Chapter 1 -

The damp, heavy air carried a stench, a narrow tunnel with an even narrower walkway, in the center of it ran the sewage, a small lantern with blue light marked the meeting point. Two hooded figures were among the shadows, one wearing a worn traveling cloak to another figure wearing a cloak of finely crafted linen.

The figure with a tattered cloak stepped forward while the other retreated.

"I can imagine how difficult it must be to find hyliam a young man traveling on foot through the fields of Hyrule?"

The figure with tattered cloak made an exaggerated gesture.

"Ah! Pardon me! You managed to find it just did not capture him."

The figure on the cover richly adorned puffed out his chest.

"It was the fault of those stupid bulblins! I did everything right, but I have limits! It's the best I could do ..."

With a sudden wave of his hand, the first figure silent second.

"I do not want your excuses. We had a deal."

The ragged figure walked slowly to the well adorned and his fingers played down his chest.

"And we did not fail to meet the combined, or did we? Did we not give you all the power you ask? The magic? The ancient and ancestral knowledge?"

The finger then seemed to stare into the middle ribs and the figure well adorned stalled paralyzed, as if an iron went through his chest. He opened his mouth in a silent scream, unable to express the pain he felt. The ragged figure smiled satisfied and dropped him on the floor.

"I think if you cannot fulfill what we agreed it is time to take back what was given to you."

The figure on the ground struggled for breath and raised his hands in supplication.

"No! No! Wait! I will find out! I will retrieve the relic you seek!"

The first figure crouched beside him and stroked his face.

"Well, since you do seen so keen to try, I think the least we could do for you is to give you a chance. However, let me warn you. We are very disappointed and you did not give us choice besides sending others to solve the problem."

The figure on the ground blanched.

"Who you sent?"

The first figure stood shaking its head.

"You gave us no choice, need results. Just pray for your beloved goddesses. So you have more success than our messenger."

The wanderer looked around the castle town of Hyrule was huge, the buildings, houses and shops most with two or more floors. A group of children ran past him laughing and joking, he smiled as he let them pass; two merchants were arguing heatedly about two carts that had crashed. The city guards tried to establish order. The young hyliam just smiled nodding, if people could be bothered to get annoyed with something as simple, then life would be very good in the castle town.

He found himself in the central square, it was circular and many shops and booths were assembled there, people went from one side to the other chasing deals and offers.

He passed in front of a bakery, the smell of fresh bread, meat pie poked his stomach, and his mouth watered as he watched the exposed food in the window. He looked to the side and smiled at a couple of women who were watching him with suspicious eyes, sticking their noses at his smile quickening their pace as if they had seen someone dying.

The wanderer stepped back, his eyes watching the two in doubt. When the sunlight hit his body, his reflection appeared in the window and he saw that the state was indeed filthy, his clothes were still bloodstained of his last fight, dust and dirt of the road on his baggy pants, had mud up to his knees, his blue eyes were almost hidden by his wild hair.

He grabbed one of his bangs and analyzed their size with curiosity, maybe it is time to take care of his image, and his promise had a nature much more diplomatic than combative. Be worth requirement was introduced for what he was about to do or at least he felt he owed a certain decorum for that.

He had a hidden compartment in a pocket of his shield; he reached out and counted his rupees.

Then felt a poke on his left shoulder, he looked left and felt his hand empty when he looked at his hand at the counted rupees they had disappeared. His eyes quickly focused to the right, he saw a man running through the crowd, his eyes squeezed, he could not believe he had escaped situations of life and death his whole life and has fallen for the oldest trick in the world.

The robber ran to an entering alley, the wanderer chased him as he ran between curves, narrow lanes and poorly lit streets, his assailant always a step ahead, but the wanderer ever closer, the man looked over his shoulder and gave a loud shriek seeing the wanderer approaching him.

A subtle curve caused them to come into a street well lit; the assailant paused for a moment trying to accustom his eyes to the sudden light. Link lunged at him with a headlock on the floor while pinning the assailant, he shouted the wanderer ignored while searching for the stolen rupees when he found he held them in the air in surprise, all his rupees were still there.

When he felt a blow to the head and spread a blinding pain in his mind and he fell to the ground. His vision swirled and images become blurred, it was hard to tell where was above and below. When the focus returned to his mind he realized the he was handcuffed, two big guards held him, as he seemed unable to stand on two legs.

When he could focus, he saw a woman who wore a suit of armor that accentuated her forms, hung from her waist a sword, in her hands large gauntlets. She handed the pouch of the wanderer to the assailant, who smiled broadly, while thanking the young woman.

"Oh captain Ashley! A thousand thanks to his person, if not for you who knows what could have happened to me!"

Ashely nodded, her brown eyes and thin black eyebrows seemed frozen in an eternal state of severity, her black hair stuck in a peculiar ornament.

"No need to thank me Sakoni, it is my duty as captain of the guard."

Sakoni grabbed the pouch and a new sheen of ambition flashed in his eyes. He then returned to his index finger to the wanderer and smiled even more, making his face distort.

"And he also, captain, stole my package. Is on his back."

Ashley looked at the wanderer and waved her guards; they took the bundle from his back and delivered the Sakoni.

The wanderer blue eyes widened when he realized what was happening, wanted to shout, gesturing, say anything thing, but his mind was not focused enough for that. The only thing he could think was that he was not going to keep his promise if he lost the package.

Ashley then turned her stern eyes to Sakoni.

"Now that we have everything under control we need to go to the guardhouse."

Sakoni gulped and his smile almost broke.

"What?"

Ashley nodded.

"I need you to testify to the annals ..."

Ashley's voice stopped when a shudder ran through her spine. She turned to face the wanderer, his blue eyes seemed to glow fiercely, his wild blonde hair almost creepy and his voice was a growl. The two men who were trying to pin him down by throwing the whole weight of their bodies back as the drifter took a step at a time toward the burglar and its wrapping. The Wanderer risked too much, lost too much and had only made two promises in his whole life. At least one he would see trough, one way or another.

The robber shrieked, while the drifter moved with ease unnatural against the two guards who were trying to restrict his movements. Ashley huffed and aimed a punch in the middle of his chin with her thick gauntlets a snap sound were heard and the wanderer's body went limp as a rag doll and the two soldiers fell back. Ashley spent some time analyzing the young man who was now on the ground, she then turned to the robber and he was gone.