12-01-2015, 11:29 PM
How much time had passed was anyone's guess. Brooke just knew that when she awoke, she felt a thousand times better. Getting some sleep had done her wonders, though it was without any help from the bed she found herself lying on. That is if one could even call it a bed. Never in her life had she seen on a bed made of solid rock, and yet that was where she had managed to sleep off her exhaustion. If it weren't for having the outright shape of one, complete with a rock sculpted to resemble a pillow, she would never have figured that was what it was meant to be. She found herself unsurprised and underwhelmed by yet another delightful quirk of the Ashen Steppes.
She let out a groan as she sat up and swung her feet over the edge of her rocky sleeping arrangements, setting them on the stone floor. She loudly exhaled in exasperation as her bare feet touched the ground. There was little variety to this verse, and it was starting to wear on her. She took stock of her surroundings, observing a simple room with modest decorations. How she got here was the real mystery, as she could only recollect pushing herself far beyond her limits. A foolish move, but one she felt necessary.
Thankfully, her clothing was mostly intact. Her hat, coat, belt, and boots sat on a chair that was, predictably, made of stone. That was the extent of her undressing, and she was thankful for it. She stood up with a little difficulty, feeling the strain on her muscles as she moved. She crossed the room and began to replace her removed articles of clothing, like always setting the hat on her head last. She may not have felt great, but she was alive, and that had to count for something. For now, the important thing was figuring out just where the hell she was and who had brought her here.
Brooke approached the door that was made of one solid slab of rock, and grabbed the stone doorknob, carefully turning it. She briefly wondered how this ridiculous place functioned, but then remembered that in the Omniverse wherever there was a will there was a way. Curiosity was plastered all over her face, and she didn't bother to hide it. She pushed the door open to see a living room made of the same scarce materials as the bedroom she had woken up in, but was most surprised by the creature that sat at the table near the center of the room. It was a being made of rock, just like everything else here, and it clad it's lower body in metal. It noticed her as soon as she opened the door, and she froze in place, only her eyes moving as they looked around awkwardly.
Baldur glanced over to the doorway to see the human girl was awake and well. She looked predictably confused by the whole situation. It was blindingly obvious that she was new to the Ashen Steppes, as she was looking at him like he was some freakish monster. Then again, a golem like himself might fit that definition perfectly for someone like her. He stared at her, unsure what to say. She seemed to be having the same internal conflict.
"Hi," Brooke broke one of the longest silences of her life with the only words that could she could possibly think of. She didn't have a clue what kind of situation she was in, right now. Sure, she was alive, but she had long since learned not trust any level of apparent kindness. She was in the lair of some terrifyingly large monster, and while looks could be deceiving, they also tended to give a few clues about one's nature.
Still, though, Baldur was even more clueless on what to say. He had not rescued the woman, it had been his brother and sister-in-law, Gola and Keda, who had stumbled upon the half dead and delirious woman in their explorations of Death Mountain. It was, however, absolutely his luck that she would wake up when they were out on a date and he was sitting in their living room for no other reason than he had to be somewhere.
"You're alive," Baldur said in a plain, matter of fact voice. It was true, but maybe a little inappropriate. Why was he so terrible at speaking to women? This girl didn't even have one pebble on her body and yet he still found himself at a loss for words.
"Yep," Brooke replied in a calm voice that masked her growing internal panic. A statement like that was typically less of an observation and more of a threat. The only weapons she had on her belt were a revolver and a bullwhip, and she was starting to think that she might be seeing how they handled solid rock in the next few minutes. The two tools had served her well over the years, but looking at this creature she found herself betting against them.
"That's cool," Baldur said, and immediately began to consider taking a vow of silence for the next decade. If he could kick himself in his own face, he absolutely would have. Why in the world had he decided to hang around here tonight? Now he had to deal with this strange woman who probably thought he was the most awkward person in the whole Omniverse.
"I think so," Brooke agreed, nodding casually while her eyes scanned the room rapidly. She identified the single exit on the other side of this creature, but also noted there was no one else here except the two of them. She had to hold herself back from acting in some sort of rash and unreasonable fashion. This rock monster wasn't showing the least bit of aggression. That fact alone was all that kept her from making a break for it, but it didn't stop her from blading her stance a bit and placing her right hand on her holstered revolver.
