Step One

[Albert Wesker]

Though it would be hard to call it daybreak, given the lack of any clearly visible sun to spot rising over the horizon, morning slowly dawned upon the Ashen Steppes. Or at least, so he was told, when his informant within the small Goron settlement greeted him and roused him from slumber after what seemed only a few hours. The timepiece on his wrist said otherwise, that it had been nearly seven hours. Still, it was sufficient for his needs, for now.

He rose, and set about preparing for the impending march to who could say where. HUNK was roused from his sleep, and as he fought away the sleep from his mind, the security officer was filled in on the events of the previous day, as he had lain asleep. The information about the Gorons, their current business among them. And, when their host had excused himself to go tend to final packing and preparations, their cover story during the nomadic trip.

"This may be more mess and trouble than it's worth," the disgruntled soldier noted, as he busied himself scarfing a hasty meal. Food was welcome, after a day like the previous one. "No telling if we'll actually get anything useful out of this. And altruism isn't really either of our styles."

"I'm well aware of that fact." The executive merely took a moment to polish and clean his sunglasses, holding them up to examine them for any lingering dust or grime before sliding them back into place over his eyes. "But there is a purpose to everything I do, I assure you. Even such a task as this." During the night, before sleep had fully claimed him, he had devoted as much time as his tired mind would allow to designing a thorough course of action for what purpose this all would serve. The little tidbits of information he had earned from his conversation had been enough to plant seeds that he would be sure to tend to later, and see where their growth led him. That this was but one verse of eight readily accessible was one; he would of course need to devote substantial time to exploring each one, to find a suitable location for a more permanent base of operations.

But the final result he had come to in this verse was to use these creatures for his own ends. Perhaps not directly...but as a source of information. Contacts in this inhospitable land, should he ever need to return here. He would work with them, and make himself trusted and useful in their eyes. Just a hapless, underprepared traveler, gratefully repaying the freely offered shelter and information with such skills as he had. Given the general attitude he had seen from who he presumed to be guards at the gate, it would not be easy to earn the trust of the entirety of this people. Some were amiable and civil enough, even if not overly fond of outsiders. But most seemed closed off and distrustful, at best, and all but openly hostile at worst.

"The plans of the gods are not for us mere mortals to comprehend," HUNK muttered. "Or something like that. I'll leave the scheming and plotting to you. Just point me at any problems you have along the way." He had taken to carefully checking over the newly summoned weapons and equipment his superior had prepared for him. More advanced and modern body armor, and a full complement of his preferred knives was among them, not to mention the inclusion of his customized pistol and a bevy of grenades and spare ammunition magazines to fill the empty pouches and equipment slots at his belt. The riot shield was also a nice touch. Extra protection, and collapsible for when carrying it around at full-size would just be a hassle. "Looks like we're going loaded for bear. Why all the heavy arms?"

"We cannot know what to expect." Wesker's answer was short, almost dismissive. As if it should have been obvious. "And given what I have learned of this place...it seemed only prudent to ensure the appearance of proper effort and preparedness."

"Right..." HUNK offered no protest to that, just taking care of properly loading and storing away his new equipment. "Guess it's gonna be busy days ahead, then."

"Mmm. You can say that again." One of the Gorons chose that moment to approach, overhearing the tail end of their conversation. "At full pace march, it'll be a long trip. Many long miles, even as a dragon might fly." He stroked at a growth of graphite-like beard. "With the terrain being as unsteady as it is...could be exactly that distance on foot, or could be five times that." He held up a hand to forestall the disgruntled responses he predicted coming. "It's not an easy journey. We won't fault you if you don't want to make the trek with us, especially along this route. It takes a dip through the caves, right through the territory of a fire drake."

"A fire drake..." Wesker repeated quietly. "Might I request some information about such a beast? I must confess I've never had the chance to be exposed to any such creature before."

"Hrmm...yeah. We'll get you up to speed. You'll need to know how to treat any wounds we get from the blasted thing." His deep-set eyes rolled around to focus on HUNK. "And you'll need to know how to fight it. They're tough things, hard to actually injure straight-on."

Without his signature gas mask on, the faint smirk that spread over the security officer's face was plain as day to see. "Wonderful. I do love learning new things. Especially how to kill new things."