up. There used to be a staircase, but age seemed to collapse the middle section out, making it impossible for Link to climb.

However, that wasn't what caught Link's eyes. He saw Saria sitting on a stump, playing an ocarina that was a perfect replica of his.

Julian grinned. "So it was you who played the song, huh?" He asked.

Saria returned the smile, then looked at Link. "I've been waiting for you, Link!" She said. "This is the sacred Forest Meadow. It's my secret place! I feel… I feel like this place will be important for the both of us someday. If you play the ocarina here, you can talk with the spirits in the forest. Why not play with me?"

"C'mon, Link." Julian said, pulling out his own. "It's been awhile since I last had a break from all that adventuring. Let's sit down and play for a few minutes."

Link glared at him (Like he was going to say no to Saria's invitation) but decided now was not the time to argue with him.

He pulled out his own Ocarina, and soon the three of them were playing Saria's Song. every creature within several miles stopped to listen to the music, which had been playing before, now sounded louder and more beautiful with three ocarinas.

O-0-O

"Great! Great!" Saria said as they stopped playing. "Please don't forget this song! promise?"

Link nodded. "I'll never forget it, Saria." He said. Julian nodded in agreement.

Saria smiled. "When you want to talk to me anytime, anywhere, play Saria's Song. you can talk to me anytime…"

As they left the Sacred Forest Meadow, Julian looked at Link's tiredness. After a while, he said, "You should get some sleep, Link. We have a big day ahead of us."

For once, Link didn't complain. They set up camp, and within moments he had fallen asleep.

Julian stared wistfully at the sky, thinking about his past, Link, and the future ahead...

O-0-O

The next morning, they decided to return to Goron City. However, the forest was not done with them yet, and hence they soon got lost and arrived at yet another clearing.

Julian stopped and sighed. "Guess I'll do aerial coverage, then." He said. Before Link could reply, he took to the sky and soon disappeared over the treetops.

Link started grumbling about Julian, but stopped once he saw another Skull Kid.

"Grown-Ups can be so mean, you know?" The Skull Kid saw upon seeing Link's face.

"Yeah, I hear you." Link replied, sitting on a stump.

They were silent for a while, then the Skull Kid said, "Hey, do you want to play a song on that Ocarina? You can choose the song if you want."

Link grinned. "Why not?" He pulled out his Ocarina, thought for a moment, then played Saria's Song on it.

"Link?" Saria's voice came from nowhere, as she said it would. "I see you played my Song! If you can hear me, then you are at a place connected to the forest!"

"Uh… Saria?" Link said. "I'm kinda still in the forest, and I'm kinda lost there as well. Julian's taken to the sky to do aerial coverage, but he hasn't returned yet and I'm next to a Skull Kid."

"Oh, no worries!" Saria said. "I can lead you where you need to go in the forest. I'll lead you out once Julian comes back."

"Hey, you know Saria's Song!" The Skull Kid said. "We should be friends! Take this as a token of our friendship." He walked up to Link and gave him a Heart Piece. Then he laughed and ran off into the woods.

"What the- Who was that?!" Julian exclaimed, jumping down from a nearby tree.

"A Skull Kid." Link said. "He seemed kind of friendly…"

Julian cocked his head. "When I came back, I sensed something strange about him… something big involving him will happen in the near future… nah, it's probably nothing."

He shook his head, then looked around. "I'm not sure where to go, frankly. I can't find that tunnel that led to Goron City…"

"Problem solved!" Saria said, causing Julian to jump and look around in shock (much to Link's enjoyment). "Just tell me which landmark you are at, and where you need to go, and I'll be able to lead you there."

Julian, having realized the magic of Saria's Song was working, was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "We're in a clearing that has two stumps, one large and one small. There is a shaft of sunlight casted across the center of the clearing. There are several dozen trees large enough to be a few decades old, and each one of them looks like an oak tree. We need to go to an area that has a stone support for a tunnel, surrounded by a mixture of oaks and elms. That area also has a large boulder on the side of the tunnel, looking as if it were blocking a small and empty cave."

