The horses were exactly where Telma had said they would be, and it only took them a few minutes to pack everything up so they could be on their way. Since they had picked up an extra passenger Sheik ended up riding with Link leaving Arnold with a horse of his own. Passing through Hyrule on their way to Kakariko was quite uneventful. Idle chatter past among the travellers as they steadily progressed, and they arrived at Kakariko around mid-evening. Renado and Luda came out to greet them along with one other person that Link hadn't been expecting.

"Hi Link!" The girl said as she ran up to meet him

Link stared at her dumbfounded

"Ilia... What are you doing here?" He finally managed to choke out

"I'm visiting Renado and Luda of course!" Ilia answered excitedly. "I guess I had good timing because now I get to see you too!"

He smiled back trying to hide his panic. He quickly looked to his companions for aid but realized too late that that was a mistake. Auru and Ashei simply smirked at his discomfort and Sheik was absolutely emotionless.

"Who are your friends?" She asked

"Um, this is Auru." Link introduced

"Pleasure to meet you Miss." Auru said with a kind smile

Ilia blushed and responded a quiet "Pleased to meet you too."

"You've already met Shad." Link continued

"Hello." Shad responded also smiling

"This is Ashei." he said somewhat falteringly, unsure how Ilia or Ashei would react

"Hey." Ashei said with a knowing smile

"Nice to meet you." Ilia said cold as ice. Her eyes analyzing Ashei very carefully.

Link rolled his eyes then went on.

"We met Mister Arnold at the Zora's domain, and for various reasons he is now accompanying us."

Arnold tried to bow in greeting causing him to almost fall off his horse.

"And last but not least this is Sheik, of the Sheikah tribe." He said moving slightly so Ilia could see Sheik better.

Sheik didn't say anything but just kept his face completely impassive.

"How interesting!" Ilia said clapping her hands together. "A Sheikah? That's so amazing!"

Link raised an eyebrow. 'She probably has no idea what a Sheikah is... why is she acting like this?' he wondered.

"Anyway, we were just going to have dinner so you can tie your horses over there and come on in." Ilia told them, then sauntered off to the shaman's house.

"Is that the girl who took your horse on the day of the meeting?" Sheik asked quietly as they were tying Epona to the rail.

"Yeah," Link answered distractedly

"Wow, has she ever got the hots for you eh Link?" Ashei teased as she hooked an arm around Link's shoulder "Did you see the daggers she shot at me? Man!"

"Ashei ... Plea-"

"Relax, I know what you're gonna say. I'll back off this time. Although you might want to look out for her, she's definitely got something up her sleeves... But what it is, don't ask me, I can barely understand a girl's mind and I am one!" She said in exasperation.

Link couldn't help laughing slightly at this and he was still smiling as they entered the shaman's. When Ilia made eye contact with him his smile slowly began to fade and he became acutely aware of Ashei's arm still around his shoulder even though she at that time was conversing with Auru.

"Dinner is ready, please make yourselves comfortable." Renado called to them

"Hey, maybe Sheik could sit next to me... I would love to learn more about the Sheikah, if that would be ok with him." Ilia said suddenly

Sheik looked somewhat confused but just sat next to Ilia without any protest. Everyone else took their place around the large rectangle table that Renado had set up for them. Link ended up sitting next to Renado and Shad. Arnold and Renado were engaged in conversation along with Shad and Auru but Link had a very hard time for focusing on what they were saying. He couldn't stop himself for looking over to the end of the table were Sheik and Ilia were sitting, Sheik by this time still hadn't touched his food, rather he had pushed the plate forward and was simply resting his arms on the table in front of him. Ilia was talking very animatedly about something and Sheik was listening with the same passive expression he adopted whenever he wasn't talking to...

Link paused for a second. It seemed like the only time Sheik had shown other expressions were when he was around Link. Link took a minute longer to think about this information. Quickly running through his memories of the different occasions he had seen Sheik show other emotions, albeit in very small quantities, was when to two of them were alone or when there were only a few others of the Resistance around. This discovery pleased Link seeing as it was his intention from the start to earn Sheik's trust. A few of the group began to stand and make their way to the guest rooms that Renado set aside for them. Link quickly finished his food and made his way to the small kitchen that Renado had off of his main room. Renado smiled warmly as he saw Link come in. Luda was just a little way off drying the dishes that Renado handed to her.

"You're working hard." Link said to Luda.

"Thank you." She answered quietly. "I like to help my father whenever I can."

