07-15-2016, 08:38 PM
Julius crouched down and grabbed a handful of the coal from the ground. He held it up to his face and eyed a few of the chunks for a few moments before dropping them back into the pile. After nodding to no one in particular, he stood up and extended a soot-stained hand to the cyborg. “That’s the genuine stuff.”
Seventeen reached out and suppressed the cringe when the oversized astronomer crushed his palm in another ‘handshake’. With that formality out of the way, the cybernetic warrior glanced around at the fortified campsite. On his last visit, he had been standing outside, but he was now inside the realm of the astronomers. The mostly purple and gold tents were filled with surprisingly expensive-looking furniture. Lots of rich wood, polished stone, and more than a few things that were studded or otherwise adorned with fancy-looking jewels. The only mystery was the largest of the tents, which was roped off and made of fabric that was too opaque to easily see through.
“So what now?” Seventeen inquired after the quick scan of the enclosed camp.
Mr. Peppers thought for a brief moment before waving off the others who had gathered at the center of the camp. Once they were off to resume whatever duties they were responsible for, the oversized researcher collected the backpack of coal and started off toward the main tent. “Follow me.”
The machine-hybrid waited for a few moments before moving to catch up to the leader of the camp. Julius’ deftly undid the heavy-looking rope that held the flap closed before slipping inside the tent. Seventeen followed a moment later.
Air conditioning?!
As the entrance flap resealed itself, the cyborg turned his attention to the fact that the large room felt like an icebox. Even though he was cybernetic, Seventeen was still a scrawny-limbed young adult, and he quickly found himself clutching his arms close to his chest as he stared at the impossibly broad back of the man a few steps in front of him.
“It’s jarring, ain’t it?” Julius remarked as he turned around and smiled broadly at the cyborg. “I found that after a while, people get used to the high temperatures of the verse, and even though there’s barely a visible sun up there, it’s like we’re in a desert. I don’t care if you’re a person, a dog-monster, or what, but if you’re organic, the heat’s going to do the same thing to you that it does to everyone else.” Julius reached up and tapped a finger to the side of his head. “Makes you sluggish. Even here in the Omniverse, warm-blooded critters like ourselves… our bodies gotta work double-time in the heat to maintain safe temperatures.”
“So you live in an igloo?”
Julius threw his head back for a hearty fit of laughs. When he finished, he turned his overly white smile back toward his cybernetic companion. “The cold weather inside here keeps the body from adjusting to the climate outside, which prevents it from getting soft. The cold keeps us all sharp, because you and I both know that you don’t want to go into a knife fight with a dull blade.”
“In knife fights, I prefer to have a gun.” Seventeen replied with a faint smirk, eliciting another round of hearty laughter from his new acquaintance.
“You are a riot!” The astronomer stated as he gestured the cyborg over to a large table near the far wall of the main tent. As the machine-hybrid neared the table, he quickly realized that he was looking at a rather expensive looking piece of tech. Responding to some unspoken commands from Mr. Peppers, the three-dimensional map of the Ashen Steppes shifted to showcase their location amid the surrounding landscape. Originally the size of a large dinner plate, the mockup of the astronomer’s camp slowly shrunk as the digital projection shifted to a larger scale.
“Nice equipment,” Seventeen remarked as he reached a hand and poked at the three-dimensional image. To his amusement, his touch disrupted the projection and caused it to crumple onto his finger, revealing that it wasn’t an image. “It’s sand…” Reaching down, he picked up some of the material and ran it between his thumb and a finger before dumping it back onto the half-collapsed mountain.
“Technically,” Julius remarked as he motioned for the cyborg to step back for the apparatus. “It’s more like magic sand.” He clarified as a small grin spread across his face.
“Ah, yea… Magic floating city and whatnot.” Seventeen shouldn’t have been so amused by that fact, since he’d dealt with Baba—Earth’s most famous witch—on countless occasions. The wrinkled little witch had been there to casually slice a portal into some afterlife for him, and on more than a few occasions, she’d pulled him or one of his comrades back into the realm of the living. In a sense, Baba’s existence made mortality for the strong seem more like a joke. If a witch could be bribed to bring you back to life, why should anyone fear death?