Tension filled the room. Neither Brooke nor Baldur knew what to do, though the reasons for this were very different. Regardless of the reasoning, they were both on the edge of having to do anything at all to remove themselves from this situation, or at least find a way to fundamentally alter it. Brooke's idea on how to do so was much more extravagant than Baldur's, however, so it was fortunate for them both that the Goron made the first move.
"So, uh, I'm Baldur," the Goron stammered out, scratching the back of his head as he spoke. He wasn't quite sure what else to say, since she was just standing around and not giving him too much to work with.
"...Brooke," the human woman replied, clearly caught off guard. She now realized that she had considerably misread the situation. This was good news, however, and it actually made more sense, considering that if this thing wanted to do her harm she probably wouldn't have woken up on something that was attempting to impersonate a bed.
"You probably shouldn't wander the Ashen Steppes dehydrated," Baldur suggested, shrugging his shoulders, lightly. It seemed like obvious advice, and yet the girl clearly needed it. He didn't know what else to say.
"I was looking for something," Brooke replied, while crossing her arms and studying this creature a little closer. Just because he wasn't openly aggressive didn't stop her from trying to identify possible weaknesses, just in case. It didn't, however, take much observation to figure out it's strengths. Just the same, she began to look around the room again. "Where am I, anyway?"
Of course, he would have to explain everything to this stranger. "The Goron settlement. My brother found you up on Death Mountain," Baldur briefly explained, then paused as he thought about how to word the obvious question. "So, uh, why were you trying to kill yourself out there?"
"I'm looking for a droid," Brooke explained matter-of-factly, a bit insulted by Baldur's harsh, but admittedly fair comment on her journey. "It's on Death Mountain."
Baldur's face contorted into a confused expression. "Are you sure? We're not the Empire or anything. We don't exactly have robots, or droids, or any technology like that."
"Trust me, it's there," Brooke replied with plenty of confidence in her voice. "The Empire left it behind."
"Why did the Empire have a droid all the way out here?" Baldur skeptically asked, setting his arm up on the table as he did. This woman didn't have a clue what she was talking about. "Are you sure you don't need more sleep?"
"It's there," Brooke's voice became stern, and she sounded even more sure when she repeated herself.
Baldur, however, did not look convinced. He was becoming more comfortable with this conversation, now that the ice was broken, so he went ahead and pressed a little harder. "How do you know?"
"It's personal," Brooke gave another brisk answer.
Baldur studied Brooke's facial expressions carefully, and was surprised to see a what appeared to be tears threatening to form.
"Alright," Baldur conceded, holding his hands up just a bit as if to gesture surrender. "I'm sorry."
Brooke looked around, ignoring the soreness from her previous attempt to brave the harsh terrain of the Ashen Steppes. Her eyes focused on the door, and narrowed.
"Look, I appreciate your help, but I need to get back to searching," Brooke explained, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a faded and wrinkled map. She held up the folded piece of paper, effectively announcing her intentions to keep moving. "Unless you can tell me where this stupid lava cavern is, I really need to be going."
"I probably can," Baldur replied, standing up now. He was now beyond comfortable, as he was in his element and talking about something he understood. "But I can also tell you that you don't have a chance of surviving with all of those dragon spawn that roam the mountain."
"I made it here just fine," Brooke reminded him, sounding completely unimpressed by the Goron's words. "I can handle myself."
"Fight the dragons and explore the mountain all by yourself?" Baldur was persistent with his questioning.
"You have a better idea?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I can show you the way," Baldur said, clenching his fists and smirking. "After all, those happen to be the two things I'm best at."
"Really?" Brooke asked, with both disbelief and relief apparent in her voice. She appeared to be attempting to hold back a smile, but it crept through. Baldur found himself beaming with energy and determination at the mere sight of it.
"Really," Baldur replied, relishing the reaction she was giving. He loved to help people, and he never imagined a cry for assistance would so perfectly fit his skillset. "I'm dying for a little action with some purpose."
"I'll owe you a big one," Brooke said, allowing herself to grin as she accepted the help. It was obvious this guy knew his way around the place, and it was even more obvious that he could handle himself. She stepped forward and handed the paper to the towering rock creature.
Baldur unfolded it as gently as he could, and looked it over. Brooke watched the Goron's face twist a bit as a skeptical look emerged, but then a big smile formed.
"We can get there," Baldur said with a nod. He'd never been into the cavern, but he did indeed know how to get there.
"Great!" Brooke excitedly replied, but at the same time she looked towards the door. "We need to hurry, though, it's very important."
