The Baltimare group proceeds in their task of investigating a strange group of creatures, mostly Griffins, who seem to be involved in creature smuggling. Up on the Boulderfield,-Whinnysota line, the northern group settles in for a cold night along with their new friends and prisoners.
Soon to welcome our Swedish player and his character
1810 replies and 123 files omitted.
>>116581At this point, I have no idea.
We're still experiencing the room entering, I think.
>>116582>>116581They entered into a narrow room which had some items, like a large bread-baking over off to the left, and what looks like a couple shelves, and a doorway (actually more than one doorway) towards the end. Iron is going through the different door
>>116579Silver looks over, muscles tensing up.
>>116583Hmmmm, Midnight is content to follow the stallion, staying alert for my change that mightbe coming.
>>116580>>116584And thus, the door opens, and Dark Star and Silver can see Iron and perhaps Midnight
>>116582>>116585Iron, and maybe midnight, can see Zebra Star and Silver in a long room. Silver has an unconscious creature on his back, there is some kind of dog feline creature there sitting, a golden kirin, a white female unicorn, a blackish-blue colt, and a griffin
>>116582>>116585>>116586Silver's muscles relax upon seeing the face of his friends. "Thank Celestia, it is you two. We were worried you were in trouble."
>>116586"Celestia! you two scared the horse apples out of me!"
>>116588>>116587Khoi:
"These two are with you?"
Mala looks up at them entering
>>116589He nods. "Iron and Midnight. We split up upon getting to this location."
>>116587>>116586>>116589Don't forget Skies.Iron is surprised to see his partners down here already, but it quickly dissipates into a shrug.
"It was not really that hard. Punched some griffins and stole some clothes."
He turns his eyes on the extra passengers.
"It seems you got to the slaves before us. Good work, you two. Unless you hired extra ponies while I was not around."
Scanning the mares in the room, Iron can't help but ponder.
(A lot of mares within the group. I hope they were only used for sewing.)
>>116590>>116588From behind those two, Blue Sheckles gently and casually walks into the room
"How did you two get over here, and who are they?"
>>116591"Good to see you too"
>>116592Dark Star smiles as she walks in
"We came in through the sewer. they were captives."
>>116593She tilts her head
"Okay... Why did you run away from the church?"
>>116594"What do you mean? the service was over. and i thought you had left."
>>116591"Only tip of iceberg of captives, I feel. Mala here," he motions to the dog-cat-thing, "has been our guide so far. Apparently, worse is coming up."
>>116592Silver is startled by Blue Skies' appearance, taking a second to remember what her griffon form looked like. "What Dark Star said. We were worried something had happened to Iron and Midnight, and ended up having to take alternative route. Meet Mala, Khoi, Loputu, Jubilosa, annnnnnnnd..." He gestures to each person in order, stopping at pony-Zwolf since he realizes he doesn't have a name for her.
>>116593Iron passively waves at Dark Star.
>>116596He nods at Silver.
"Good. With their testimonies, I am sure we can call in the backup."
>>116594Glancing at Mala, he simply nods stoically and politely.
"Iron."
He turns his attention to the two mares and the colt.
"Who is who between you three?"
>>116595"They were moving to a different location"
>>116596Zwolf opens her mouth, as if to provide a name herself. Then her eyes go wide in the realization she hadn't thought that part out. She closes her mouth, and after a moment says
"You can call me Miss Sands"
>>116597Mala nods back with an expression as if concerned
The golden Kirin:
"I am Khoi Lua"
The Unicorn:
"Sands... White Sands. Or Valge Liiv"
The Griffin - whether asked for or not
"Volador Jubilosa"
The Colt:
"Loputu Sugis"
>>116598"Oh,oops. sorry about that. i was really worried though."
>>116598He nods.
"I assume you three mares were wronged by the griffons above us and want to take them down in whatever way possible for making you work 18 hours a day and forcing you to sleep in poor conditions?"
Glancing at the colt, he feels a slight pity.
"Not to mention mistreatment of others."
>>116600Sands:
"Absolutely"
Jubilosa:
"They did what now?"
Khoi:
"I was in cage for long while. They would have done worse to me, and to many other. Yes, I will take them down."
