Beginning of a Legend: Baldric Gareth

by InsaneJustin

Chapter 1: A Strange New Land

Chapter 1: A Strange New Land

“Where in the nine hells am I” says Baldric aloud.

Looking around he realizes he’s in a forest of some kind surrounded by thick trees full of dark green leaves. Sunlight cuts through the branches allowing enough sunlight to allow him some visuals.

“This doesn’t seem like some Void to me, that stupid dark wizard musta messed up his banishment spell.”

After a moment he realizes he’s completely naked in the middle of a thick dark forest, no cloths and no weapons, completely vulnerable.

He quickly decides to make some makeshift clothing from some of the nearby large leaves and rips a large tree branch off to use a club, after all some kind of weapon is better than no weapon right?

After affixing his makeshift clothes together he swings his new club over his shoulder and begins to head out.

Wait a minute, I don’t even know where I’m right now, I best climb a tree and try to get some bearings. I'll bet that blasted wizard just sent me to some random forest. Hopefully a town is close enough to where I can just walk outta here and get back home. Bet the guys are sad thinking I died. Heh, can’t wait to see the look on their faces when I get back.

He climbs the nearest tree using his long arms and easily reaches the top. Looking up he notices that the sun is starting to go down, suggesting its late, and decides to head northwest because the forest seems to end in that direction. Climbing back down the tree he notices a bird nest with a few eggs in it.

"Well it’s been a while since I last ate and raw eggs were always a nice treat." He reaches to grab an egg and realizes its bright yellow and orange all over, but the orange was in a pattern, it almost looked like a flame, speaking of flame. The egg itself was actually quite warm; could the parents have just left?

He shrugs and while still in the tree next to the nest cracks the egg open and gulps the yolk N all down.

“Whoa! A Spicy Egg? Not just that it’s making my belly feel warm, almost hot. What an odd egg. I wonder what kind of bird makes these?” says Baldric out loud

A sudden “SCREECH!” comes from above.

Our hero looks to see a large yellow and fire red colored bird in the sky making a nose dive while continuing to screech at him.

“Oh shit, looks like seconds are canceled mama's home” he slides down the tree only to be followed by the bird.

Baldric yells “Go away ya dumb bird!” he throws the empty broken egg shell at it.

Seeing the broken shell of one of its babies the fire red bird creates and even louder screeching noise, speeds up, then bursts into flames charging at him.

“What in the nine hells?! What kinda bird can burst into flames like that?!” He breaks off into a sprint hoping to elude the bird, after all, how well could a WOODEN club work on a FIERY bird?

Dodging trees left and right he quickly swivels around another couple trees and ducks behind a nearby bush while some trees block him from sight. Soon he watches as the bird flies by him and continues forward.

“Whew, that was a close one. Now I’m even more confused, I didn’t know we had those kinda birds. What strange forest was I dumped in? I’m I even still in my own country?” as Baldric ponders his situation he continues onward toward his northwest destination.

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After some time passes it begins to get dark and Baldric realizes he needs to find or make a shelter. In the distance he can see a light. Unsure if it was just a small clearing or maybe even someone’s home, he didn’t care. If it was shelter he could always ask for some help and even if they didn’t help he could always try begging, after all he never liked conflict with intelligent beings if it could be avoided.

As he gets closer he sees a hut, a small hut to be exact, like it could be home to some kind of dwarf. However this house was different then what a dwarf would make, it wasn’t made of wood and stone, instead it was made of clay or mud and straw that were woven together.

After a few moments Baldric realizes he should just knock and hope they speak the same language as him so he could receive some help. As he walks to the hut he realizes how much bigger he is next to it, hell he could almost see over the house. So he crouches down and knocks upon the door.

“A knock? This late upon my door? What trouble could the pony folk be in?”

Baldric begins to frown and realizes he didn’t understand a thing the woman on the other side of the door said.

“Great” he grumbles to himself “how am I going to communicate with her when I don’t understand a word of what she says.”