"Not a problem at all," Baldur said, his voice now booming with confidence as he folded the map and pocketed it in one of the small pouches on his metallic leg armor. "Just follow me."
Brooke was all too eager to follow the hulking Goron as he exited out the door. She stayed right with him, all while thanking the stars. Finally, she'd caught a lucky break in this godforsaken verse.
She let out a groan as she sat up and swung her feet over the edge of her rocky sleeping arrangements, setting them on the stone floor. She loudly exhaled in exasperation as her bare feet touched the ground. There was little variety to this verse, and it was starting to wear on her. She took stock of her surroundings, observing a simple room with modest decorations. How she got here was the real mystery, as she could only recollect pushing herself far beyond her limits. A foolish move, but one she felt necessary.
Thankfully, her clothing was mostly intact. Her hat, coat, belt, and boots sat on a chair that was, predictably, made of stone. That was the extent of her undressing, and she was thankful for it. She stood up with a little difficulty, feeling the strain on her muscles as she moved. She crossed the room and began to replace her removed articles of clothing, like always setting the hat on her head last. She may not have felt great, but she was alive, and that had to count for something. For now, the important thing was figuring out just where the hell she was and who had brought her here.
Brooke approached the door that was made of one solid slab of rock, and grabbed the stone doorknob, carefully turning it. She briefly wondered how this ridiculous place functioned, but then remembered that in the Omniverse wherever there was a will there was a way. Curiosity was plastered all over her face, and she didn't bother to hide it. She pushed the door open to see a living room made of the same scarce materials as the bedroom she had woken up in, but was most surprised by the creature that sat at the table near the center of the room. It was a being made of rock, just like everything else here, and it clad it's lower body in metal. It noticed her as soon as she opened the door, and she froze in place, only her eyes moving as they looked around awkwardly.
Baldur glanced over to the doorway to see the human girl was awake and well. She looked predictably confused by the whole situation. It was blindingly obvious that she was new to the Ashen Steppes, as she was looking at him like he was some freakish monster. Then again, a golem like himself might fit that definition perfectly for someone like her. He stared at her, unsure what to say. She seemed to be having the same internal conflict.
"Hi," Brooke broke one of the longest silences of her life with the only words that could she could possibly think of. She didn't have a clue what kind of situation she was in, right now. Sure, she was alive, but she had long since learned not trust any level of apparent kindness. She was in the lair of some terrifyingly large monster, and while looks could be deceiving, they also tended to give a few clues about one's nature.
Still, though, Baldur was even more clueless on what to say. He had not rescued the woman, it had been his brother and sister-in-law, Gola and Keda, who had stumbled upon the half dead and delirious woman in their explorations of Death Mountain. It was, however, absolutely his luck that she would wake up when they were out on a date and he was sitting in their living room for no other reason than he had to be somewhere.
"You're alive," Baldur said in a plain, matter of fact voice. It was true, but maybe a little inappropriate. Why was he so terrible at speaking to women? This girl didn't even have one pebble on her body and yet he still found himself at a loss for words.
"Yep," Brooke replied in a calm voice that masked her growing internal panic. A statement like that was typically less of an observation and more of a threat. The only weapons she had on her belt were a revolver and a bullwhip, and she was starting to think that she might be seeing how they handled solid rock in the next few minutes. The two tools had served her well over the years, but looking at this creature she found herself betting against them.
"That's cool," Baldur said, and immediately began to consider taking a vow of silence for the next decade. If he could kick himself in his own face, he absolutely would have. Why in the world had he decided to hang around here tonight? Now he had to deal with this strange woman who probably thought he was the most awkward person in the whole Omniverse.
"I think so," Brooke agreed, nodding casually while her eyes scanned the room rapidly. She identified the single exit on the other side of this creature, but also noted there was no one else here except the two of them. She had to hold herself back from acting in some sort of rash and unreasonable fashion. This rock monster wasn't showing the least bit of aggression. That fact alone was all that kept her from making a break for it, but it didn't stop her from blading her stance a bit and placing her right hand on her holstered revolver.
Tension filled the room. Neither Brooke nor Baldur knew what to do, though the reasons for this were very different. Regardless of the reasoning, they were both on the edge of having to do anything at all to remove themselves from this situation, or at least find a way to fundamentally alter it. Brooke's idea on how to do so was much more extravagant than Baldur's, however, so it was fortunate for them both that the Goron made the first move.
"So, uh, I'm Baldur," the Goron stammered out, scratching the back of his head as he spoke. He wasn't quite sure what else to say, since she was just standing around and not giving him too much to work with.
