02-18-2018, 08:40 PM
The source of the ruckus in the village wasn’t hard to track. As expected, there was a section of the settlement engulfed in noise, most notably loudly voiced orders and responding confusion. Brooke trusted that was exactly what would happen when you backed a homesick rock monster into a corner. She rounded the final corner into the town square with a grin plastered on her face. She couldn’t deal with a quarter of the foes a rampaging Baldur could, but she was more interested in the three quarters she wouldn’t have to deal with once she was back near him.
What she saw was not what she expected, however. A four headed, four legged beast with a mighty tail lurked in the town center, surrounded by cultists. There was no sign of her Goron friend, but that made sense because there was about to be no sign of her, either. Brooke’s advance immediately halted, but as she had brazenly charged into the village square, if wasn’t hard to miss her.
A moment of silence fell over her, the villagers, and even the horrifying beast. She was more that happy to break it by snapping her revolver up and shooting the nearest cultist in the chest. She didn’t stay to continue the fight, but instead stormed right back out the way she came with more strength than she was even aware her legs were capable of. Wherever the hell Baldur was, it had better not be there because she was certainly no good to him if she got devoured by whatever the hell that thing was. She ducked into a vacant store and crouched down. The feet of the abomination stomped by, along with several normal humans she’d managed to outrun. Slowly, she exited the storefront and watched the monstrosity stomp over the houses and structures before her. She noted the care that it took in making sure it didn’t ruin the homes beneath it. She also noted that it had no idea where she was, which worked well with her plan of getting what she came for then getting the hell out of here.
Brooke pulled her poorly drawn map from her pocket and moved through the town’s vacant streets, though she never trusted them to be in that state. Every corner was cleared with her finger firmly clutched on the trigger of her revolver, threatening to pull it with the slightest provocation. This strategy served her well right up until she encountered another living being. She popped around one of the last corners, face to chest with a massive rock monster who’s identity she didn’t have time to ascertain. She pulled the trigger instantly.
Baldur looked unimpressed as the revolver round bounced off of his stone chest, but then seemed concerned about the sounds the gun had let out.
“…You shot me,” Baldur accused his companion, a little indignant about that very fact. He clutched his unharmed chest in delayed surprise.
“Probably good to know that doesn’t work,” Brooke recovered almost instantaneously, holstering her gun and marching past her friend. “Glad you’re alright.”
“You too,” Baldur slowly admitted, following after her but not letting his questions linger in his mind. “What is this place?”
“I really don’t know,” Brooke admitted as she hurriedly walked down the path. “Probably influenced by the Underverse, this close to the Black Gate.”
“By what?!” Baldur snapped. “That’s all a myth, there’s no such thing!”
“According to anyone that got here after all that shit at the Black Gate broke out,” Brooke corrected him as she stopped by a door and pocketed her map. “You have to trust me, Baldur. I’ve been around, you haven’t. Some grade-A shit has happened in the Omniverse. A lot of it came from right around here.”
Baldur was unresponsive to that comment. What could he say? After all, he came into this partnership aware of how much less he knew than his teammate. The main, burning question at this point was what in the world could be so valuable it was worth coming to this hellscape for? He just shook his head and let Brooke scan the building uninterrupted.
Brooke, for her far more feeble frame, simply brought her right foot up to her chest and shoved it forward with all the strength she could muster. The door’s hinges instantly shattered to splinters, mostly as a result of their age instead of her strength. Regardless, Brooke stomped into the room slightly stunned by her ease of entrance. She didn’t waste a second of time, however, and moved into the bedroom past the living room she initially arrived in. Baldur was confused, but followed her anyway.
The room clearly once belonged to a young girl, with pink walls and all sorts of childlike decorations on the bed’s comforter, though their color was faded with time. As Baldur ducked under the doorframe, he noticed how devoid it was of toys or other decorations. It was certainly a room belonging to a well loved child by parents with little means. Sitting on the bed was the only toy, a small stuffed bear whose color was faded just like everything else in this long abandoned house.