>>116599"I continued talking to them for a while. I was going to infiltrate, then they said something that spooked me, so I left. And found this one' He points to Iron
>>116601Iron nods the Sands and Khoi, but looks inqusitively at Jubilosa.
"I assume you are a new slave? They were probably going to use you to make clothes as an illegal worker, most likely to save bits, and who knows what else."
Glancing at the other two mares, he shrugs.
"As far as I can tell, the two mares have a strong resolve against these griffs and I hope it is only due to neglect."
>>116602>>116596"Well, I was talking to them. They claimed that they were a sect of the Griffin Pantheon that views Boreas, Eyr, Arcturus and whatever to be facets or faces of the same god, and they didn't follow the central church in Romau. I figured they might be lying to me, but whatever. I followed them and kept talking. They say they left Griffonia because the Inquisitorial Service in the Empire would infiltrate and shut down their churches, and arrest them just for their worship. They say it got much worse after The Empire put down the secessionists in Feathesia where most of them are from, and annexed it. The new Archon is apparently pretty repressive. They like Equestria much better because there was no secret police here, and even now that there is, they don't care about Griffin religion and just leave them be. That's what spooked me. It kind of sounded like they were hinting that they knew I was not a normal visitor. Their tone was rather normal, but you two were gone, so I really didn't have any backup in case anything
did go wrong. So I left rather than risk it."
>>116603Jubilosa:
"What? I am no Griffin's slave, nor any pony's or other creature."
Sands turns to her side, and shows that she is wearing a bandage. She's rather thin around the waste in a manner not unlike an alicorn.
"Not Just neglect"
Khoi only nods, and she looks angry
\r
>>116604He hugs her
"I don't really understand the significance of their operation. what are they trying to do?"
>>116604Iron tightens his lips as Sands presents her patched up wound and the kirin's response.
"I expect as much from cocky species who nab slaves. Think they can tread on them because there is a cage separating them. Despicable."
He turns to Jubilosa
"Then I must ask: Why are you down here?"
>>116604"Hmm...how odd...you do not suppose some griffin saw you from their apartment and reported it to them, right?"
I can't fend off the sleep anymore. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Feel free to control Silver as you need to, to keep the action going. >>116605*griffin is hugged*
*griffin likes the hugs*
"They told me they were a religious sect. Then again, they didn't actually claim to have much or anything at all to do with 33 Hoebuck, so who knows how much overlap there is. They were certainly meeting together for
something. R&M thinks that they are creature traffickers, who claim to help smuggle immigrants, but really force them into indentured servitude and make profit off their labor. There is the ever present fear of weapons smuggling or the smuggling of foreign special forces who could train rebels - if you remember that being a serious thing."
>>116607"I don't even know. It's possible. More likely they are just suspicious of new people asking questions. Or maybe they seriously meant to say that they like that even the New Marelander's don't bother them with an Inquisition. I don't know."
>>116606"I was taken, placed on a small boat, and made captive here."
>>116608"i can confirm that's what they are doing. iv'e seen evidence of it happening. these mares and this colt were in bondage before we got them out."
>>116608Iron stares at the griffon like she's blind.
"As I said, a soon-to-be-made slave. You are lucky my partners got you before your captives did, or else you would have suffered like the colt and the other two mares around you."
He looks over to Khoi and Sands
"Are you both sure you are well? Being stranded in a cage does make a pony hungry, thirsty and tired."
>>116610She squints her eyes and looks at rom. Her beak hangs open slightly and her tongue is pointed up.
Khoi answers
“I am somewhat hungry, but I can manage”
Sands, however, seems intrigued
“Did you have something in mind?”
>>116611Iron nods at Khoi but when Sands actually seems interested in his offer, he blinks.
"I must say I have nothing on me particularly to give aside from random scraps of clothing I took, but if I can be of assistance, I will gladly help out."
>>116612“Any assistance you can give would be greatly appreciated”
She smiles at him
“It’s nice to have a big, strong stallion around to help us. It’s been a bad day for us, you know? Until you all showed up to rescue us.”
>>116613Iron can't help but puff his chest out and stand a bit taller at the clear flattery presented to him.
"It is no problem, Sands. I am glad to have helped against these griffons that dare hurt, neglect and abduct mares like you three like objects."
>>116614“I hope you don’t mind, but...”