"...Brooke," the human woman replied, clearly caught off guard. She now realized that she had considerably misread the situation. This was good news, however, and it actually made more sense, considering that if this thing wanted to do her harm she probably wouldn't have woken up on something that was attempting to impersonate a bed.
"You probably shouldn't wander the Ashen Steppes dehydrated," Baldur suggested, shrugging his shoulders, lightly. It seemed like obvious advice, and yet the girl clearly needed it. He didn't know what else to say.
"I was looking for something," Brooke replied, while crossing her arms and studying this creature a little closer. Just because he wasn't openly aggressive didn't stop her from trying to identify possible weaknesses, just in case. It didn't, however, take much observation to figure out it's strengths. Just the same, she began to look around the room again. "Where am I, anyway?"
Of course, he would have to explain everything to this stranger. "The Goron settlement. My brother found you up on Death Mountain," Baldur briefly explained, then paused as he thought about how to word the obvious question. "So, uh, why were you trying to kill yourself out there?"
"I'm looking for a droid," Brooke explained matter-of-factly, a bit insulted by Baldur's harsh, but admittedly fair comment on her journey. "It's on Death Mountain."
Baldur's face contorted into a confused expression. "Are you sure? We're not the Empire or anything. We don't exactly have robots, or droids, or any technology like that."
"Trust me, it's there," Brooke replied with plenty of confidence in her voice. "The Empire left it behind."
"Why did the Empire have a droid all the way out here?" Baldur skeptically asked, setting his arm up on the table as he did. This woman didn't have a clue what she was talking about. "Are you sure you don't need more sleep?"
"It's there," Brooke's voice became stern, and she sounded even more sure when she repeated herself.
Baldur, however, did not look convinced. He was becoming more comfortable with this conversation, now that the ice was broken, so he went ahead and pressed a little harder. "How do you know?"
"It's personal," Brooke gave another brisk answer.
Baldur studied Brooke's facial expressions carefully, and was surprised to see a what appeared to be tears threatening to form.
"Alright," Baldur conceded, holding his hands up just a bit as if to gesture surrender. "I'm sorry."
Brooke looked around, ignoring the soreness from her previous attempt to brave the harsh terrain of the Ashen Steppes. Her eyes focused on the door, and narrowed.
"Look, I appreciate your help, but I need to get back to searching," Brooke explained, reaching into her coat pocket and pulling out a faded and wrinkled map. She held up the folded piece of paper, effectively announcing her intentions to keep moving. "Unless you can tell me where this stupid lava cavern is, I really need to be going."
"I probably can," Baldur replied, standing up now. He was now beyond comfortable, as he was in his element and talking about something he understood. "But I can also tell you that you don't have a chance of surviving with all of those dragon spawn that roam the mountain."
"I made it here just fine," Brooke reminded him, sounding completely unimpressed by the Goron's words. "I can handle myself."
"Fight the dragons and explore the mountain all by yourself?" Baldur was persistent with his questioning.
"You have a better idea?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I can show you the way," Baldur said, clenching his fists and smirking. "After all, those happen to be the two things I'm best at."
"Really?" Brooke asked, with both disbelief and relief apparent in her voice. She appeared to be attempting to hold back a smile, but it crept through. Baldur found himself beaming with energy and determination at the mere sight of it.
"Really," Baldur replied, relishing the reaction she was giving. He loved to help people, and he never imagined a cry for assistance would so perfectly fit his skillset. "I'm dying for a little action with some purpose."
"I'll owe you a big one," Brooke said, allowing herself to grin as she accepted the help. It was obvious this guy knew his way around the place, and it was even more obvious that he could handle himself. She stepped forward and handed the paper to the towering rock creature.
Baldur unfolded it as gently as he could, and looked it over. Brooke watched the Goron's face twist a bit as a skeptical look emerged, but then a big smile formed.
"We can get there," Baldur said with a nod. He'd never been into the cavern, but he did indeed know how to get there.
"Great!" Brooke excitedly replied, but at the same time she looked towards the door. "We need to hurry, though, it's very important."
"Not a problem at all," Baldur said, his voice now booming with confidence as he folded the map and pocketed it in one of the small pouches on his metallic leg armor. "Just follow me."
Brooke was all too eager to follow the hulking Goron as he exited out the door. She stayed right with him, all while thanking the stars. Finally, she'd caught a lucky break in this godforsaken verse.