Brooke marched right over to the stuffed animal and scooped it up. For as brash and gruff as she had been with everything else, she was exceedingly delicate with this toy. She turned it over and looked it over to see there there was no damage to it. It had sat here untouched for years upon years, and survived intact. Admittedly, it wasn’t because it was highly durable, mystically powered, or fated to see a legendary encounter in the distant future. It was simply irrelevant to the grand scheme, so it sat aside as the world changed around it. It survived only because it was forgotten. Brooke could sympathize.
“…That’s what we’re here for?” Baldur sounded utterly dumbfounded. “Your buyer sent us into this hellhole for a worthless doll!?
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Brooke softly muttered, while gently putting the doll in a deep jacket pocket. “Besides, remember what I told you before? You’d be amazed what a scavenger would fight for.”
Baldur shook his head rapidly in disbelief. “But just for some little girl’s toy!?”
“The girl’s dead, Baldur,” Brooke said while turning to her companion. “Died when this village turned into…this. This doll was the only comfort she had, and her father in Camelot wants it back.”
“Then…why send us now?” Baldur asked. “Its been this way for years.”
“We’re just the first ones to make it,” Brooke winked, her mellowed attitude washing away as her cocky demeanor resurfaced.
There was a deep growl that seemed to echo through the city streets.
“Still haven’t,” Brooke reminded herself out loud. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Yea, how are we going to deal with that monster?” Baldur asked. No sense in lamenting over Brooke’s choice in jobs. They just had to get out, now.
It was Brooke’s turn to look dumbfounded. “We’re…we’re not.”
“What?” Baldur frowned.
“That thing would eat us both for lunch,” Brooke pointedly reminded him. “We’re going to haul ass the other direction and forget this town just like everyone else in the Omniverse.”
Baldur looked a little confused, almost disappointed, but on a stronger note he was absolutely thrilled to not have to try to fight that horror. It was a league above him, as much as he hated to admit it. It was eye opening to see how vast the different powers outside of the Ashen Steppes really were.
Bearing the initial encounter in mind, he followed Brooke back out of the house and into the town. It wasn’t long before they disappeared down into the Pale Moors once again, leaving the haunted town behind just like the rest of the world had, as promised.
What she saw was not what she expected, however. A four headed, four legged beast with a mighty tail lurked in the town center, surrounded by cultists. There was no sign of her Goron friend, but that made sense because there was about to be no sign of her, either. Brooke’s advance immediately halted, but as she had brazenly charged into the village square, if wasn’t hard to miss her.
A moment of silence fell over her, the villagers, and even the horrifying beast. She was more that happy to break it by snapping her revolver up and shooting the nearest cultist in the chest. She didn’t stay to continue the fight, but instead stormed right back out the way she came with more strength than she was even aware her legs were capable of. Wherever the hell Baldur was, it had better not be there because she was certainly no good to him if she got devoured by whatever the hell that thing was. She ducked into a vacant store and crouched down. The feet of the abomination stomped by, along with several normal humans she’d managed to outrun. Slowly, she exited the storefront and watched the monstrosity stomp over the houses and structures before her. She noted the care that it took in making sure it didn’t ruin the homes beneath it. She also noted that it had no idea where she was, which worked well with her plan of getting what she came for then getting the hell out of here.
Brooke pulled her poorly drawn map from her pocket and moved through the town’s vacant streets, though she never trusted them to be in that state. Every corner was cleared with her finger firmly clutched on the trigger of her revolver, threatening to pull it with the slightest provocation. This strategy served her well right up until she encountered another living being. She popped around one of the last corners, face to chest with a massive rock monster who’s identity she didn’t have time to ascertain. She pulled the trigger instantly.
Baldur looked unimpressed as the revolver round bounced off of his stone chest, but then seemed concerned about the sounds the gun had let out.
“…You shot me,” Baldur accused his companion, a little indignant about that very fact. He clutched his unharmed chest in delayed surprise.