That must be how the other primes feel.
Seventeen wondered how many of them purposefully got themselves into terrible situations just to test their immortality. Why not? A bullet in the head was probably preferable to having to march back across a few hundred miles of volcanic rock.
“You should visit Dalaran after this, my friend,” Julius spoke as a particular mountain started to shimmer. “You would enjoy the sights.”
“I’m not big into heights,” Seventeen joked as he looked at the little volcano made of glowing sand. “I take it that’s our destination?”
The astronomer glanced over at his associate and nodded his head. “We’ve been studying particulate in the atmosphere the last few days. Along with some eyewitness accounts about the shooting star, we believe we have properly mapped the trajectory it took.” When Julius finished talking, a mass of sand floated up and made the shape of a little star. The star twinkled across the landscape before crashing into the glowing mountain, leaving behind a trial of dust to mark its path.
“Is the mountain special?” Seventeen asked.
Julius shrugged his shoulders as he waved a hand over the modeled landscape, causing it to collapse back into a flat pile of sand. “It’s called Mount Escorial. It was an active volcano until about five years ago. Reports say it’s been dead ever since, but you can never be certain.”
“What’s the game plan, then?”
“Suit up. Head out.” Julius remarked. “We’re going to pack the camp up and head out in a matter of hours.”
“Can you give me some extra time?” Seventeen inquired. “I need to report back to the Koopa.”
The wide-shouldered astronomer was silent for a moment too long, but when he finally spoke, it was what the machine-hybrid wanted to hear. “I suppose we can delay our exodus for a few hours. Six? Will that give you enough time?”
Seventeen nodded his head. “I had a vehicle parked nea—”
Julius silenced his friend with a hand gesture. “We brought it in after you left. Had you died, we were going to use it for scrap,” he spoke, his expression a wide smile despite the fact that the cyborg knew the man wasn’t lying to him. “It’s just to the left of the main gate.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Seventeen said as he turned and made his way for the entrance. As he pushed through the flaps, he immediately remembered that he had been standing around in a fucking igloo. After the initial shock wore off, he made his way out of the encampment.
Seventeen reached out and suppressed the cringe when the oversized astronomer crushed his palm in another ‘handshake’. With that formality out of the way, the cybernetic warrior glanced around at the fortified campsite. On his last visit, he had been standing outside, but he was now inside the realm of the astronomers. The mostly purple and gold tents were filled with surprisingly expensive-looking furniture. Lots of rich wood, polished stone, and more than a few things that were studded or otherwise adorned with fancy-looking jewels. The only mystery was the largest of the tents, which was roped off and made of fabric that was too opaque to easily see through.
“So what now?” Seventeen inquired after the quick scan of the enclosed camp.
Mr. Peppers thought for a brief moment before waving off the others who had gathered at the center of the camp. Once they were off to resume whatever duties they were responsible for, the oversized researcher collected the backpack of coal and started off toward the main tent. “Follow me.”
The machine-hybrid waited for a few moments before moving to catch up to the leader of the camp. Julius’ deftly undid the heavy-looking rope that held the flap closed before slipping inside the tent. Seventeen followed a moment later.
Air conditioning?!
As the entrance flap resealed itself, the cyborg turned his attention to the fact that the large room felt like an icebox. Even though he was cybernetic, Seventeen was still a scrawny-limbed young adult, and he quickly found himself clutching his arms close to his chest as he stared at the impossibly broad back of the man a few steps in front of him.
“It’s jarring, ain’t it?” Julius remarked as he turned around and smiled broadly at the cyborg. “I found that after a while, people get used to the high temperatures of the verse, and even though there’s barely a visible sun up there, it’s like we’re in a desert. I don’t care if you’re a person, a dog-monster, or what, but if you’re organic, the heat’s going to do the same thing to you that it does to everyone else.” Julius reached up and tapped a finger to the side of his head. “Makes you sluggish. Even here in the Omniverse, warm-blooded critters like ourselves… our bodies gotta work double-time in the heat to maintain safe temperatures.”
