Along the shores of Baltimare Harbor, in the halls of old 33 Hoebuck, our heroes have discovered a dark secret. What started as a mundane mission to stop illegal immigrant smuggling has uncovered something far more horrific - a cult from Griffonia. The party has successfully challenged and defeated many of the cultists and hired criminals, but in the process, has nearly died themselves. Now, low on health, they must both recover and put an end to the evils in 33 Hoebuck once and for all - before it puts an end to them first.
Way up north, in the Iron Range of Whinnysota, the ponies their inquire into exact who or what is damaging so many machines. Investigating and following leads, they may unveil the faults and problems of the Haysabi Iron Mine, and gain favor with Changeling authorities.
Damn it, I missed 123,000
1710 replies and 23 files omitted.
>>123371>>123368The off-white mare with the orange mane looks outside
"Would you two lovebirds care for a hayburger? How about a drink?"
>>123372"Good enough? But Adrian, there is nothing that you have to do to prove yourself. You have always been perfect in my eyes."
>>123373Sunny blushes.
>>123374*he gulps nervously and then goes in for a kiss*
>>123379*kisses her deeply, relishing every moment that he's waited for for so long*
>>123380She wraps her forelegs around his neck as she slightly moans into the kiss.
>>123381*He wraps his wings around them both as he enjoys the sound of her moan*
>>123380>>123382>>123381A mare walks by with her foal. Her foal starts looking at the sight, before the mare covers her foal's eyes with her wing, and pulls him away
>>123382She runs the frog of her hoof along his face, breaking the kiss for just a moment.
"Oh, Adrian. I love you."
>>123384"I love you too Sunny, we should probably continue on though I think we're causing a scene..."
>>123386She again meets the off-white mare, now smiling
>>123387Sunny smiles a bit awkwardly.
"Can you help me? I am looking for somepony that I hear might be here."
>>123389"Well I'm just the server. Who are you looking for?"
She smiles
>>123390"Nickle and Dime."
She wonders the kind of reaction she will get for this inquiry.
>>123391The smile immediately leaves her face, to something harder
"What do you need them for?"
>>123392"It is business of the church to try to get somepony out of crushing debt the best we can."
>>123393"The church....?"
She raises eyebrows at Sunny Rays
>>123394"The pony effected attended the church of Celestia. It is my duty to try and set this pony on the right path, which means wiping the slate clean of his debt, lest he be tempted to return for more."
>>123395"Uh huh."
Her head is lowered towards her
"And how will you be 'wiping the slate clean'?"
>>123396*takes a defensive position next to her*
>>123396"Paying what I can and asking the rest be forgiven."
>>123398Hmmm.... roll a diplomacy check
>>123400Not.... stellar
>>123397Do you want to attempt intimidation?
>>123402*I step forward and Puff my chest out*
"IT WOULD BE IN YOUR BEST INTEREST TO CONSIDER IT"
>>123404>>123403>>123402She is not impressed with Sunny Ray's words, or rather, is concerned. But with Adrian's words...
"I'll... see what I can do"
She goes off, out of view
>>123405>>123404>>123401A midnight blue Unicorn Stallion wearing a black jacket comes storming out
He removes glasses with purple magic
"What the hell are you doing here?"
mlems all the cute ponies
>>123433Yeah. Silver's gonna look through all the drawers and cabinets in the room he's in.
>>123434The room has at least six cabinets and drawers. Opening them, Silver can find several batches of medical supplies and equipment. Iodine, Aspirin tablets, IV bags, Saline solution, empty hyopdermic needles, a metal drawer filled with a number of tools such as scalpels and forceps, surgical masks, latex gloves, rubbing alcohol, cold packs, bandages, needles and threads for surgical sutures, splints, rubber and cloth tourniquets, cotton balls and cotton swabs, penicillin and a few other anti-biotics, tongue depressers, and a number of other items not necessarily recognizable. There is a small array of vaccines for typhus, typhoid, diptheria, and even tuberculosis. Little glass bottles labeled as antidotes for two species of snake, some venomous creature that lives in the bay, and even manticore, can be found in another drawer. There are boxes claiming to have color coded tests for the presence of certain bacteria and viruses, or certain drugs collected by various methods. A drawer has orthopedic slings, ostomic pouches, diapers and douches. A corner has a couple walkers. Ontop of the counter, between drawers and cabinets, is an oven that seems to be for sterilization, and there are two sinks, as well as a tube rack with two test tubes. One cabinet is locked, and full of what appear to be medicines
>>123435Can Silver see what kinds of medicine are in the locked cabinet?