"That's very kind of you... How about tonight I help your father, so you can sleep. You look tired." Link told her kindly

Luda looked at her father for permission, to which Renado nodded. Luda then hugged her father goodnight. Then after some seconds thought she came back and hugged Link as well.

"Goodnight Link, I hope you sleep well." She said then scurried off to her room.

Link smiled after her, then picked up the towel she had left and began to dry the dishes and put them away.

"That was very kind of you." Renado said after a moment. "She hasn't been sleeping well lately… her mother's anniversary is coming soon.

Link nodded his understanding.

"But enough talk of depressing subjects, how fares your journey so far? Telma sent me a letter informing me of your plans."

"Our progress is slow going but enjoyable, I've been running from one place to another for so long it's nice to go at a slower pace. It's also a welcome change to have people along to chat with on the way." Link reflected thoughtfully

"But?" Renado said looking sideways at him.

"But we have picked up a bit of an unwelcome addition to our party." Link responded hesitantly

"Ah... The wizard I presume?" Renado asked

"Well, he prefers arcanist but yes."

Renado laughed slightly "Link I know what you are going to ask so don't trouble yourself... I will take care of this Arnold until your return. It's the least I can do." He said smiling

"Thank you." Link said very relieved.

The two continued their work in silence, just enjoying one another's company. Once they had finished Renado excused himself and retired to his room. Link decided instead to clear his mind a bit before going to sleep. He quietly slipped out of the house so as not to wake anyone. Once he was outside he looked around, not exactly sure where he wanted to go. After a moment's consideration he decided to Talo's lookout on the top of Barnes' building. He rather enjoyed the climb. The air was cool and crisp with a slight breeze. As he reached the top his ingrained senses told him that he wasn't alone. Moving slowly he rounded the corner of the building he saw that the other person was Sheik. Link lowered his guard and fully came out into the open.

"I thought I heard someone." Sheik said without turning.

"I wasn't expecting to find anyone else out here." Link answered as he seated himself next to the Sheikah.

"Are you alright?" Link asked after a few minutes. "I just noticed that you weren't eating anything at dinner."

"I don't eat in front of others." Sheik said curtly

"Oh." Link answered, unsure how else to respond.

The two sat silently for a while, Link shifted uncomfortably, slightly hurt at Sheik's abrupt answer.

"I'm sorry." Sheik said after quite a time had passed. "You couldn't have known that, and it was rude of me to react the way I did. Thank you for being worried about me but I can take care of myself."

Link listened but remained silent, simply allowing Sheik to say what he wanted to say. After a bit more thought Link asked a question that had been weighing on his mind for some time.

"Why are you coming with us? I mean why would you accept to come along with complete strangers on a quest that has nothing to do with you? There must be a better reason than that Zelda asked you too."

Sheik didn't answer right away, instead he stared out at the soft glow of the moonlight on the Eldin spring.

"The Sheikah are bound by ties as strong as time itself to serve the royal family in whatever they require..." He said softly. "But you are right; I do have reason of my own for joining you Link. However, those reasons are to be brought to light at a different time." Sheik then stood up and turned to look at him over his shoulder. "Don't worry yourself over such things, you have other things to focus on." The boy then leapt off the building. Link calmly glanced over the edge to see Sheik on the ground walking towards the house unscathed. He looked up at Link and gave a small wave before entering the house.

He considered Sheik words. Clearly Sheik didn't trust him as much as he had thought. There was so much about the strange teenage boy that he didn't understand. Link leaned back until he was lying on the roof, staring at the stars. He lay there as time became meaningless to him. At some point he had decide that he wouldn't be returning to the house. Instead he decided to stay beneath the stars like he had so many other times. As he stared into the infinite darkness be began to feel very alone. He longed for Midna's presence so much that it hurt. He wondered what she was doing, was she thinking about him too? With his thoughts drifting around from memory to memory he slowly fell asleep atop the roof in the small village.

Another nightmare. Another waking shock. Link began to wipe the sweat from his forehead when he realized that his entire body was soaked with sweat. He groaned, he felt disgusting. Pushing himself up into a sitting position he looked at the sky. It was getting close to early morning but if he hurried he could bathe before they were supposed to leave. He got to his feet and climbed down a few stories of the building then made his way to the hot springs hidden away in the rocks of the village. Even considering the time he wasn't surprised to see some Gorons lounging in the warm water as well as a couple of Zoras.

"Oh! Brother! Welcome! Come relax in hot spring!" One of the Gorons called to Link as he caught sight of him.

