1521 replies and 59 files omitted.
>>122273Iron cocks his head before nodding. "I suppose that is a good enough answer," he responds, rather surprised nothing else was found. "How close are we to clearing out the place?"
>>122274"I think there's an entirely separate group of these cultists elsewhere in the building," Skies answers
>>122275"So we look for stragglers for now, then?" Iron asks, rather confused. "Maybe there are valuable items on these floors?"
>>122276“No” she answers
“The group we attacked earlier was one of two. And we still haven’t found Maakie”
She answers his second question
“There certainly could be valuables”
>>122277Thinking of Cauldron, he sets off in his small quest to find stuff to plunder for some much needed capital for Cauldron's business, he starts to trot off to start his search with Sands in tow if she wants to.
"That is what I will do for now, then," he states as he leaves the room, eager to explore.
>>122278Sands comes out, but Johann as well
There are two doors at the end of the hall, and the hallway seems to wrap around. One door is further away, the other closer
>>122279Iron first tries to open the door closest to him, trying to open it softly.
>>122280Locked
Sands:
“I think she cane to this one first, and doubled back when it didn’t open”
>>122281Humming slightly, he tries to bust the door open by slamming it with his body
[1d20+10 = 14]<Attack roll >>122282Well, he certainly hits it. Roll damage or strength, depending on exactly how Iron is approaching it
>>122284Iron kicks the door with his hind legs in a full buck, cracking the door, and while not knocking it to the ground nor separating it from its hinges, it does seem to break the portion keeping it locked in place, and allowing it to open
Sands and Johann both seem impressed by Iron’s kick
>>122285With a nod, he pushes the door open, eager to see what's inside.
>>122286In a way, it’s a construction similar to what was seen in the last room, with a wall to the left and a wall with doors on the right. But in another way, it’s completely different, with the most immediately noticeable difference being the electric lights hanging from the ceiling with open wiring. Against the wall is a rack with no less than three firearms, and several melee weapons. There is a table further back with a handgun on it, a table with a radio - of all things - on the far end, and ornamental carpet in the floor, a separate rug, a painting on the wall, and a bed visible through in the other room
>>122287Iron is admittedly surprised to find such a jackpot of weapons in here, trotting towards the rack in fascination before turning to Sands. "Think this is sellable somewhere?" he asks her, as if she'd know.
>>122288“Someone must have sold it to them, I’m sure it can be resold”
She says
>>122289Smiling wide, he quickly picks as many guns as he can, prioritizing the firearms then the fancier looking weapons, stuffing them on his person.
Spark continues to think up a plan.
"What do you think would work then?"
>>122299From the North, a wind blows down, and a great rustling runs through the pine trees. Down in the pit, Onyx is shielded in part, but he can feel it getting colder. Much colder.
Spark has gone off, talking to a Changeling in uniform, while the new wind has encouraged Ruby and his two "friends" to come closer back, towards the carriage
>>122300He only shakes his head
"If I knew, I wouldn't be in here"
>>122301Onyx seriously wonders how he got qualified as a foalsitter as her herds the foals closer to the wagon.
>>122303"The pit is nice, but where else are we gonna go today, Onyx?"
Ruby asks
>>122304"I'm not sure yet. Depends on how quickly we get out of here... Hang on a moment"
Onyx jump into the wagon and begins looking for something to start a fire with.
>>122303Spark seems to have gone off into the town.
>>122305Presumably they brought blankets and coats. There's a set of matches. No kerosene
>>122306He grabs the pack of matches in his maw, before poking his head out to see if there's a any sticks or such laying around.
>>122307Inside of the pit, nothing... 'cept maybe a few leaves that have blown in. Clay, mud, and that taconite rock. But there is a forest 40 feet above and beyond the brim
>>122308He sets the matches down and grabs his halberd
"Who wants to help collect firewood?"
Ruby, looking around, still semi-mesmerized by some of the machines, now turns his head up to Onyx. A smile forms across his face. And his tail begins to rock back and forth
"I do! I do!"
>>122301"Well.... I appreciate the attempt at help. But It'll have to be Zu Lang, or his lieutenant who would release me"
>>122310"And who is his lieutenant?"
>>122311"Uh, Drei Dwanzig, I think it is"
>>122310"Awwww"
He pats the colt on the head
"Hopefully your friends will stay put... Come on."
He throws his halberd over his shoulder and makes his way towards the brim.
>>122313The friends don't quite stay put, and act as if they do not understand Ponish.
A Changeling guard standing on the brim looks past at Onyx, seeming to take offense to the halberd. But he says nothing, and does nothing. They make their way through the grey earth past more rocks, puddles of water, and stepping aside for a diesel powered dump truck, until they go up an earthen ramp, and onto the ground. Here, the ground is barren with only some naked soil and scattered grass. Further away are tree stumps and denser grass, then pine forests. Pine trees 50 or 70 feet tall into the air, and swaying in the cold north wind
>>122312"Hmm... got a discription of him?"
