A Crown of Broken Runes (ACOBR)

The Floors (Part One)

"Woah, this place is huge!" Bdubs gasped, looking up.

Towering over them was a massive mountain. A narrow staircase made of stone bricks wound its way up. The snowy peak did not appear to have much atop it, but it glowed with an odd golden light. After a bit of searching they had found the location specified by the signs on the mysterious statue.

They began the trek up the long staircase, voyaging to the snow-covered mountain top. As they climbed, the air became brisk, and the icy wind blew through their meagre clothing.
"W-we p-probably should've d-dressed warmer..." Impulse shivered as they took another step.

"T-too late n-now..." Bdubs responded as he looked down the stairs. They had already traversed almost half of the mountain, and they weren't turning back now.

About two thirds of the way up the mountain, they paused to rest on a little ledge. Impulse sat down heavily on the freezing ice.

"It's g-getting dark, we should s-sleep." He took out a torch, lit it, and stuck it into the ground. The ice and snow around them slowly began to melt away. The men huddled around the flame, rubbing their hands together and wiggling their numb fingers.

"So... sleep?" Impulse inquired, his head tilted to the side. In the warmth of the flickering flame, both hermits had stopped shaking.

Bdubs grinned broadly, immediately pulling a bed out of his storage.

"I have you covered!" He kept a bed on him at all times, just in case.

"Do you have another?"

Bdubs scoffed, and placed down a second bed. "You bet I do!"

Impulse gave him a thankful smile, and the friends settled down to rest. As the sun set, they climbed into their beds, curling up under the warm covers. Bdubs' vision faded to a deep shade of indigo.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, and found himself standing in the sun again. He stretched after a good night's sleep. Also stretching, Impulse tried to drag one of the bed's blankets with him to shield him from the cold. Bdubs laughed, picking up the beds and storing them away in a shulker box. Impulse growled groggily, and reached out for bedsheets that were no longer there.
People who don't sleep often are always so grumpy...

He thought to himself.

If they slept every night like me, they would all be bright and full of energy!

Impulse groaned again and rubbed his face with his hands. He looked sound with wide eyes. "Where...? Oh... right..."

Bdubs struggled to restrain his laughter. This man was comedy gold.

"Cmon' Impulse, we should start trekking again. Here." He tossed his friend some food. Impulse picked it up and devoured it eagerly.

After a few more moments, Impulse was fully awake and they were ready to find out what was at the top of the mountain. For the beginning of the trip, it had only gotten colder, but as they climbed higher, the snow began to melt.

"Well that's odd... Impulse, does it seem like it's getting... warmer?" Impulse paused and frowned, before responding with perplexion.

"Yeah... Yeah, I think it is getting warmer. Just look over there!"

Bdubs glanced in the same direction as his friend, and to his surprise, a small stream was running down the mountain. It froze as it went lower.

"That... that's really weird..."

"Cmon', we need to find out what's going on." Impulse continued, and Bdubs scrambled up the final few stone steps after him.

It was enormous. A huge tower, open to the air, rose out of the ground like a tree. It towered into the heavens, and lava cascaded down from the peak, oozing off the roof in neat streams. The magma dribbled into pits in the ground, and flowed beneath the floor of the building, working its way through narrow glass tubes.