Many of the others grunted similar expressions or simply smiled and gestured for him to join them. Link opted for emerging himself fully clothed at first so as to rid his tunic of its sticky feel. But after soaking for a while he removed his shirt and hat so he could lounge more comfortably. One of the Zoras from the small shop brought him over an energy potion.

"On the house," she said after seating herself next to him. "You look like you could use it."

Link thanked her then began to gulp down the cool liquid. After draining the first half he sighed and leaned back against the smooth rocks. For a few minutes he just sat there enjoying the feeling of the small sparks of energy flowing through his body alongside the warmth of the hot spring that that slowly lapped away the tension making him feel more relaxed than he had in a long time.

"Been long time since you here brother, what has been keeping you?" A Goron asked

Link lazily lifted one eyelid to look at the Goron.

"Mmmm, I've been all over lately; Ordon, visiting Prince Ralis, being shot out of cannons... Oh and I was in castle town for a while too." He listed off. "The shopkeeper and his son sent their regards by the way. But other than that it's been pretty boring." He finished with a smirk

"Ho, very busy then. You visit chief too?" The Goron said after considering what he had said.

Link glanced up towards Death Mountain. "No, not yet. I trust they are doing well though?"

"Hmm, very well, clan is much better now since chief is back to normal." The Goron smiled widely. "So, where you go to next?"

Link closed his eyes again.

"Norachre." He responded quietly.

"Norachre?!" Several of the Gorons and Zoras around him exclaimed

"Bad place."

"Why you go there?"

"But it's so dangerous!"

"Are you crazy?" Several of them said overlapping each other.

Link looked at them in mild surprise; he had forgotten how much most Hylians disliked the neighbouring province.

"Don't worry," he responded trying to calm them. "There's no problem between Norachre and Hyrule, we're just going to deal with a small dragon problem."

"Who's we?" The Zora that brought him the drink asked

"Well... you would probably know Ashei; she came by to investigate the snow peaks a while ago. Then there's Auru, you might have seen him in castle town. Shad was here not too long ago, investigating anything that looked slightly strange." As he was telling them this he gazed up at the sky and noticed it getting lighter. "And lastly Sheik who you probably wouldn't know, he just kinda appeared out of nowhere." He carefully left out mentioning Arnold.

"Well brother can take care of it I'm sure." One of the Gorons on the farther side of the pool put in. "He's very strong, especially with friends by his side."

Link smiled faintly then closed his eyes again for a few minutes. With a disappointed sighed made himself sit up.

"I guess I better get going." He said finally

"Good luck on your journey." The Zora said to him.

"Come visit when you get back." A Goron told him.

Link promised he would then climbed out of the hot spring into the cool morning air. His clothes had already dried so he pulled them on, glad to be protected from the swift breeze that was beginning to pick up. With a final wave to his friend he picked his way down the path to the village below.

As he walked towards the shaman's house he could see that the rest of the group, Arnold excluded, were already quietly readying the horses.

"There he is!" Auru said with a wide smile.

"And here we were thinking we would have to leave without you." Ashei teased.

"Yeah right, you couldn't leave me here if you tried." Link responded smiling.

Link then went over to prep Epona the smile still resting comfortably on his face. Sheik greeted him in the usual manner of simply acknowledging his presence then returned to packing the bags of the horse that Arnold had been riding the previous day.

Epona seemed very pleased to see him. She nickered softly as he patted her head. Link began to hum quietly as he tightened her saddle.

"That's a nice tune." Sheik commented after listening for a while.

"Thanks, she seems to like it. Ilia was actually the one who came up with it. Now Epona responds if I every call her with it." Link said as he climbed into her saddle.

"Yes, Ilia told me." He answered

"Oh? What else did she tell you?" Link responded trying not to give away that he was interested.

"A bit of everything really... She's the type of person who doesn't hide much about herself." Sheik said thoughtfully.

"That's a very apt description." Link said nodding.

"Hey chatterboxes, you ready?" Auru whispered to them

"Yes." Sheik answered simply.

"Alright then let's get going before we wake up the whole household."

After quietly slipping out of the village the group made their way across the remainder of Hyrule field. They reached the ransacked village as dawn broke fully.

They were all horrified by the complete devastation. Being only slightly smaller than Ordon the village still was quite a sight. The dragon hadn't left anything in its wake; every house was in some way burnt or crushed. A few people were slowly moving about trying to clear the wreckage and bring some semblance of order back to their lives, but their faces clearly reflected the gloomy spirit that was hanging over the village. The group though still trying to process what they were seeing. As they got to the middle of the village they saw a group of talking and pointing to different areas and writing down information. As they got closer Auru called to them.

