Act 1 Scene 4 "Hero of Time"

 Link started to breathe and gain an awareness of his current location. The man with the deformed leg was still there but his face looked less fearful and more concerned.
"I don't think you are with Ganon at all; you have a bad reaction to the name. Are you alright son?"
Link opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He continued to stare at the man for another minute before tell him that he'd be alright. Link struggled to get up before the man gave Link his hand to help him. Link smiled softly at him, his lips cracking by the movement. The man stood by Link, dwarfed by the size of Link no longer afraid told him to follow him where they can talk if Link wanted to. Link sheathed his sword and holstered his shield on his back. Link stared at the man before starting to follow him. It took ten minutes before the two arrived at a small building with one side collapsed forming a small overhang. The old man crawled underneath the overhang into the darkness. Link followed suite and crawled underneath the rubble of the building. In the cramped confines of the tunnel, Link managed to make out the figure of the man dragging himself along. The tunnel wasn't made for Link's frame, which encompassed much of the tunnel forcing him to suck in his gut. This didn't save him from the scrapes and cuts from roots and old debris in the tunnel. Link emerged from the tunnel bleeding from his hands, knees and faces covered in dirt.
The man sat on a small ratty brown mat around a small fire. The smoke escaped from a small opening in the short hut's ceiling. The man motioned for Link to join him around the fire, which he did. He set his pack on the ground yet keep the shield and sword close. The interior was small and dirty with small clay pots strewn around the the dirt floor. The walls consisted of roughly hewed rock burned from whatever catastrophe had befallen the port town. The in the corner was a dripping noise, Link surmised it was the man's source of water for his house.
"Sorry to have surprised you son. It seems like you really lost yourself when I said that name. You have the look of a foreigner. I think if you were from Hyrule you would know better than to be out by yourself even if you are armed.You must have been in Hyrule before 10 years ago. Weren't you?"
Link just nodded his head taking in the rest of the room. There were some pots on a shelf nearby and some  crates. Behind the crates, straw was laid down for the man's bed. Link looked at the worn master sword; taking the scabbard off his back, he stretched out a bit. The old man continued talking.
"I think 10 years ago when Ganon was defeated, some young boy did it. And I think the Princess Zelda was there too. He left shortly after that. Kinda wish he stuck around. Ganon came back only a couple years ago. His wraith was pretty terrible. He has people searching far and wide for the boy. I think the boy's name was Link."
Link's mind flashed back to the final battle. 10 years ago in the ruins of Ganon's castle. Link thought Ganon was already dead after the first fight. The heat from the wall of fire caused Link's clothes to stick to his skin; the difficulty breathing he had from the heat and dust.After what seemed like hours, Zelda channeled the power of the Sages allowing Link to kill Ganondorf. Well, he had thought that. Apparently, Ganon, the King of Gerudos had come back while he was away in other countries fighting evil there. Link had assumed that Ganon was dead. He would haven't left Hyrule if he knew that was the case. He imaged himself possibly having a family.
Link's mind slowly came back to the present. The old man remained there across the fire smiling a toothless grin. The old man stood up quietly and went to the back of his home and opened a pot. Pulling out a pale crusty piece of bread, he walked back to Link. He softly set the bread in Link's lap and walked back to his ragged mat across the fire. Link quietly stared at the bread before picking it up and taking a bit, his teeth scrapping against the crust knocking crumbs onto his tunic. The bread tasted sour and made Link gag slightly when he swallowed it. After eating the rest of the sour bread, Link looked across the small fire flitting around the wood.
"My name is Link. I used to live in the Kokiri Village a long time ago about 17 years ago."
 The man sat undisturbed by Link's comment. The old man's lips curled up.
"Nice to meet you Link. I thought the Kokiri people stayed young. Or they did when they were still alive. Slaughtered by Ganon when he was resurrected. Tell me Link, where have you been?"
Link stood up and dusted off his ripped, stained tunic. He took a deep breathe exhaling slowly before commenting,   "I've been travelling around the world. I fought cartels, bandit leaders, and all other types of people.After leaving Hyrule 10 years ago I swore I would always fight injustice where ever I could find it. Or so I thought."
The old man didn't seemed phased by Link's comment. "I see. Well you certainly look the part of a warrior. You've been gone for a long time. Let me let you in on what's occurred over the past couple of years."

The old man's face took a grave look as he began the long winding tale of Link's past adventures as a boy and older when he defeated Ganon. Link smile to himself at certain points knowing of the old man's version were incorrect. The boy in the story didn't disappear for seven years to study martial arts in the desert with a hermit. Nor did his horse, Epona, have the magic ability to fly. After the events that he participated in, Link leaned forward and sought to understand every word coming out of the old man's toothless mouth.
"The boy disappeared shortly after Ganon laid dead on the ground. The only other person who knew what exactly happened to him was Princess Zelda. She hasn't told a soul however. Some said he went back to the desert to continue to train but never made it. Regardless of his fate, the story continues. The kingdom began to  rebuild and the people returned. Castle Town was cleared of all the zombies things, redeads I think they were called by people. It was really close to being back to normal, although it would never be the same as a giant hole was there rather than the beautiful castle. I miss the castle."
The man paused a second and closed his eyes tight. Link could see the man's eyes water up as tears began to travel down his dirty cheek. The man steadied himself and took a deep breath, resuming the story with his voice shaky.
"2 years ago, I heard rumors that Ganon had returned. Hyrule was on the verge of being back to normal. I, people, no one took the rumors seriously. We figured the boy who saved us last time would be there to save us again. We were wrong. Ganon's revenge was brutal. He annihilated populations without remorse.My family was in Castle Town where he first appeared. Now, it, is..."
The old man sobs froze Link. He was clueless what to do and how to help this old man. Years of fighting had detached Link emotionally; he didn't know what to do. He stared at the old man sobbing profusely.Remember seeing something on a travel five years ago where a father comforted a boy, Link stood up without a noise, pulled out a small clothe piece from a pouch. He squatted next to the man while putting his hand on the man's shoulder handed the piece to him to wipe his tears.
"Thank. You." was said between deep breaths.
Link crossed back to his spot. The man wiped his eyes and blew his nose. After a minute of breathing he resume the tale.
"Ganon next attacked the Gorons and the Zoras. Few have survived, many people have been forced into work camps to make monuments to him. I was in a camp for six months before I managed to escape. This port town has hidden me since. In the last year and a half I have seen three people and hundreds of Ganon's minions. Yet all of them came from inland. Which brings me to you. You are the only person in all the time I've been here to get off a boat. Why did you come here?"
The man's face looked grave. Link knew he needed to answer the man who had been kind to him. Yet he knew he didn't want to give away who he was or more accurately, who he had been. Link opened his mouth to speak but paused before a word was formed in his mouth. He paused a bit. Staring at the fire, he spoke.
"I came home to rest after leaving ten years ago. I had fought long and hard here and wanted to help others in distance lands. I did so but at a price."
The man nodded quietly. The man wobbled to his feet and approached Link.
"I will give you some food and water. But son, its best you not stay here. I fear you are needed somewhere besides the ruins here. Somewhere you might do some good."
With that the man, gathered some small scraps of food and a waterskin for Link and sent him back through the hole to the outside where it had grown dark.