>>123436Yes and no. The medicines are in white bottles, transparent glass bottles, visible through a glass or plastic upper part of the door and above what looks like a stainless steal bar across the bottom. There are two levels of medicines. Some has readable labels, some do not. Among those legible are painkillers like morphine, oxycodone, and even diamorphine. There are a couple labeled as tranquilizers. And perhaps most interesting of all, there are bottles that appear to contain magical potions - though these are not identifiable from visible labels, but rather from mint green and pink-purple color
[1d20+2 = 4]>>123437Strength: Considering this to be better than nothing, Silver attempts to bust the lock to the cabinet open with the pommel of his sword.
>>123438Silver's pommel simply bounces against the plastic-glass.
It seems that the door is made out of that composite of plastic and glass that high ranking mafia members use to armor their cars for its alleged ability to withstand even bullets. Whether or not it is actually that tough, it's tougher than normal glass
\r
>>123439"...Fuck." Silver stares degectedly at the cabinet, having been foiled and thinking himself unable to open it.
>>123440It's also worth noting that Silver's last attempt missed the lock off to the side, and instead landed closer to the center
[1d20+2 = 15]>>123441Strength: "RAAAAH!" Silver tries smashing the lock again.
>>123442The lock is recessed into the side of the door (it's covered in stainless steel). Silver hits it this time, and does real damage. The lock itself seems to break and bend in, and the steel siding is bent. Some of the contents inside have shaken, and glass containers clink against glass containers. Nothing inside seems to have shattered or tipped over though.
>>123443Silver sees if he can open it, now.
>>123444Silver tore something loose, but just a little more force is necessary to pull it free
[1d20+2 = 3]>>123445Strength: Silver grabs on, and pulls.
"NNNGGGH!"
>>123446Silver pulls on the door....
But whether through faulty legs, or something on the floor, Silver slips and falls to the ground, his right two legs both sliding forward and hitting a cabinet as he falls onto his hind. There is a light "clang" sound though no sound of glass breaking. Jubilosa pokes her head through the door, rather dexterously from an extended neck.
"What happened?"
>>123447"Owww..."
Silver must look rather pathetic, on the ground like that. He slowly gets up.
She keeps her head poking through, moving occasionally in sudden, birdlike movement. The door slowly opens more as Mala slowly walks his way through, behind Silver
[1d20+2 = 9]>>123449Strength: Once up again, Silver tries once more to open the cabinet.
>>123451Now, Silver rips something loose, and the door is forced open. There is another sound of glass clanking, but nothing seems to have been damaged in the process of breaking the door open
>>123452Silver now has a closer look at the potions.
>>123453It's a decent array of potions. Multiple healing potions - it looks like a couple vials of cure moderate wounds, maybe four of cure light wounds, two of delay poison, and one each of neutralize poison, magic fang, lesser restoration, and remove paralysis - give or take a vial or two. This is besides containers of more than one variety of opiate anesthetic, tranquilizers, and a single container of chloroform. There is also a cylinder of nitrous oxide
\r
>>123454Silver takes it all, as well as the painkillers like the morphine.
>>123455As most of the containers are small there is not much concern for weight, though the dozens of vials constantly "clang" in his bag as Silver moves
>>123456 (Nice get.)
Silver gathers all of the wounded party members together.
>>123457These are Iron, Silver himself, and midnight. Dark Star has a light wound, though nothing serious. None of the rescues nor Blue Skies have any injuries, though Jubilosa and Zwolf were injured before and given potions
>>123458Silver knows how badly wounded he's been, and how badly wounded Iron's been. What about Midnight?
>>123459Midnight suffered the worst of anypony in the big fight, but was healed in part, and also did not take part in the later fight against the two interlopers. She is wounded, but better off than both Silver and especially Iron
(~20 hp of damage, maybe 24 or so remaining. This is an imprecise estimate)
Let's put off distributing the potions for the moment. Is there anything else of interest in the room?
>>123461This particular room only has the aforementioned medical supplied and equipment across drawers and cabinets, mostly along a single wall, though with some on the opposite side
>>123462Silver sees what's in the other rooms in this area.