"Ho there! We're looking for the one in charge; could you tell us where we could find him?"

The group turned and one of the members stepped forward. The man looked like he was in his early thirties and had build of a hard working farmer. He stood a least a head taller than Link but had an mild aura and stature that offset what could have been an intimidating appearance.

Putting his hand up to push a few stray dark brown hairs back under his bandana he answered Auru's call.

"That would be me sir, what can I do for ya?" The man said

"We were sent by princess Zelda to help rid you of a dragon problem... We were hoping you could point us in the right direction." Auru answered in a very upbeat manner

The man scoffed slightly. "You? You don't stand a chance." He said crossing his arms over his chest

"Pardon me, but I think it's a little soon to make judgment such as that, mister...?" Auru left it hanging so as to learn this man's name.

"Hugh sir. I mean no disrespect, I'm sure you all are very capable but there's no way that your small group will be able to take on a beast as this." Hugh replied, some of the weariness creeping onto his voice.

"Hmm, well perhaps some introductions with be in order then." Auru said thoughtfully. He began by gesturing to Link. "This is Link, you may be familiar with the stories of the man who prevented the complete distinction of our beloved Hyrule, and in doing so also saved our very own princess from captivity."

Link smiled slightly embarrassed, he was never very comfortable when people bragged about his accomplishments.

Hugh expression changed to one of slight surprise, though he was still trying to hide his interest.

"Next," Auru continued. "The well-known scholar Shad. His books are well circulated among the people of Hyrule, I'm sure you've read some of them, even if you weren't aware of who wrote them."

Shad too looked nervously embarrassed but smiled and waved anyway.

"Also you may know of Miss Ashei here." Auru said turning to Ashei. "Former knight of Hyrule now an active member of the Resistance, she is recognized by many as one of the strongest warriors Hyrule has had the pleasure of knowing." Auru said proudly almost like a doting father.

Ashei simply stared at the man without saying a word. Though Hugh returned the look with one of mild interest.

"We also have the good pleasure of having this young man along with us." Auru said gesturing to Sheik. "This is Sheik, one of the few remaining Sheikah. An excellent warrior and skilled marksman along with other fine qualities."

Sheik didn't even look like he was paying attention rather he was staring off into the distance. Link tried to follow the gaze but found nothing of interest.

"And I," Auru said placing his hand to his chest. "Am Auru, retired general of the Hylians army and good friend of the late king as well as his daughter."

Link looked at him in surprise. He was learning all kinds of things about his traveling companions. Hugh stood there with his arms still crossed but his expression was one of thoughtfulness rather than condescension.

"Come with me, I would like to speak with you further." Hugh said motioning them to follow. "Leave your horses with the men; they will be well cared for." As he past the members of the group that he was formerly talking with he muttered a few instructions and they dispersed to go and work on different jobs. Link and the others dismounted and began to follow the young mayor to a tent that was set up near the end of the village. As they entered the tent they saw that there was a circle of mats set up on the ground.

"I apologize; you'll have to sit on the floor, seeing as we have no furniture to speak of." Hugh said pointing to the mats on the ground before seating himself on one of the mats at the far end of the tent. Link sat cross legged on one of the mats near the door alongside Sheik. Auru chose to sit next to the mayor with Ashei beside him and Shad across from him.

"Knowing who you are does change my view of each of you, but I still hold to point that you don't stand a chance." Hugh said quietly after each of them has gotten comfortable.

"Perhaps it would be best then for you to explain why you feel this way." Auru said practically

"Seems reasonable." Hugh agreed. "The first time that the dragon arrived, we were completely unprepared. Many of our villagers died, including my sister." Hugh looked at his fingers as he wound the loose strings of the mat into small braids. "It destroyed all our crops and set fire to most of our houses, but even then we still had something to call home... The next time the dragon came it made sure to finish what it started, many of the men tried to stop it. They are now either dead or wounded, including myself." Hugh then stood up and slid the worn black vest he wore down to show them his back. Three gruesome slashes covered his back, even though beginning to heal, the scars were still red and inflamed. Wincing as he brought the vest back into place he continued. "Our men are not warriors - we know that, but it's not the dragon that defeated us. It was the one riding it. Our men couldn't get within 10 feet of the creature without the rider vaporizing them with some sort of magic. The blasts alone made it so we couldn't even get off the ground. Then he just left the dragon to play with us as he went to get what he wanted."