The door opens and to Baldrics surprise, it’s no dwarf, or a human, or any manner of humanoid that opens the door to the hut. It’s a tiny horse or a pony as he would call it.

The little animal had the most peculiar black and white stripes running down the length of its body. Around its neck it had some golden rings and a few smaller ones around the middle of its left leg. This little Pony even had Earrings on!

A little shocked the striped animal looks at the creature in front of her door, even kneeling down it was huge and appeared to walk upon two legs, and it only had some long fur on the top of its head.

She begins to speak “Creature, what are you?”

“Umm, Hello I was wondering if you could help me out a bit? You see I’m lost and its getting dark I was hoping you could let me stay in… or outside near your home?” Baldric says with a big smile on his face hoping the little creature understood him.

“Speak our language you don’t it would seem, give me a moment and I will mix a brew that will allow you to speak and understand all for a time.” She turns around leaving the door open and begins to mix things into her pot.

Hmm it would seem she has understood me, and is making me some soup? Well that’s good, that egg from before is still burning up in my belly.

Baldric sits down in front of the door as he fears going inside would cause some problems as there didn’t appear to be much room inside the house. After a while the little striped animal comes out with a bowl of some green liquid held in her mouth.

“Thanks” says Baldric as he smells the soup she handed him and then gulps it down, while not fond of the flavor he just wanted to cover up that spicy egg he had before.

After he finishes the bowl he exclaims “Well it wasn’t the best soup I’ve had, but it hit the spot.”

“Brew it for the flavor I did not, but so we could talk” Baldric jumps a little at the fact that he just understood what the little striped pony said.

“Did you make this soup so that we could understand each other little pony?”

“A pony I am not, A Zebra is what I am, but enough with me, Why is a creature as strange as you in this forest? Fearsome and scary you are not, the Everfree Forest isn’t a place for such as yourself.”

Not fearsome? Not scary? What? Standing more than 7 feet tall every man and creature feared him and having the strength to lift even boulders in battle and hurl them as makeshift weapons and able to spear several men from across the battlefield, he was legendary and everyone that knew of him feared him and his power. “Little Zebra do I not frighten you? Such a huge man as myself covered with thick muscle, does it not intimidate you?” said Baldric a little curious.

“Seen much worse in my day, living in this forest is no play, and what is Man? Is a Man what you are?” said the Zebra, raising an eyebrow in question to the strange two legged creature in front of her home.

“Well I guess you could call me a man yes, but my name is Baldric Gareth a human, just call me Baldric, but what should I call you…little Zebra?”

“Zecora is my name, to town we shall head in the morrow, get you some better clothes, I know just the pony to do so.”

“Oh great clothes, these leaves are rather itchy, but wait, you don’t know what I am? You’ve never seen anything else like me before?” hoping to find out some answer that would make it seem like he was still in his own world…

“Like you? No you’re the first of your kind I have ever seen.” Said Zecora as she trotted back into her hut.

“Wait a moment, too big for my home you are, but I have some spare blankets you can use to keep warm.” She returns a few moments later with 2 blankets and tosses them to Baldric.

“Thank you for your kindness to one such as myself, without you even knowing who I am, let alone what I am.”

With that Baldric curls up near the house and does his best to cover up with his borrowed blankets.” Good night Zecora hopefully when we get to town we can also figure out how to get me home from here.”

“Goodnight Baldric the human man, tomorrow begins a new adventure for you” Zecora walks back into her home leaving the door propped part way open and leaving the light on in the window that Baldric was sleeping under.

What an odd place I have stumbled upon. This small creature doesn’t fear me, and even more shocking she helps me not knowing who or what I am exactly and she didn’t ask for anything in return… Baldric thinks for a minute, and then smiles

She’s even going to lead me to a town where I can get some real clothes… why I haven’t met anyone this nice since my family. Baldric closes his eyes and snuggles under the now warm blankets.

“I wonder if everyone here is this nice…”