Brucenorris007

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce did his best to remain impassive at the newcomer’s question. He knew his own opinion of Luke, but he didn’t feel like it was his place to color the man in yellow’s thoughts of the renegade leader. His eyes flickered down for an instant before he settled on a response.
”Luke is a friend.”
Bruce turned around, heading back toward where they had started the lap around the dome.
”I trust him.”
He walked on quietly, not saying anything else on the matter.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce felt the corner of his lip turn upward, if only for a moment. That the newcomer appreciated hard work and seemed genuinely excited by what spirit he saw earned him a bit more standing in Bruce’s eyes.
”Yes,” he said, though his face fell for a moment once the worker had returned to his labor. ”They have to keep working almost constantly to expand the dimensions of this place because more people seek refuge here daily.”
Bruce walked on, his pace a bit faster than it had been, subtly expressing the aggravation he felt by gripping the sheath of his sword with one hand. He kept his face neutral.
”Accommodating all of them is difficult.”
He didn’t make any other comments about it, instead drawing the man in yellow’s attention to what, at first glance, appeared to be a drop-off looking down the edge of a cliff. The light from the ceiling crystal didn’t reach the bottom of the massive hole, though occasionally faint flashes of beams of light could be seen from below. Bruce held out an arm to signal that the newcomer not approach too quickly.
”Living in the mountains the way they do, scrambling and climbing are essential. You can’t climb, you die out there. This is where the difference between those who fight and those who survive is determined.”
Bruce pointed at a screen that showed the bottom of the pit through the filter of a grainy feed. The screen on its own might have been among the most advanced piece of technology Diver’s Paradise had. On it, it showed another massive expanse of underground terrain, though it wasn’t polished and smooth the way the ground on the first floor was. Dozens of people could be seen running and combatting hazards, both natural and man-made, among them being falling boulders, batsnakes, and other creatures. While Bruce had his eye on the screen, he heard the belabored breathing of someone hauling themselves up over the edge of the cliff and halfway collapsing, her legs still hanging over the edge. Bruce knelt down in front of her and held out his hand. He pulled her onto her feet in one motion, clasping his hand in a solid grip around hers.
”Good fight. You made it.”
She huffed out a breath of laughter and Bruce clapped her on the shoulder before she jogged away.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce nodded.
“This is the closest to a weapon’s store and manufacturing plant as they have access to.”
A brief explosion cut short all other noise from inside, followed immediately by an outcry of pain. Bruce cringed.
“They don’t have the resources that Tech-mo does, and as a result, despite the brilliance a few of them show for crafting, accidents are more frequent.” he said, scratching his chin and wandering onward at a pace that would let the newcomer hear him and take in everything. He looked overhead- the crystal that reflected the light of the moon and sun which served as a clock and the main source of light for the chamber in the center of the ceiling was nearing its peak shine.
“There aren’t as many users of earth magic here as you might think,” he said, pointing out a sector of the first floor that had been blocked off. Various workers, men and women, were attacking the walls with picks and hauling away large rocks, carefully replacing crucial supporting boulders with metal rods. ”And the ones that do live here are too few to help much with the construction since they have their own assignments.”
Bruce bowed his head slightly when one of the workers waved at him. Anyone who contributed to the cause of improving the lives of others, no matter how small their contribution might be, deserved respect.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce took note of the uncertainty on the newcomer’s face. He had grown jaded to the fact that he elicited that reaction from most people. Bruce could tell he also didn’t know what to make of Diver’s Paradise. Instead of making any other small talk, he turned on his heel and started walking, pointing things out as he began a lap around the circumference of the dome.
“The people down here have worked hard to create something resembling decent lives,” he said, indicating the balcony that overlooked the first floor of the massive chamber where complexes of houses had been carved out of the earth. “Some of them strive to do more than just survive.”
Bruce paused in front of a single-story, simple structure with thick bars crossed over the layered windows. Despite the heavy metal material of the only visible door, sounds of metal-making and the grunts of labor still trickled through out into the relatively calm plaza.

A Hero Tale {Complete}

Bruce leaned against a countertop, sipping on a mixed drink of his own devising. The sword
sheath he carried around lay empty on a stool next to him, and, of course, there was no sword for said sheath in sight. He hid a rare smile behind the lip of his glass, enjoying the combination of fiery alcohol and sweet cola. The smile quickly vanished once he opened his eyes again and took stock once more of the people milling around in the so-called “Diver’s Paradise.”
These people, most of them, walked with stunted confidence and fake smiles that didn’t reach their eyes. The forced levity failed to mask the heavy feeling of dread in the chamber’s atmosphere.
“Bruce!”
Before he could think for too long about anything that might make him regret having ready access to booze, he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. Luke was one of the people Bruce considered a friend, and he didn’t have many of those. He could more or less tell, without really listening to what Luke was shouting at him, his request. Bruce took his time, swirling his drink and sizing up the new face that Luke was apparently so excited about- did they have the same jawline? He shrugged and downed the remainder of his drink and slamming it onto the counter. Whatever happened in anyone’s past, it wasn’t his place to judge.
Bruce picked up his empty sheath and strapped it to his waist before walking over to acquaint himself with the man in yellow.
“Welcome.” he said simply.