"What he wanted?" Ashei repeated.

"Yes, our village along with a few others are build overtop of a temple. Inside those temples are extremely powerful relics. We don't even know what they are capable of but the destructive power would be very great if the relics are brought together."

"And let me guess, this mystery person already has most of them right?" Link put in, seeing where the story was going.

"Yup, our ancestors were told to build here so as to throw people off the scent, so people couldn't find the temple." Hugh rolled his eyes. "You can see how well that worked out. Anyway passed down through the generations was the locations of 4 others, of course it's super cryptic and easily misunderstood but it's pretty clear that there are 5 relics in total." Hugh looked at them. "They currently have 4."

Auru whistled. "Well that does complicate things, that's for sure."

"Could you show us this temple?" Sheik spoke up finally

Hugh thought for a moment then shrugged. "I don't see why not, there's nothing for you to steal anymore."

He then stood and left the tent, clearly expecting them to follow.

He led them to the east side of the village where there lay a very large crater. At the bottom Link immediately noticed there were bricks sticking out of the dirt. Upon further inspection he managed to distinguish the opening to what he assumed would be the temple they were going to. His assumption proved to be correct as Hugh began to lead them to that entrance. Ducking to fit in the small opening Hugh stepped down the narrow staircase. At the bottom of the stairs he pulled a short stick out of his pocket. Link had to squint to see that Hugh a few feet in front of him since his eyes hadn't had a chance to adjust to the darkness. A moment later a sudden flash of light appeared in front of them then spread to the rest of the room. Upon further inspection Link found that Hugh had sparked an oil canister to give them some light, the oil then ran down a long track that made its way throughout the rest of the room.

"We've been spending a lot of time down here lately; it's one of the few places out of the weather so most of the village has been sleeping here." Hugh explained then gestured to a few torn blankets that were spread out on the floor.

Link frowned slightly. "Isn't that dangerous?"

Hugh looked over his shoulder at him.

"If you're referring to the monsters that had taken up residence then sure, I guess, but they never come in this room and we cleared out most of them." He shrugged. "Besides it's not like we have a lot of options."

Hugh continued to lead them through the temple. Link made a mental note of each turn just in case, but otherwise he felt relatively comfortable. The layout and feeling was very similar to most of the other temples and dungeons he had encounter when he was with Midna. The coloring of the place reminded him most of the Arbiter's Grounds. As they entered a larger room Hugh stopped and appeared to be listening for something. Then in one swift movement he grabbed a dagger that was attached at his belt and threw it at a corner were the light didn't quite reach. A high-pitched squealing noise was heard for a millisecond then was gone. Hugh calmly, and a bit solemnly, walked over to the corner and retrieved his dagger.

"Nasty things, we still find a few of them around now and then... All the same I hate to kill them seeing as it's really us who are intruding on them." He sighed. "Still I figured you guys wouldn't enjoy spending the next week or so recovering from a poison bite."

He smiled slightly then continued on leading them across the room. As Link passed he paused to see what kind of monster Hugh had slain. He only got a quick look before the thing disappeared into black smoke, but it appeared to be in the likeness of a snake but instead of scales the thing was covered in a thick armor. The only spot that appeared to be vulnerable was a slight opening near where the body and head met. Link's respect for the man grew exponentially as he considered the difficulty of hitting such a target from that distance and in the dark. After a couple more turns the arrived in a room larger than the one they had just come from. The room only contained one thing that Link could see. At the far end there was a stone pillar that came up to about his waist. In the centre was an empty slot in the shape of a diamond.

Hugh stared at them all for a while then said. "Just out of curiosity, did you have a reason you wanted to see the relic room or was it just something to pass the time."

Ashei and Auru looked slightly offended but Link simply shook his head.

"I have an idea but you have to promise not to freak out." Link smirked slightly as he looked at him.

Hugh raised an eyebrow. "You saying that means there is a plausible reason to freak out so why should I agree to that?"

"Valid point; so if you prefer you can leave the room while I do it." Link answered in an offhand manner.

"Not a chance. I'm not leavin'." Hugh responded adamantly.

"I figured you wouldn't, but you have to give your daggers to Ashei." He said with a nod of his head towards Ashei.

