Finding Hope

Blank had been wandering for a few hours. He wasn't sure where to go next, but figured unless something else happened he'd head to Hyrule Castle Town then decide from there. He was skidding across Hyrule Field in his Hover Boots. The extra speed cut down on time, if only a little, and meant he would also have to take less breaks, as it took less energy to slide then it did to walk or run.

He slid up the hill, which was almost impossible, but the momentum allowed it. Sliding down the hill, he built up speed from the slope, going decently fast. As he got off the hill, he started slowing down slightly, until he noticed someone else. At the speed he was going, he couldn't stop. BAM. Blank had slammed into her legs. Of course, considering she was double Blank's size and weight, she probably didn't budge much. However, it certainly hurt Blank. After about a second of being stunned, he fell to the ground in shock. "O-Oh, sorry!" He said, getting up. He took the Hover Boots off so he wouldn't slide as much. "Ow, that really hurt." Blank rubbed his snout a little, which kind of took the brunt of the hit. Remember kids, always wear your helmets and proper padding. Wait what.

"L-Lost Goron? Okay, I'll help." He said, nodding. A lost Goron wasn't very good, after all. "Anyway, I'm Blank." He said, introducing himself. The wind was blowing somewhat, causing his leafy hair to blow around a little. After Cena introduced herself- assuming she did- Blank spoke up. "So um, Cena. Where is this Goron, do you know?" He asked. It'd be rather difficult if they just had to wander around. "Well, either way, you lead the way."

Blank looked at the map, looking over it. It confused him a bit, as he tried to figure it out. "Well, the x is on Death Mountain. A lot of Ganon's forces are there, so it's very dangerous. Do you think he could've went there?" Blank considering, looking over the map again. He must have not been very smart, though. "Well, it's not precisely at Death Mountain, but it's pretty close. Just getting close could be pretty dangerous, and who knows where that X leads. I wonder what he meant by a circle though. . ." Blank said, if talking to himself. Analytical thinking and really complex or even mild thinking in general wasn't really his thing.

"What do you think we should do, Cena?" Blank asked curiously. He wasn't really sure where they would go from here.

Blank listened to Cena. Go near the mountains?! She must be crazy. I mean, Blank could fight, but he couldn't take out an entire outpost of Moblins. Who knows, maybe Cena was an amazing fighter, although she didn't look like it. "So, when are we heading out? It could be dangerous, you must be a good fighter then." Blank said, if gaining somewhat of a momentary admiration for Cena. A thought of her destroying an entire Moblin outpost by herself flashed through his head. He was really exaggerating this. Either way, Blank nodded.

"I'm ready to go!" He said, turning around and looking into the distance. Blank didn't even realize this had been the direction he was coming from when he bumped into Cena.

As the group traveled, Blank had the feeling someone was watching them. However, he didn't have enough common sense to actually say anything. While they were approaching, Blank took the time to apply Impact Coating to seven Ember Seeds, giving three to Cena. He didn't know what sort of weapon she used, exactly. However, the seeds could always help. The group eventually reached what appeared to be a small outpost. Old, creaky looking wooden wagons stood nearby, and various weapons were sprawled across the ground. Blank could count a mace, a flail, a bow, an empty quiver, and perhaps even a hammer. However, for the most part it was just swords. Seeing they were approaching the outpost, Blank pulled out his slingshot, gripping it with his left hand.

He kept his right hand near his satchel, ready to draw out an Ember Seed; Of course, he could always resort to firing Deku Nuts orally, if he didn't have enough time to use the Slingshot. As Blank spotted the Hylian, he quickly grabbed a non-coated Ember Seed, pulling it back on the slingshot. As he did this, he got a quick look at the Hylian. He wore light silver armor, which provided some protection but didn't hamper speed. Although it wouldn't be super efficient for blocking attacks, it helped. He kept his face uncovered, showing it. Despite apparently being a bandit, his face was mostly empty of scars or anything of that sort. His purely black hair was somewhat long, but in height, not length. It spiked up, pointing backwards to where it stuck out a little past his neck. He held a long dagger in his hand, which could almost function as a short sword. He held it in a normal grip, and someone who didn't know what they were talking about would probably call it a short sword.

He had kicked a head towards Blank, making him jump in surprise and drop his Ember Seed. Luckily for him, it hadn't gone off. He quickly picked up the Ember Seed, before glancing down at the head. Was it Hope? Alas, it was not, as it was the head of a Zora. "Please don't do that again." Blank rather bluntly asked, if somewhat scared of it. Blank didn't have a phobia of dead bodies, but that didn't mean he liked seeing them. "So um, you haven't seen a Goron named Hope, have you?" Blank asked, if a little too nicely. "Oh, how rude. You come to our place, point your weapons at us, and ask us a question?" He responded. He had a bit of an accent, as if he was from some far off, non-existent place called Brooklyn. Like that existed.

