Despite his reservations about me, Mido remained just behind me peering warily out between my arm and shield, perhaps hoping if anything did attack, it would offer him some protection.
The natural corridors the moblins were patrolling zig-zagged at first. We turned the corner where the first one had been defeated, approaching the next corner cautiously. One moblin came into view, reaching the corner. Mido held his breath, then relaxed as the moblin turned around away from us to head back down the corridor. I sent a bomb rolling after it to knock it down, then once again finished it off with the sword.
"Been meaning to ask you," Mido said on the way down its patrol route. "Just where did you get that sword?"
"This one? In the Temple of Time."
"No, I mean the one you had before. The Kokiri Sword."
"Oh. That one. I found it. There's a tunnel just up by the Know it All Brothers' house."
"You took the Kokiri secret treasure without asking?"
"Were you using it?" I asked calmly, listening ahead. "Another moblin round the corner. Doesn't look like he patrols down this way. Anyway, if I hadn't picked it up, it would have made my task a lot harder."
"Task? What task?"
"The one the Great Deku Tree gave me. Not that I really understood until I met Princess Zelda. I had to pick up the three Spiritual Stones so she and I could go into the Temple of Time and get the Triforce before Ganondorf did."
"Who's he?"
"The one who cursed the Great Deku Tree," Navi told him. "Moblin just turned around, Silver."
"I saw," I replied, sending another bomb down.
"You're... very good at this," Mido said, looking slightly embarrassed to have said it. "If you tell anyone I said that-"
"Don't worry," I chuckled. "I'll keep it quiet. Actually I'm just making a lot of this up as I go along."
"You what?" Mido stopped and stared after me while I dispatched the third moblin. There was another pool of water at the end of this corridor marking the end of this route in favour of another one to the north. Navi flew up and over to have a look while I waited for Mido.
"Don't sound so surprised," I said. "Half the time I don't even know what I'm going to get into. You can't make plans for something you don't know about."
"One path," Navi called back. "It goes left and right, but is only patrolled by one moblin. Two pools of water at either end, and a route that goes up further."
"That's the place," Mido said. "At the other end of that is the real Sacred Forest Meadow, and the entrance to the Forest Temple too."
"There's another moblin there," she added, returning. "He's bigger than the others and has a massive club."
"We'll just wait for him to turn around-" I started
"He doesn't turn around, Silver. He isn't moving at all, he's just waiting. Probably for us."
"What now?" Mido demanded.
"I'll figure out something," I shrugged. "We can wait here for the nearest moblin first."
"Did you stop him?" Mido asked suddenly while we waited.
"Who?"
"Ganondorf, of course. Who did you think I meant?"
"Sorry. I was slightly distracted. And no... he managed to trick me into opening the last door to the Sacred Realm. He doesn't have the Triforce though. Not all of it anyway," I added, showing him the piece nestled in my hand. "I was told it split into three pieces. Then Ganondorf conquered the world outside. There was nothing I could do to stop him until now."
The moblin stomped past, snorting away until I bombed him too.
"Navi," Mido's fairy spoke up for the first time since meeting him here in the future. "The water?" She still used as few words as she needed. I never quite understood what she was saving them up for.
"You and I can just fly," Navi replied understanding better than I did. "Silver and Mido will have to swim – unless Silver decides to do a little magic." Then to me, "Might not be a bad idea actually. We could go right over that club moblin's head."
"And have him club us out of the air?" Mido suggested.
"Maybe not," I said. "I've got an idea. We might not need to fly the whole way, but-"
"Just a moment," he said, looking sceptical. "Do what?"
"Fly," I repeated.
"That's what I thought you said. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a Kokiri, not a bird."
"And I'm a hedgehog right now, but you don't see me letting that stop me. Just relax and leave this to me," I told him when we reached the pool of water. I muttered more 'magic' under my breath, just enough for him to notice, gesturing at him with one hand as I floated up myself. He came up as well with a startled look.
I took us over the pool and up the steps northbound to another, larger corridor. Sure enough there was a giant moblin holding a massive club. He pounded the ground with it where we were, too stupid to notice that we weren't on the ground. A shockwave of earth shot toward us, passing harmlessly underneath.
"There's not enough room to fly above it without getting caught by that club," I observed, looking up to the broad canopy of branches intertwined above. "Though that assumes he's bright enough to try to swipe at us with it."
"So what are you going to do?"
"A bit more magic," I grinned back. I waited for the moblin to realise he wasn't achieving anything – which took a while – then when he settled I took hold of the club and brought it up sharply against him. It made a great crack! as it impacted his hard head. The moblin stared at it in dull astonishment, then I tore it from its hands and whacked it over the head with its own club. He kept reaching for it, but it danced clear of his meaty hands every time until he was finally defeated.
Even Mido couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the moblin being beaten up by its own club.
I set us down just beyond the end of the route in the Sacred Forest Meadow. Like the rest of the Lost Woods there was a vast growth around the edge of the meadow that shaded a fair part of this considerable clearing. There was another raised design, like the one at the entrance of the Temple of Time, though this one held the same design as I'd seen on the green carving in the Chamber of Sages.