Saria was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Head north. Then after a few minutes, turn west and head straight for a couple more. Then…"

She continued giving odd directions, sometimes making them turn back and head in the opposite direction. After a few hours, they arrived back at the stone tunnel that led to Goron City.

"Thanks, Saria!" Link called as they entered. Saria gave a reply, but it was too quiet for Link to hear.

Julian, however, had acute enough hearing to hear her say "Anytime, Link."

O-0-O

By noon, they had managed to arrive, at last, back at Goron City.

"Well…" Julian mused. "Saria's Song seems to lift spirits and such, so maybe we can play it to that Goron who shouted at us yesterday. What do you think?"

Link was surprised that Julian was asking for his opinion. Didn't he just forge ahead with his own thoughts?

"Er… what? Oh, uh… yeah, I guess so." Link said, recovering from that shock.

They went over to Big Brother's room to see if the theory could work.

"What the heck?!" He demanded upon seeing them. "I told you that this is a Goron problem! Now get out of my face before I make you!"

"Just shut up and listen." Julian said, pulling out his ocarina and playing Saria's Song.

His eyes widened as he heard the song, a large grin grew on his face, and soon he started dancing. Fortunately, this seemed to cheer him up. Unfortunately, he danced by waving his arm and jumping around, causing Link and Julian to scramble backwards, afraid to get kicked by accident. Saria, hearing all of these things, decided not to question them, considering that whoever was dancing liked the song.

After a while, Big Brother finally stopped. "Hey!" He said. "What a nice tune! Just like that, my depression is all gone! Something just came over me, and I wanted to dance like crazy!" He smiled at them. "My name is Darunia. Was there something you wanted to tell me?"

Link and Julian, who were a good ten feet away, stood silent for a moment. Finally, Julian coughed and stepped forward. "We were looking for the Goron's Ruby, also known as the Spiritual Stone of the Mountains." He said.

Darunia frowned. "What?" He exclaimed. "You want the stone, too?" He then sighed. "The Goron's Ruby is our race's hidden treasure… I can't just give it to you!"

"But we need the Spiritual Stone to stop Ganondorf!" Link cried, throwing his arms out.

Darunia glared at him. "If you want it so badly, why don't you just destroy the monsters inside Dodongo's Cavern, thus proving you're a man? That way, everyone will be happy again! I will give you anything you want, even if it's the Spiritual Stone!"

Link opened his mouth, but Julian clamped it shut. "Ah. okay then." He said, shooting a look at Link that clearly said Don't ask. "But uh… Where is Dodongo's Cavern? I'm sure we would have seen it, but we didn't see any opening…"

Darunia sighed. "That's another problem. Ganondorf blocked the entrance as a way to get the Spiritual Stone, but even then I refused to give it to him. This has been what caused our starvation here. If you look over the edge of the cliff near the entrance to our city, you will find the entrance blocked by the boulder."

Julian nodded. "I see. Well, we better get going now. We'll get it open before the day is out!"

As they exited Darunia's room and headed toward the entrance of the city, Julian told Link, "Goron's can't stomach sedimentary rock, which is what this city is made of. Metamorphic rock is far too deep into Dodongo's Cavern for them to reach, so the igneous rock is all they can live on."

Link nodded in understanding, and they went toward Dodongo's Cavern.

O-0-O

They stood on the edge of a cliff, looking down at a large boulder blocking the entrance of Dodongo's Cavern.

"So… What now?" Link asked. "I don't exactly have a bomb bag on me."

Julian shrugged. "I don't know. Why not ask the Bomb Flower a couple yards to your right?"

Link glared at him, but picked up the flower and tossed it at the boulder. There was a large explosion, and the boulder fell apart, leaving an opening to the cave.

"Well? Shall we go?" Julian asked, jumping off the cliff and using his wings to get down there the fast way. Link grumbled and walked down the trail by himself.