>>122314Onyx does not acknowledge the guard
"Come on Ruby, stay close"
He makes his way to the forest, keeping a close eye on Ruby.
>>122315"He'll be wearing a darker jacket than the most of them, with black on it, and his fangs are a bit longer. He'll have an officer's cap rather than the steel helmet"
>>122316Ruby comes up closer, like a dog to heel. He has quite a bit of energy, and burst forward to his side. They get there soon enough, where there are some broken branches, and some trees have clearly stripped bark in pairs of downward trails, the left longer than the other
>>122317"Alright. I'll go talk to him."
>>122318"Grab as many of the branches as you can. We'll need them."
Onyx picks up some of the bigger ones, balancing them on his back or carrying them in his maw.
>>122319He nods, weakly
"Remember to try to think their way. They care more about results and security than justice or comapassion"
>>122320Ruby quickly picks up a branch that is broken off from 15 feet up. It is still live with green leaves, and is much, much longer than Ruby, making it awkward for him to carry. but he places the thing in his mouth, opening wide, obscuring most of his body behind leaves and an overly thick branch
>>122321Onyx can't help but laugh at the display, dropping his own sticks as he shakes with laughter at the tiny colt carrying this branch.
>>122322"Mwwwm?"
He asks
He presses forward.... to find the branch is caught between two trees, too wide to pass through. He goes forward again, bowing the branch, but nnot making it through. He tries to turn the left side up higher and the right side lower, to get it in at an angle. Finally, he pulls back, tries to push the right side through first, gets caught on a tree yet again, then the second time, narrowly makes it through, scraping his body against the tree.
He walks over, and drops the branch down next to Onyx
>>122323Onyx stops laughing and pats the colt again
"Good job, now, let's head back"
He picks up his branches again, and they make their way to the wagon again.
>>122324Onyx and the small walking sapling go back towards the carriage
>>122321"Don't worry. I got this far. I think we are just about in the clear."
Spark heads out to find the lieutenant.
>>122325I'm laughing like a madmanOnyx spits out his sticks next to the wagon, and drops the ones off his back, then moving to make a small pile of them.
>>122327Ruby drops his two small half-twigs on the small pile, and then plops down the branch that is twice as long as he is, which obscures the pile and much of the rock to either side with its leaves. It doesn’t fit in the pile, being several feet over in either direction, and its obtuse shape means sitting down it’s almost higher than the top of the pile.
Ruby spits, and licks out his mouth the get the bark out. Then he looks at the big branch and blinks
“Uh... green wood don’t burn as well as dead wood. My bad.”
The silent little grey Pegasus drops off a couple of his own twigs, about three six inch ones that are less than what Onyx can carry in his mouth
>>122326He is not inside the building as the secretary tells Spark
“He’ll be at the pit.”
But going down, around about the milk, Spark sees a Changeling that fits that description
>>122328He ruffle's both ponies' manes
"Oh well Ruby, it'll be fine"
He then gets the small fire ready and uses one of the matches to light it.
>>122330He turns, and narrows his blue eyes at Spark
"What do you want?"
>>122329Ruby's rather long brown mane comes down from his part, covering his face, as Onyx sees a smile underneath the mess of hair.
The grey pegasus Ruby has named "Mutey" recoils his head a little back and down as he closes his eyes, which are soon covered by his darker grey hair. His head pops back up when the hoof pulls away
At first, it barely lights, with a wind nearly blowing the match out. But it catches under one of the softer, dead branches, and a new wind - slowed by the depth of the pit, blows air into it, and a grey-white smoke comes out, before red flames spray up
>>122331"wew, that'll help us get a little warm"
Onyx sits down, watching the fire carefully
>>122331"Here on Zu Lang's orders. He needs to stop the terrorist attacks and I was sent to interrogate the prisoner and find the remaining suspects."
>>122332As the fire rises, it goes closer to the big branch on top, which starts to crackle and pop as the moisture boils and bursts out
Wesley comes, and sits down next to Onyx, and Ruby joins on the other side, at little further away
"Wish I brought Marshmallows..."
>>122333Spark met the Lieutenant maybe 30 yards from the mill, and the sound of a loud, rock crushing machine pervades over all. But he must of heard Spark, for the almost snarling expression on his mouth fades to something calmer yet more concerned. He asks no questions about Spark's identity, at least yet anyways
"And what did you find?"
>>122334Onyx chuckles
"No use worrying about it now. i say we just stay warm."
>>122336At this point, somepony walks up to him. Rather, some creature. It's a Changeling, a Changeling drone. Adult sized, with no disguise nor pretense of being anything other, and a fur coat. With his blue green eyes, he lowers an eyebrow and asks
"What are you doing?"