Hugh looked like he wanted to refuse but Link could also tell that he was curious so he reluctantly gave up his daggers. Link smiled and reached under his tunic. Grabbing hold of his newly made chain he tugged at the glass case releasing the stone from protective prison. Link wished he could see the look on Hugh's face as he transformed but the pulses forced his body to the ground as the stone changed his body into his alternate shape. The look on his face when the transformation was complete was almost as good though and Link simply had to let his tongue roll out in a wolfish laughter. He seated himself on the ground and looked up at Hugh who had by this time started to stutter incoherently. Ashei grinned openly at his reaction before patting him on his shoulder saying.

"Now you can see why we took away your knife."

Hugh cleared his throat and shakily responded "Well, I mean it not like I'm freaking out or anything, I'm just very interested in the fact that Link can suddenly change into a wolf, how long has he been doing that exactly?"

"Hmm...I'm not sure, but it's been quite a while." Ashei said flippantly, but was mischievously eyeing Hugh. "Don't worry; you'll get use to weird stuff like this happening if you stick around with us."

Hugh rolled his eyes at her remark then turned his attention to the rest of the group.

"So turning into a wolf is cool and all, but how is this supposed to help us?"

Shad adjusted his glasses and stepped forward.

"I believe Link is planning to track the thief in some way. Is that correct Link?" Shad asked

Link bobbed his head once then sauntered over to the stone pillar and began to pace around it. The group continued to converse about the matter but Link pushed their voices out of his mind and honed his senses on the pillar. A dark blue aura covered the worn stone. With his eyes brightening Link moved to inspect the aura closer. Closing his eyes to concentrate better he breathed in through his nose, making sure to take in the scent in its entirety. Opening his eyes once again he could see that the aura continued in line leading out of the room. Allowing his mouth to form into a wolfish grin, Link trotted alongside the aura, letting it dictate his course. As he left the room the others finally took notice and ran to follow after him. The aura for the most part led them back through the same rooms as they had come from before but every once and a while it would take small detours. Link tried to make sense of the seemingly random pit stops but to little avail. All the same Shad diligently took down the different locations and anything of note about them. The trail eventually led them outside revealing to Link the direction that the mysterious person had left in. He barked once to indicate which direction, knowing it would be simpler than changing back into human form. At this Auru turned to Hugh and said.

"Well I guess this is where we part; thank you for your help. I wish your village speedy progress."

The others nodded in turn and turned to follow Link when Hugh called after them.

"What that's it? You're still going after that thing even after what I told you?" He said in disbelief

The group looked at each other.

"Yep." They answered simply

Hugh frowned slightly and appeared to be considering something.

"Alright, I guess it can't be helped. I'll be coming with you." He said folding his arms over his chest.

"Why?" They all asked bluntly

"Ouch. Just a minute while I pick up the pieces of my pride here... Because I want to help obviously." He answered in an exasperated tone.

"What about your village?" Ashei asked also folding her arms over her chest.

"They're making good progress without me. I'm sure they can handle things while I'm gone." As he said this he looked back at the shambles of his village. "Besides... If there's any way I can help in getting rid of the monster responsible for this, I want in."

Each looked at looked at each other unsure how to respond. Link then trotted over to Sheik and nudged his leg. Sheik looked down at the wolf.

"You want him along also?" He asked

Link barked once to indicate his opinion.

"Both Link and I would be happy to have Hugh accompany us." Sheik stated to the rest, leaving no room for argument.

Hugh could barely hide his relief but quickly guarded his emotions once again. "I'll go collect my things. Won't be long." He told them and started back to his village at a light jog. Mid stride he stopped and turned back to face them. "Just so you know try to leave without me and I will find you, I'm good at stuff like that." He said with a sideway smile, then continued on his way.

As he got out of ear shot Ashei said jokingly. "Aww, how did he figure out our plan?"

"Ha ha, you're happy to have him along I can tell." Auru said looking at her from the corner of his eye.

Ashei snorted. "I guess, he just better not get in the way."

"I think people know better than to get in your way Ashei." Shad pointed out.

Ashei simply nodded smiling to herself. Hugh, true to his word, returned within a few minutes with a small scorched backpack slung over his shoulder.

"So which direction?" He asked as neared.

Link was once again impressed seeing as the man didn't seem to be at all out of breath, rather he looked like he hadn't left at all.

"That's all you're bringing?" Auru asked glancing at the small pack.

"I travel light... Beside all I really need is food and water." He answered shrugging. "Oh and these of course." He reached to the back of his belt and revealed three daggers similar to the one he had used earlier

"Well if you're ready then, I guess Link wouldn't mind if you ride his horse seeing as he won't be needing it."