04-02-2016, 04:46 PM
Night had fallen over the Ashen Steppes. Not that anyone could tell at a glance, in a land with a sky perpetually blackened by the haze of ash, but the civilizations of the land certainly knew. Work had stopped, and the night life had begun.
An outsider would have guessed that the Koopa Kingdom, and specifically Bowser’s stronghold, would be a place of rigid intensity at night. Indeed, there were troops of the various races that comprised of Bowser’s forces doing drills or going to bed early. Others, however, were off work.
A large, two story club was in the recreation area of Bowser’s fortress, and like other amenities in the king’s realm, it spared little expense. A bar was situated on each level, though the second story was only half as big, stopping to make a large balcony that overlooked the dance floor on the second level.
Zack Fair sat alone at a small table at the edge of the balcony. He was content as could be, drinking a unique liquor drink he’d never enjoyed before. As he did, he watched the Koopas down below dance to some ridiculous song that blared through the speakers, though he had to admit it was pretty catchy. After an exhausting journey and ordeal across the Ashen Steppes, he was beyond content to sit and enjoy the night. Most people liked to retreat and stay out of the public eye after a grand adventure, but Zack was happy to be in the midst of everything, even if it was quietly off to the side.
While he was gazing down at the various dance styles from the various member races of the Koopa Kingdom, he was suddenly jarred from his thoughts by a loud grunt, as well as the table and chairs around him shaking violently. He snapped his eyes across the table to see that a massive stone being was now seated across from him. It was a perfectly square creature with spikes on all sides and a face in the center that appeared to have a resting position of “extremely serious.” Zack had been working on his Koopa identification, so he recognized it as a Thwomp right away.
“Man, you scared me,” Zack was never too proud to admit when someone got him, and this dude’s arrival had certainly been unexpected.
“Zack Fair. My name is Lieutenant Stone,” the Thwomp abruptly and tersely greeted him, his tone matching his facial expression. Though it certainly didn’t match the jovial atmosphere of the club.
Zack stared skeptically for a moment as he processed the name given to him by this solid rock creature. Finally, his tone was borderline accusatory when he spoke. “No, it’s not.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Stone was surprised by this foreigner’s reaction.
“Your name is really 'Stone?' Is that a common name amongst you…” Zack paused, and then immediately grimaced. He even put his right index finger in his ear awkwardly for a moment as he tried to think of a way to salvage this possibly racially charged statement. There was none, so he simply let himself finish the sentence, though with much less fervor. “…people?”
Stone returned a hard glare and let a brief silence fall between them. “What do you mean, ‘you people?’’
Zack bit his lip, then shrugged. He was already in it, so he might as well get his other thought out. “By the way, that was amazing that you didn’t destroy that chair. What is this furniture made of?”
“I’m here to speak with you regarding your services to the Koopa Empire,” Lieutenant Stone sharply steered the conversation back in its intended direction.
“I just did a favor, that’s all. I mean, come on, who doesn’t like fighting bandits and dragons?” Zack replied, taking a sip of his drink.
“Hah,” Stone didn’t so much as laugh, but speak his emotion in a plain tone. Zack raised an eyebrow at that, but the lieutenant continued on. “I would like to make your friendship with the Koopa Kingdom a little more official. The truth is that we could use more friends here in the harsh terrain that is the Ashen Steppes.”
“Official, how?” Zack asked as he leaned back in his seat, curiously. "I'm not really looking to join another army, at this point. Had a bad experience last time."
“We have a program for honorary admittance into the Koopa Troop’s ranks,” Stone explained, ignoring Zack's concern and hesitation. “There’s a few challenges and hurdles to cross, but I have confidence you would be well suited for them.”
“I mean, like we were talking about, I did just fight a whole bunch of bandits for you guys. Lost my whole team doing it,” Zack replied. “Doesn’t that get me a little bit of street cred around here?”
“It certainly does, but there are still procedures we must follow,” Stone responded. "Anyone interested must go through the proper steps."
Zack nodded and leaned back, slightly off put by the Thwomp’s lack of body language. Still, he understood. There were policies like this in every organization or government, no matter how large or small.
“Bureaucracy. Figures. So, what do I have to do?” Zack asked, taking another sip of his drink. “Fight more bad guys? Wear a turtle shell while I do it?”
“Just show up at the meeting room in the west wing of the castle in the morning,” Stone cut him off again, failing to find the humor in Zack's joke. “We’ll explain the rest to you then, if you’re interested.”
Zack raised his glass and nodded, then tilted his head as the Thwomp slowly levitated upwards. It then slammed down as it moved toward the exit, letting out a furious grunt on contact with the ground. It continued to repeat this method of transit as it departed.
Amused by the odd way of moving, Zack watched and laughed to himself. He then shook his head and went back to his people watching, perfectly entertained by the various dance styles of the different Koopa species.
He wasn’t totally sold on the idea of informally joining the ranks of this group, but they had been more or less good to him. That was enough for him to jump through a few hoops to at least stabilize the friendship. There was no telling what would be waiting for him in the morning, so he decided he’d better get some sleep. Zack stood up and downed the last of his drink, then dropped the glass on his table. He then shook his head and departed towards the guest barracks, hopeful to get a little bit of sleep.