“So you live in an igloo?”
Julius threw his head back for a hearty fit of laughs. When he finished, he turned his overly white smile back toward his cybernetic companion. “The cold weather inside here keeps the body from adjusting to the climate outside, which prevents it from getting soft. The cold keeps us all sharp, because you and I both know that you don’t want to go into a knife fight with a dull blade.”
“In knife fights, I prefer to have a gun.” Seventeen replied with a faint smirk, eliciting another round of hearty laughter from his new acquaintance.
“You are a riot!” The astronomer stated as he gestured the cyborg over to a large table near the far wall of the main tent. As the machine-hybrid neared the table, he quickly realized that he was looking at a rather expensive looking piece of tech. Responding to some unspoken commands from Mr. Peppers, the three-dimensional map of the Ashen Steppes shifted to showcase their location amid the surrounding landscape. Originally the size of a large dinner plate, the mockup of the astronomer’s camp slowly shrunk as the digital projection shifted to a larger scale.
“Nice equipment,” Seventeen remarked as he reached a hand and poked at the three-dimensional image. To his amusement, his touch disrupted the projection and caused it to crumple onto his finger, revealing that it wasn’t an image. “It’s sand…” Reaching down, he picked up some of the material and ran it between his thumb and a finger before dumping it back onto the half-collapsed mountain.
“Technically,” Julius remarked as he motioned for the cyborg to step back for the apparatus. “It’s more like magic sand.” He clarified as a small grin spread across his face.
“Ah, yea… Magic floating city and whatnot.” Seventeen shouldn’t have been so amused by that fact, since he’d dealt with Baba—Earth’s most famous witch—on countless occasions. The wrinkled little witch had been there to casually slice a portal into some afterlife for him, and on more than a few occasions, she’d pulled him or one of his comrades back into the realm of the living. In a sense, Baba’s existence made mortality for the strong seem more like a joke. If a witch could be bribed to bring you back to life, why should anyone fear death?
That must be how the other primes feel.
Seventeen wondered how many of them purposefully got themselves into terrible situations just to test their immortality. Why not? A bullet in the head was probably preferable to having to march back across a few hundred miles of volcanic rock.
“You should visit Dalaran after this, my friend,” Julius spoke as a particular mountain started to shimmer. “You would enjoy the sights.”
“I’m not big into heights,” Seventeen joked as he looked at the little volcano made of glowing sand. “I take it that’s our destination?”
The astronomer glanced over at his associate and nodded his head. “We’ve been studying particulate in the atmosphere the last few days. Along with some eyewitness accounts about the shooting star, we believe we have properly mapped the trajectory it took.” When Julius finished talking, a mass of sand floated up and made the shape of a little star. The star twinkled across the landscape before crashing into the glowing mountain, leaving behind a trial of dust to mark its path.
“Is the mountain special?” Seventeen asked.
Julius shrugged his shoulders as he waved a hand over the modeled landscape, causing it to collapse back into a flat pile of sand. “It’s called Mount Escorial. It was an active volcano until about five years ago. Reports say it’s been dead ever since, but you can never be certain.”
“What’s the game plan, then?”
“Suit up. Head out.” Julius remarked. “We’re going to pack the camp up and head out in a matter of hours.”
“Can you give me some extra time?” Seventeen inquired. “I need to report back to the Koopa.”
The wide-shouldered astronomer was silent for a moment too long, but when he finally spoke, it was what the machine-hybrid wanted to hear. “I suppose we can delay our exodus for a few hours. Six? Will that give you enough time?”
Seventeen nodded his head. “I had a vehicle parked nea—”
Julius silenced his friend with a hand gesture. “We brought it in after you left. Had you died, we were going to use it for scrap,” he spoke, his expression a wide smile despite the fact that the cyborg knew the man wasn’t lying to him. “It’s just to the left of the main gate.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Seventeen said as he turned and made his way for the entrance. As he pushed through the flaps, he immediately remembered that he had been standing around in a fucking igloo. After the initial shock wore off, he made his way out of the encampment.
![[Image: 17.jpg]](http://omniverse-rpg.com/images/17.jpg)