“Probably good to know that doesn’t work,” Brooke recovered almost instantaneously, holstering her gun and marching past her friend. “Glad you’re alright.”
“You too,” Baldur slowly admitted, following after her but not letting his questions linger in his mind. “What is this place?”
“I really don’t know,” Brooke admitted as she hurriedly walked down the path. “Probably influenced by the Underverse, this close to the Black Gate.”
“By what?!” Baldur snapped. “That’s all a myth, there’s no such thing!”
“According to anyone that got here after all that shit at the Black Gate broke out,” Brooke corrected him as she stopped by a door and pocketed her map. “You have to trust me, Baldur. I’ve been around, you haven’t. Some grade-A shit has happened in the Omniverse. A lot of it came from right around here.”
Baldur was unresponsive to that comment. What could he say? After all, he came into this partnership aware of how much less he knew than his teammate. The main, burning question at this point was what in the world could be so valuable it was worth coming to this hellscape for? He just shook his head and let Brooke scan the building uninterrupted.
Brooke, for her far more feeble frame, simply brought her right foot up to her chest and shoved it forward with all the strength she could muster. The door’s hinges instantly shattered to splinters, mostly as a result of their age instead of her strength. Regardless, Brooke stomped into the room slightly stunned by her ease of entrance. She didn’t waste a second of time, however, and moved into the bedroom past the living room she initially arrived in. Baldur was confused, but followed her anyway.
The room clearly once belonged to a young girl, with pink walls and all sorts of childlike decorations on the bed’s comforter, though their color was faded with time. As Baldur ducked under the doorframe, he noticed how devoid it was of toys or other decorations. It was certainly a room belonging to a well loved child by parents with little means. Sitting on the bed was the only toy, a small stuffed bear whose color was faded just like everything else in this long abandoned house.
Brooke marched right over to the stuffed animal and scooped it up. For as brash and gruff as she had been with everything else, she was exceedingly delicate with this toy. She turned it over and looked it over to see there there was no damage to it. It had sat here untouched for years upon years, and survived intact. Admittedly, it wasn’t because it was highly durable, mystically powered, or fated to see a legendary encounter in the distant future. It was simply irrelevant to the grand scheme, so it sat aside as the world changed around it. It survived only because it was forgotten. Brooke could sympathize.
“…That’s what we’re here for?” Baldur sounded utterly dumbfounded. “Your buyer sent us into this hellhole for a worthless doll!?
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Brooke softly muttered, while gently putting the doll in a deep jacket pocket. “Besides, remember what I told you before? You’d be amazed what a scavenger would fight for.”
Baldur shook his head rapidly in disbelief. “But just for some little girl’s toy!?”
“The girl’s dead, Baldur,” Brooke said while turning to her companion. “Died when this village turned into…this. This doll was the only comfort she had, and her father in Camelot wants it back.”
“Then…why send us now?” Baldur asked. “Its been this way for years.”
“We’re just the first ones to make it,” Brooke winked, her mellowed attitude washing away as her cocky demeanor resurfaced.
There was a deep growl that seemed to echo through the city streets.
“Still haven’t,” Brooke reminded herself out loud. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Yea, how are we going to deal with that monster?” Baldur asked. No sense in lamenting over Brooke’s choice in jobs. They just had to get out, now.
It was Brooke’s turn to look dumbfounded. “We’re…we’re not.”
“What?” Baldur frowned.
“That thing would eat us both for lunch,” Brooke pointedly reminded him. “We’re going to haul ass the other direction and forget this town just like everyone else in the Omniverse.”
Baldur looked a little confused, almost disappointed, but on a stronger note he was absolutely thrilled to not have to try to fight that horror. It was a league above him, as much as he hated to admit it. It was eye opening to see how vast the different powers outside of the Ashen Steppes really were.
Bearing the initial encounter in mind, he followed Brooke back out of the house and into the town. It wasn’t long before they disappeared down into the Pale Moors once again, leaving the haunted town behind just like the rest of the world had, as promised.