She trots yo to him, then jumps her forelegs around his neck. She is hugging him. Her coat feels long haired but not fluffy. Close to the skin
\r
>>116615Iron closes his eyes, smiling to himself at the clear sign of affection presented to him, with the slightest of blushes on his cheeks.
"I was not really expecting that, but I do not mind. Heh."
>>116616She jumps off of him, and looks up at him with an almost mischievous smile
“Give and receive. You've been doing a lot of giving, so I wanted to give back in kind.”
>>116617Iron smiles abashedly, chuckling while blushing a little harder
"Oh, you do not need to worry about giving back, Sands. I am glad to help."
Okay, I am going to sleep
>>116618She giggles, and places a hoof to her mouth. Her coat is white with the hint of a bluish tint, and get braided mane is light red
“Well, I hope to see you help me a bit more through out the night, if that’s alright with you”
>>116619Night
Iron nods with a smile on his face.
"Fret not. I will be there."
He turns to Khoi and Jubilosa, realizing he's probably neglecting them, smiling awkwardly.
"Sorry about that. I got caught by surprise."
Focusing on Khoi, he smiles sheepishly.
"So how did you end up here?"
>>116619>>116621Silver can only shake his head. He turns back to Blue. "They have indeed been trafficking, with rather wide reach. Khoi here is from Ngua Nam and was looking to migrate to Equestria. Jubilosa is from Midoria, looking to migrate to Aquileia. Not only that, but we can now confirm they have been foalnapping locals. Loputu here is from Skynavian family living in Red Heart."
>>116623"I can confim this story. Its....bad down here."
>>116609"What is it you can confirm they are doing?" She asks
>>116623>>116624Despite Silver's words being more or less consistent with what they were told to expect, Blue Skies looks surprised and concerned at these words
"Well fuck me..."
After a pause, she responds
"Well, if they are kidnapping locals, then it is more serious than we thought. At least that means we can also get BPD involved. Maybe even a local militia. It also looks like they are probably working with other traffickers"
>>116621She shakes her head and makes an angry sigh
"Damn lairs told me they could get me into Baltimare after I was rejected at Locust Promontory"
>>116625He cocks his head, curious.
"Locust Promontory?"
>>116626"Or whatever they call it. The..."
Seeing that Khoi's comprehension of the ponish language and Baltimare Governate are reaching their limits, Blue Skies, with a remarkable ability to eavesdrop on ever conversation she is not a part of, fills in the gaps
"It's the migration processing facility in Baltimare"
>>116627Nodding at Skies in appreciation, he returns his gaze on Khoi.
"Why did you take the chance?"
>>116628"I didn't think it would be like
this!"
>>116629Iron nods.
"I do not blame or judge you. I probably would have done the same if I wanted to traverse the endless waters."
He gives a smile.
"I assume you were seeking a new life here?"
>>116625"Among other activities they have been participating in, no doubt. I feel this is just tip of iceberg. We should keep investigating."
>>116631She has a disbelieving look on her
"As if this isn't bad enough... What are you anticipating?"
>>116630"Yes, I was."
>>116632" im anticipating a comte scenario, or something on the same level of horror as that."
>>116633She nods
"I think this is a bigger scale... Well, we probably have enough to get R&M to send a task force"
>>116632Iron nods yet again, pondering.
"What skills were you hoping to use in order to achieve a stable living?"
>>116635She shakes her head
"Whereever there is work"
>>116634"There might not be enough time for that."
>>116637She nods, understanding, with grave expression
>>116636Iron strokes his chin with a small grin.
"I see," he responds with clear interest. "I might have something for you to do after this ordeal, but I need to consult with some ponies first. Are you up for it?"
>>116639"I am up for anything... But it sounds like the night is not over"
>>116640>>116637>>116631Iron nods.
"Agreed."
Before moving his gaze at his coworkers, particularly at Skies
"I assume we are going to release all of the prisoners before calling the backup, right?"
>>116641“Do you mean these ones? It looks like Silver and Dark Star think such a delay may be unwise”
\r
>>116643Iron hums.
"They will most likely feel something is amiss, specially after shutting down the heat and light of the building..."
He ponders for a bit.
"How would you go about contacting the backup?"
>>116644“Go find a customs station along the shoreline”
>>116645Iron nods.