An outsider would have guessed that the Koopa Kingdom, and specifically Bowser’s stronghold, would be a place of rigid intensity at night. Indeed, there were troops of the various races that comprised of Bowser’s forces doing drills or going to bed early. Others, however, were off work.
A large, two story club was in the recreation area of Bowser’s fortress, and like other amenities in the king’s realm, it spared little expense. A bar was situated on each level, though the second story was only half as big, stopping to make a large balcony that overlooked the dance floor on the second level.
Zack Fair sat alone at a small table at the edge of the balcony. He was content as could be, drinking a unique liquor drink he’d never enjoyed before. As he did, he watched the Koopas down below dance to some ridiculous song that blared through the speakers, though he had to admit it was pretty catchy. After an exhausting journey and ordeal across the Ashen Steppes, he was beyond content to sit and enjoy the night. Most people liked to retreat and stay out of the public eye after a grand adventure, but Zack was happy to be in the midst of everything, even if it was quietly off to the side.
While he was gazing down at the various dance styles from the various member races of the Koopa Kingdom, he was suddenly jarred from his thoughts by a loud grunt, as well as the table and chairs around him shaking violently. He snapped his eyes across the table to see that a massive stone being was now seated across from him. It was a perfectly square creature with spikes on all sides and a face in the center that appeared to have a resting position of “extremely serious.” Zack had been working on his Koopa identification, so he recognized it as a Thwomp right away.
“Man, you scared me,” Zack was never too proud to admit when someone got him, and this dude’s arrival had certainly been unexpected.
“Zack Fair. My name is Lieutenant Stone,” the Thwomp abruptly and tersely greeted him, his tone matching his facial expression. Though it certainly didn’t match the jovial atmosphere of the club.
Zack stared skeptically for a moment as he processed the name given to him by this solid rock creature. Finally, his tone was borderline accusatory when he spoke. “No, it’s not.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Stone was surprised by this foreigner’s reaction.
“Your name is really 'Stone?' Is that a common name amongst you…” Zack paused, and then immediately grimaced. He even put his right index finger in his ear awkwardly for a moment as he tried to think of a way to salvage this possibly racially charged statement. There was none, so he simply let himself finish the sentence, though with much less fervor. “…people?”
Stone returned a hard glare and let a brief silence fall between them. “What do you mean, ‘you people?’’
Zack bit his lip, then shrugged. He was already in it, so he might as well get his other thought out. “By the way, that was amazing that you didn’t destroy that chair. What is this furniture made of?”
“I’m here to speak with you regarding your services to the Koopa Empire,” Lieutenant Stone sharply steered the conversation back in its intended direction.
“I just did a favor, that’s all. I mean, come on, who doesn’t like fighting bandits and dragons?” Zack replied, taking a sip of his drink.
“Hah,” Stone didn’t so much as laugh, but speak his emotion in a plain tone. Zack raised an eyebrow at that, but the lieutenant continued on. “I would like to make your friendship with the Koopa Kingdom a little more official. The truth is that we could use more friends here in the harsh terrain that is the Ashen Steppes.”
“Official, how?” Zack asked as he leaned back in his seat, curiously. "I'm not really looking to join another army, at this point. Had a bad experience last time."
“We have a program for honorary admittance into the Koopa Troop’s ranks,” Stone explained, ignoring Zack's concern and hesitation. “There’s a few challenges and hurdles to cross, but I have confidence you would be well suited for them.”
“I mean, like we were talking about, I did just fight a whole bunch of bandits for you guys. Lost my whole team doing it,” Zack replied. “Doesn’t that get me a little bit of street cred around here?”
“It certainly does, but there are still procedures we must follow,” Stone responded. "Anyone interested must go through the proper steps."
Zack nodded and leaned back, slightly off put by the Thwomp’s lack of body language. Still, he understood. There were policies like this in every organization or government, no matter how large or small.
“Bureaucracy. Figures. So, what do I have to do?” Zack asked, taking another sip of his drink. “Fight more bad guys? Wear a turtle shell while I do it?”
“Just show up at the meeting room in the west wing of the castle in the morning,” Stone cut him off again, failing to find the humor in Zack's joke. “We’ll explain the rest to you then, if you’re interested.”
Zack raised his glass and nodded, then tilted his head as the Thwomp slowly levitated upwards. It then slammed down as it moved toward the exit, letting out a furious grunt on contact with the ground. It continued to repeat this method of transit as it departed.
Amused by the odd way of moving, Zack watched and laughed to himself. He then shook his head and went back to his people watching, perfectly entertained by the various dance styles of the different Koopa species.
He wasn’t totally sold on the idea of informally joining the ranks of this group, but they had been more or less good to him. That was enough for him to jump through a few hoops to at least stabilize the friendship. There was no telling what would be waiting for him in the morning, so he decided he’d better get some sleep. Zack stood up and downed the last of his drink, then dropped the glass on his table. He then shook his head and departed towards the guest barracks, hopeful to get a little bit of sleep.