You know, he did have a point. Then again, he kicked a dead head at you, Blank. "You're right, I'm sorry." Blank said. Maybe they had judged them all wrong, and assumed just because they were in a random outpost near Death Mountain they'd be dangerous. "Oh, it's okay. That's exactly what we're doing to you." He said. He then held his right arm up, the one holding the blade. He pointed the dagger at Cena. Shortly after doing so, three other bandits appeared. One jumped up from inside the wagon, and the other two appeared out of the outpost. They all wore light green, brown, and white clothing, generic of thieves. One had a thin blade, similar to a short sword. The other had a small knife, which seemed to be a downgrade, really. The third one didn't have a weapon, and instead picked the flail up off the ground. What would be in store for our. . . heroes? tonight?

Impact Coated Seeds: 7 Stored, Cena has 3

Blank stared at the thieves, waiting for one of them to make a move. The one with the flail ran towards Blank, as his fingers slid from the slingshot. The red, ember-shaped seed launched forward, as the bandit hastily- and narrowly- avoiding being hit. The seed flew past him, colliding with the ground several feet away from him. The seed burst into flames, scorching the nearby ground it had collided with.

The bandit rushed at Blank, not giving him another opportunity to draw an Ember Seed. He swung at Blank, the spiked, metal ball on the chain swinging forward towards the Deku. Blank quickly jumped to the side and out of the way, his speed allowing him to dodge. The spiked ball hit the end of his hair, pulling a couple leaves off. The bandit was met with a surprise, as a Deku Nut fired out of Blank's mouth. The bandit was hit in the face by a brown nut covered in some slimy-material. Upon colliding with his face, a bright flash was unleashed in the nearby vicinity, hampering vision for pretty much all for a couple seconds, and even longer if they had stared into the flash.

When it finished, the bandit was collapsed on the ground, fainted. Before any others attacked, Blank swiftly pulled an Ember Seed out of his pouch; This time one with Impact Coating on it. Putting it over the rubber strap-like object, he pulled it back, ready to fire.

Impact Coated Seeds: 7 Stored, Cena has 3

Blank watched in somewhat horror as this mysterious girl mercilessly slaughtered the supposed leader of the bandits. She seemed to control another, having him walk forwards as she proceeded to suck his blood. The final bandit's face turned into horror as he dropped his sword, running away as fast as he could without turning back. Blank could hear him, but didn't turn as he faced her. As she sucked his blood, Blank kept his slingshot drawn, pointed at her.

When she finished, however, she crushed his skull in. That wasn't even necessary, he would've quickly died anyway. Blank watched as she quickly turned her attention to the other two. Blank already had his Impact Coated Ember Seed pointed at Blyss, in case she attacked. However, he wasn't necessarily pointing it at Blyss, but rather, keeping it up. More bandits could come out of the outpost once they noticed that the other bandits didn't return. It could be bad, then.

"I guess we do. . . What about you, Cena? And ally with you for what?" Blank asked.

Blyss' speech was quickly drowned out by Blank's thoughts. He didn't really care much at all about making the world a better place, but Cena seemed drawn in by it. Plus, it could lead to finding something very interesting for his home tribe. "Okay, okay. I'll go along with you. I'm Blank." He responded in his squeakily high voice, before Blank noticed someone walk out of the bandit's hideout. He quickly jumped to the side, as so Blyss wasn't in the way, and pointed his slingshot at the guy. He wasn't going to fire unless the guy attacked them, however. "So who are you? You wouldn't happen to be their leader or anything like that, would you?" Blank squeaked at him. Of course, Blank had never met this man before, and didn't even know he had assigned Cena the task of finding Hope.

What was he doing here, anyway?

Blyss quickly knocked the ice guy out, as the group had successfully cleared out the outside. Cena went to loot the caravan of it's rewards. "We could use the caravan to travel, I'm sure they have horses that they used earlier. I'm going to go check if there's anything of worth inside." Blank squeaked out, jumping over Yuki's unconscious body and walking through the entrance.

Although it was small, the fortress was in somewhat decent condition. It seemed empty, and most of the objects Blank saw were mere junk. As he walked down a hall, a thief jumped out. "Die, heathen!" He shouted, holding a dagger up high in his hand. Blank quickly spun around, grabbing an Ember Seed and loading it onto his Slingshot mid-turn. As he finished his turn, he fired, the seed hitting the man in the face. It exploded, searing and burning his face. He collapsed to the ground in pain, dropping the blade as his eyes started to water. He clenched his face with his hands, the pain certainly high.

Blank just turned back around and walked further into the fortress. It was no concern of his.