>>116646He turns to Skies.
"Seeing how we are staying and look for more slaves down here, we will have to wait on that idea."
>>116647EEEEEndeed, my bat fellow. We recently have met up with Dark Star, Silver and the prisoners of this facility they have released and ready to fight/tell on the police. Dark Star has proposed that we release the other slaves before calling for backup.
>>116647Eeeeeeeeee!
Right now, the ponies are mostly talking and planning
>>116648>>116649"Does anypony have some fruit? Or have wounds that need healed?"
>>116650Iron points to Sands and Loputu, the former having a bandaged wound on her barrel while the colt has a limp leg.
>>116647Well that's just fucking adorable
>>116650The pony introduced earlier as White Sands turns her side and replies
“The older unicorn helped me earlier”
>>116638"Besides, our small task force might just be more effective than any reinforcements could be. They might underestimate us, and let us take them by surprise." He motions over to Loputu. "Before anything, it would be good idea to get little one back to his family. White Sands volunteered to do so, get family's names and address, then come back."
>>116654Skies blinks, and looks over to Sands
“And who is she?”
>>116655>>116654Iron can't help but blush a bit.
"She seems like a nice enough pony."
>>116653>>116654>>116655Midnight simply blinks at the exchanges before looking over Sand's bandaged barrel.
"Does it hurt very bad?"
>>116655"She is local, like Loputu."
>>116656“Uh Huh”
>>116657“It’s more of a long standing ache... I am okay though”
Loputu speaks up
“What can you do?”
>>116659Blush still present on his cheeks, he continues.
"She looks like an innocent pony who got roped into a tragic fate more than a dangerous individual."
>>116660White Sands smiles and tilts her head at him
Blue Skies is a little less pleased
“Innocent pony or not, should she really be leaving and wandering through the streets unescorted by armed ponies?”
>>116661"Hmm...good enough point. Who else should we send?"
>>116661Iron hums in thought, mulling over the possible fates of the poor mare that he believes is mostly defenseless.
"You are right. Red Heart is a dangerous place at night."
His blush reddens a bit.
"I do not want to put her in danger."
>>116662>>116663>>116664Sands gives a fake pout, but bats her eyes at Iron
Skies sighs
“Alright, if you
really think we need to put the teenager away, I can escort him back, and contact Customs in the process”
She looks over at the colt, and shakes her head
“Damned near old enough to carry a gun”
>>116659"I guess you could say I am a healer. I help protect and take care of ponies."
>>116665Iron's blush goes even redder as he smiles at Sands
"Hehe."
>>116666“That’s great! Can you help protect me?” He asks
>>116667Sands giggles at Iron, again placing her hoof to her mouth
>>116668Midnight stifles a giggle before patting his head
"Of course"
>>116669He doesn’t exactly like the patting - he’s an older colt, adolescent age, but he does ask
“Can you help my leg?”
>>116668Iron's eyes stay fixed on the mare, with a dazed expression.
(Woah.)
>>116665"Thanks Blue. we'll keep looking for prisoners."
He hugs her
>>116670Midnight doesn't care that he doesn't like the pets
"Let me check it for you"
Rolling heal to see what's wrong with him.
[1d20+11 = 15]
>>116672*lower-pitched coo*
*griffin is hugged*
“Okay... are you sure you wouldn’t rather conscript him?
>>116671Now, she places her hoof down, and nods with a more confident smile. She walks over towards Iron
>>116672>>116662>>116671>>116674White Sands walks up and stands next to Iron
“Alright, I’ll stay here and follow you all”
>>116679>>116672>>116662Iron puffs his chest out and stands taller when she walks next to her, standing at attention with the usual tinge of blush.
"Ready to move out."
>>116679>>116680"Alright. I am ready as well."
He looks over to Blue. "Hmm...it would not be good idea to split up again. He should probably stay out of any danger, however."
>>116679"If he is willing to. perhaps."
>>116683>>116685>>116680“Do you have any extra weapons for your... Voluntary Assistants?”
>>116679>>116685>>116680>>116683"I am ready, just tell me what to do."
>>116686"I have hammer and shortsword. Not best selection, I know. We could also take spears from pair of gnolls we incapacitated."
>>116688I switched to phone posting.
"I do. But tge weapons i have arent exactly subtle."