It's said like a question born from genuine curiosity rather than an accusation of wrong doing
"This is an active mining zone"
>>122335"The prisoner seems ready to point out his comrades. I just need your approval to get an escort and bring him back to find the guilty party."
>>122338He is silent for a moment
"I'll see..."
He starts walking towards the mine
>>122337"Well an associate of mine is talking to some of the higher ups, and I was left to take care of the foals, and it's cold."
Onyx hopes there isn't too much malace in his voice.
>>122340"Foals?"
Ruby pulls back, to the side, and slightly behind Onyx, while Wesley almost indifferently walks forward, before a small purple bat pony rushes past and towards the Drone.
The drone looks back to Onyx
"I see... This isn't the best of all places for foals"
>>122341"I agree, but they're here. So I will try to make them comfortable while they are."
>>122342"This is the middle of an active mine" he repeats
>>122343"I don't see any mining happening around, but If you need me to I'll move."
>>122344He blinks. Then walks off.
>>122345"Good enough"
He headcounts the foals again, just to be safe.
>>122346Kerr runs off in the direction of the Drone, while Wesley sits, tilts his head towards the receding drone, then back to Onyx when Onyx makes more noise. But Ruby pokes his head up around Onyx, then jumps out
"Yay! You made that big, mean old Changeling go away!"
Ruby hugs Onyx
>>122347"Oh, it was nothing"
Onyx akwardly accepts the hug, watching the chngeling foals.
Kerr defeatedly comes back, and lays down across from the fire.... The small, pitiful fire that is already partly burning out, and has only just blackened the big live branch
Wesley says something to Onyx in parasite, and then Kerr says something back to both of them in a sarcastic tone of voice, but that's also in parasite, so you couldn't understand him even if you wanted to understand him, which you certainly don't with that tone of voice. Ruby stands up, and walks back a pace, frightened by the language of the foals he thought were mute
>>122349Onyx gently pets Ruby
"Don't worry, they won't bite. I don't like that tone though... Maybe we should move into the wagon."
>>122350Ruby is pet, but he still has a look of concern on his face, as he doesn't seem to buy onyx's lie about the hatchlings not biting
"Yeah... we can do that"
Ruby stands behind and beside Onyx, looking past him towards Wesley in a way much like he did with the guard. Wesley frowns as he looks back at Ruby, and then hangs his head and looks down. Kerr stands next to his brother, narrowing his eyes and half snarling at Ruby.
>>122351"oh, pay no attention to the one. The other one wants to be your friend still."
Onyx marches up the wagon, opens it up, and gestures the goals inside.
>>122352Wesley and Kerr watch as Onyx goes off, followed by ruby who trots alongside him
When Ruby opens the door, he finds.... A big brown Earth pony laying down inside. And another one.... This one is grey. They look up at him
>>122353Uh.... I seem to have made an error in my math...
WHAT
>>122354The two stallions look up at Onyx, one with a formal blanket, the other with a coat used as a blanket, and both with some bandages or other on them, laying on each respective side of the carriage couches. They look up to Onyx silently, and blink
>>122356I wasn't aware the wagon was occupied...
Onyx slowly shuts the door.
"Uh... New plan?"
>>122357"Yes?" Ruby asks
The other two foals, close together, are still separated, further away on the other side of Onyx
>>122358"I'm... Not quite sure. I'm kinda used to being cold, but I don't know about you"
>>122359"If.... If I could just get a coat..."
>>122360"Of course."
He slowly opens the door again, looking for a free coat.
>>122361Well.... there is the one that is covering the grey earth pony
>>122365Yes! There is a smaller coat, fluffy and faux fur, fit for a colt. Wesley and Kerr are already wearing jackets of their own
>>122366Wew! Onyx quickly grabs is and presents it to the colt.
>>122367Ruby lights up, and his tail goes high before wagging back and forth
"Yay!"
He grabs the coat out of Onyx's hooves, covering himself in it, fumbling around underneath the coat, until eventually, a leg pops out, then his little head sticks out through it
>>122368Fuck, muh heart
"There ya go"
Onyx slowly shuts the door again, Wondering how long they'll be there.
>>122369Spark has since come back down, now near the mill
Ruby asks,
"So, what we doin' up here?"
Ruby looks around, not turning his head, but turning his whole body in a little circle as he stands in place
"This ain't the state fair"
>>122370Sorry that I disappeared. I'll be free tomorrow.
>>122378Reeeee No boop!
Um... what does Silver do now?
>>122379Can you give me a refresher on Silver's surroundings/situation?
>>122380>>122381Yay! Hi edge pone
Iron has gone down towards one of two doors, and has kicked it open, and gone inside
>>122383Dark Star follows him inside