When morning came, Dragmire thanked the innkeeper at the stable. He felt more refreshed than he had in months. It had been hard sleeping out in the wildness. More often than not, he would be awakened by an animal or the occasional monster.
He was glad that his travelling business had helped him to be to finally afford a bed in the few settlements that remained in Hyrule.
While it was a bit tricky to get his horse out of the stable stall, Dragmire made sure to tip the stable hands for their hard work of looking after his stead.
Some of the Hylains at the stable were more than happy to buy from his selection of mushrooms and herbs that he had with him.
When the Hylains were done buying his wares, he counting the rupees he had received He was pleased to have received 1,500 rupees in total.
Probably not enough to get a home in Hateno, but with enough hard work Dragmire knew he would someday be close to finally living the peaceful life he always wanted.
Dragmire made sure the supplies he had leftover were properly secured at the back of his saddle. Once that was completed, he got onto his horse and waved goodbye to the people of the stable.
Now on the road once more, Dragmire was excited to see what Hatano looked like. The only thing he knew about it was that it was a peaceful town with the majority of its population being some of the best farmers in Hyrule.
As Dragmire approached the crosswords, he was a bit startled to see a man with golden hair lying face-first in the grass. His back was stained red and he could see possible holes where a knife had penetrated his back with multiple stab wounds.
Dragmire quickly got off his horse and checked the mysterious man. Despite bleeding, he was still breathing. Though it was quite shallow.
"I'm Dragmire, I'm not going to hurt you. Do you remember your name?" Dragmire asked.
The young man sounded as if he going to say something, but quickly fell unconscious before he could say what it was. Thankfully, he still wasn't dead yet.
He must have the luck of Hylia if he's been able to survive this long.
Dragmire knew that he had to get him to safety. He couldn't leave an innocent person stranded out here in the wild.
He wonders if this was the work of the Yiga Clan. Dragmire knew that they were becoming more of a threat with more violent behaviour.
He quickly stopped the bleeding with some leftover cloth he had from his stadle bags. Dragmire knew it wasn't much to ease the stranger's pain, but at least he won't bleed to death.
Dragmire hoists the young man onto his shoulders and walked towards his horse. Before he could reach his stead, a Yiga soldier appeared in front of Dragmire.
Despite all Yiga soldiers looking the same, his height gave away that he was much younger than the typical assassin. He recognized him as the young Yiga soldier you had met yesterday.
"I'm here for him. Give me the hero or I will kill you," he threatened. He wasn't backing down this time.
Had Kovar forced him to comfort me?
He knew he had told him not to challenge him again, but he, unfortunately, had no choice as long as he was a member of the Yiga Clan. He was a boy who sworn his loyalty to the clan.
He was young, properly no younger than 13.
With such shaky hands, Dragmire doubted he had been the one who tried to kill the young man he was trying to save.
"He is under my protection, this man needs medical attention," Dragmire said, "If you want him so badly, you'll have to go through me."
The young Yiga soldier hesitated, he looked as if he remembered what happened the last time he tried challenging him.
Before he could back down, a newcomer appeared in a flash of smoke. Dragmire knew this man well. This tall, muscular figure was Kovar's old mentor, Korge.
At first, he ignored Dragmire and looked down at the young Yiga soldier who was intimidated by the blade master.
"I'll deal with you later," Korge said, his voice was as deep as a goron.
Korge turned back to Dragmire, unwilling to let him pass. Dragmire laid the stranger gently down on the grass and prepared to go head to head against Korge with his sword.
"So, you want to fight?" Korge says mockingly behind his mask
"Bring it, Yiga scum!"
Korge leaps at Dragmire without a second thought, with his duel blades ready in his hands.
He was much faster there Dragmire thought he would be.
Dragmire quickly dodged out the way, only to block Korge's attack before it could cut into his hip. Sparks fly and Dragmire was desperately trying to hold back both of his swords with only one sword he had to defend himself.
"Had enough Dragmire?" Korge asks him, mockingly. Dragmire grits his teeth, desperately trying to push back Korge's duel blades.
Korge kicks him in the temple, making him lose his balance.
Dragmire tries to steady himself but winces when one of Korge's swords manages to slice into his cheek.
"Are you ready to meet your end?" Koge spats.
"I won't back down," Dragmire says through his teeth and managed to push back his blades at last.
He notices that one of Koge's hands were wrapped in some sort of cloth. Knowing he had little time left, Dragmire took advantage of his damaged hand and stabbed it with his sword.
Korge growled in pain and dropped his swords.
Instead of finishing Korge off with the blade of his sword, Dragmire instead hit him with the tilt of the sword into Korge's masked face. The force of movement sent him falling backwards onto the ground.
When he gets up, part of his mask was broken. Dragmire could see his short white hair, a clouded eye, and tan skin.
He looks up at you with a mixture of pain and anger. Blood slowly came down from behind his mask.
"Kneel," Dragmire said pointing his sword at Korge.
"I kneel today, but never again. You make a good opponent Dragmire. Even if you try to hide it, you are more like your namesake than you think you are," Koge retaliated harshly as he gets back onto his feet.
Dragmire narrows his eyes, he was pretty close to doing more harm than just a bloody nose for Korge to remember him by.
Finally, the blademaster gives in. "Fine, but will...remember this. Perhaps next time I won't underestimate you the next time we meet".
He turned to look at the young Yiga soldier that had been watching the fight from a few meters away. "Come, we're going home," he said at the youngster.
The young Yiga member hesitated before finally walking over to the injured Blademaster. He briefly looked at Dragmire before joining Korge by his side and disappearing into a cloud of smoke.
What was that all about?
When he was sure that he was gone, Dragmire was quick to check if the Hylain was breathing. Still shallow, there was still time to save him.
He knew if he followed the path east of the crossroads, he knew he could make it to the village in time to save his life.
Hylia, please give me strength.