A Gossip stone sat in one corner with moss growing only in the lines on it, accenting the design on it in green to give it a strangely alive look. Just opposite where we'd come in was a low tree stump, and the remains of the top of a staircase hung out over an opening above, a tree serving as a natural support for what was left.
I picked up the sense of Zelda's presence passively again as I looked around.
"Don't get excited," I warned Mido. "He's a friend."
"Who is?" he asked, searching the clearing for anyone.
"I am," the voice of Sheik came from behind us. "I did not expect to see you here," she added to Mido.
"Someone's gotta keep an eye on Silver," he asserted. "Can't let him run free in the secret Temple of our woods, can I?"
"Let him be," I told her. "If he wants to come along, he can. I'll keep him from harm. I've got a question for you, by the way."
"Yes," Sheik said. "You can."
I blinked, momentarily stumped. "You can – wait, you knew what I was going to ask?"
"I was advised in advance. Next time you return there, I will meet you there to pass on a song to you, just as I will here."
"Another one. Just what I need – any more and I'll start forgetting them."
"Then I'll just have to remind you," Navi said. "What does this song do, Sheik?"
"Play this song, the Minuet of Forest, only on the Ocarina of Time, and it will bring you back here whenever you wish. That is the purpose of these designs," she said, indicating the one just nearby.
"One song for each Temple," I said. "A quick way of getting around in a pinch. Alright, teach me the song and then we'll make a start on the Forest Temple."
Sheik chose not to say anything else, teaching me the song then just as she had in the Temple of Time, using a Deku Nut to vanish, the sense of her presence fading with her.
"I wish I knew how he does that," I complained. "The Deku Nut I can understand, but how the devil does he manage to get out of reach so quickly?"
"Out of reach of what?" Mido asked.
"My mind," I replied absently. "Not all of what I do is magic – some of it is... well, the word for it is psychokinesis, but that probably doesn't mean anything to you."
"Not really. What does it mean?"
"Means using your mind to do things instead of your hands. I can use it to tell where people are, but somehow Sheik manages to get beyond reach of that in an instant."
"Temple?" Mido's fairy suggested.
"What? Oh, right," I said, lifting us up again. "Thanks for reminding me."
This time I set us down just past the remains of the stairs, entering the opening in the part stone, part plant wall that was the entrance to the Forest Temple.
The Temple itself did not appear to be a Temple in the normal sense – the area beyond still had the sky above us, and though the lower parts of the walls were stone, above them was the typical tall growth of trees. There were two trees growing down on the same level as us, both tangled up in various vines and blooms.
"Wolfos again," Navi warned. "Just ahead. Chest up on top of this tree," she added, flying over to the east one.
"No problem. I think I can handle them a little easier this time. First though – Mido, if I send you up to that chest would you get whatever is inside for me while I deal with the Wolfos?"
"Making me useful as well as keeping me safe I see," Mido said. "Can't you make it so I can fly on my own?"
"It's not an easy thing to do, Mido. It takes a lot of practise. Just leave it to me for now."
Mido didn't look too happy about that, but accepted it all the same. Once I was sure he was safely on the top of the tree, I drew the Master Sword and approached the door opposite to bring out the two Wolfos.
This time I waited until one started to attack, then quickly dodged around behind them to strike its unprotected rear, finishing it in one easy blow. The second loped in to avenge its fallen comrade, but this one received my shield in his face, sending it reeling back wide open to attack.
"Why didn't I think of that before?" I muttered to myself.
"Because you wanted to show Mido a bit of magic?" Navi suggested. "Best bring him down-"
"Never mind," Mido told us. "I climbed down the vines. Here – this is what was in there." He handed me a small silver key.
Yes Tails, I know you were the only one who could open chests when you went to Hyrule. I don't know why that didn't happen for me, but my guess is your chests were made differently.
There was no lock on the door though and no apparent need for it just yet, so it was tucked away as we headed through into the short corridor beyond.
"Biiiiig Skulltula," Mido stammered, seeing one hanging down from the ceiling to block our path.
"Ah, these guys are easy," I dismissed it. I got close enough to bring it within reach of my sword, then poked carefully to make it turn around and finally stabbed its unprotected belly. Unlike the Kokiri Sword, the Master Sword finished it in one single blow.
"I don't know what's worse," Mido said with a slight shudder. "You, or the real monsters."
"At least I'm not trying to get you like they are," I pointed out, letting us into the next room – a cavernous decorated room with at least half a dozen different exits, some on raised areas accessible only from steps, others barred off with carved stone railings. Some exits were in deep tunnels, others simply set into the wall.
In the center of the chamber were four torches forming a square around a curious wooden structure, each of the four torches burning with a different colour. As we watched however the light rose up off the torches into lanterns that faded into sight out of nowhere. The wooden structure sank into the floor as the phantom torches became held by odd looking creatures, which then each headed off in a different direction, flying through the walls.
"Poes," Mido's fairy said.
"Right," Navi agreed. "But... I've never known them to do anything like that before. I wonder what it was for?"
"I'm guessing that thing that was there is going to be vital to our completing the Temple," I said. "And we'll have to return the four flames in order to make use of it. Someone pick a door – until we get a map of this place, its anyone's guess which way to go."