>>123463In another room on this side is what appears to be a very small office, with a desk, a chair, and a type writer. Papers show nothing interesting. On the opposite side is a closed room with a bed. The most interesting things in this room is an oxygen canister and a surgical drill
>>123464Is the surgical drill the only bit of surgical equipment in the room?
>>123465It is the only powered piece of equipment. There are, however, scalpels, lancets, retractors, pipettes, forceps, and clamps in a cabinet
>>123466Ah. The sight is
slightly less gruesome than I had imagined. What's inside the desk in the other room?
>>123467(And a few separate types of drill bits)
Note that the great majority of the equipment seems to be more recent that the building's last function as a poorhouse, with most of the drugs having dates within the last three years - though some has expired anyways. Some equipment, especially crutches, is much older though, either inherited or purchased second hand.
The desk is mostly empty, with only a few papers inside, such as requisition papers, medical and surgical records, notes, and a few birth and death certificates.
>>123469Hand written, and all of a medical nature. Some notes about triage on a number of wounded. A question of whether an unsuccessful attempt to treat a bullet wound should be transferred to a public hospital (answered in the negative) and the same question about treatment for cancer (answered in the affirmative). A question of whether excessive sleep deprivation may be resolved by means of stimulates - no written answer. A series of questions about what body parts may be disposed in the landfill, the bay, or even sewage. Answered with immediate skepticism towards the placement of any parts of corpses in trash or the harbor bay, though with some suggestion that cremated bone fragments may be spread in either trash or the harbor bay. Suggestion that blood and digested bone fragments may be disposed in sewage. Discussion and notes about what seems to have been a typhus outbreak in miniature, with suggestions to burn clothing, vaccinate, and treat for lice.
Discussion about harm to legs and claws/hooves by restraints and equipment, and treatment. Some actual notes on how to prevent death by blood loss on a claw that is caught in stamping machine, as well as notes on cheap, reusable prosthetics. A single note asking questions about the removal of skins - but this appears to be only the first page of a larger set of notes that has been cut off or is unavailable. An actually fairly long series of questions about Changeling draining and its effects - no quick description can be given because of the complexity of the subject, but the document doesn't seem to offer much in the way of answers.
Finally, there are notes on some specific way of cutting open the chest cavities of several kinds of creature while still leaving the creature alive, with particular detail taken to how to avoid death by blood loss. This one is several pages long and includes some drawings, as well as ways to make cuts or stabbings. It's almost like cuts of steak
Most of these discussions are disorganized scribbling on paper, mostly are one or two pages in length, some include drawings but most don't, and some visibly have multiple colors of pen with orange written next to and over-top of blue ink. Some are written solely in blue ink
>>123470>>123469The notes are mostly in blue ink, and seem to have primarily two handwriting styles. Responses, comments and answers are usually off to the side, underneath, or after sections of writting, and written in orange. Some of these are in one of the aforementioned two styles. But some are written in a very fine, careful calligraphy. And one set of notes, the very last set about vivisection, is written entirely in black ink with the careful calligraphy
>>123470"...why would these griffons need to open living being's chest cavity?"
>>123472Only Mala and Jubilosa are around to hear this remark. Jubilosa
slowly pulls her head out of the room
>>123473Silver puts the notes back.
Are there any other rooms?
>>123474Not as a part of the infirmary. But there is at least one more room on the other side of the hall on the second floor
>>123475Silver decides to check it out.
>>123476On the opposite side is a door with the plate over it falling off in part. It opens up to a small room less than 20 feet across that has some seats off to the left. To the right is a long glass window covered over on the opposite side with something like a curtain, and a door.
>>123477"Curious...what is room meant for?"
Silver tries the door in this room on the right.
>>123478The room Silver was in is a bit... faded. There were a couple chairs. Older, though the wall could have held more, and the walls were a faded white wash. The glass is cracked. Going through the door (unlocked), he enters a very new room. Tile floors, and tile half way up the wall until white wash, and some marks in the wall where something was removed. But it is what is there now that is most interesting. Two large machines, each with rolls of paper and presses. And a table with several books.
>>123479"Is this book press? Here?"
Silver inspects the books.
>>123480A book press does indeed seem to be exactly what it is. Looking at the books, they are all the same. Bound and covered in leather - or at least, it looks like leather. No markings of any kind on the outside
>>123481Is there anything inside them?
>>123482Oh yes. Yes there is. Here now, there is variance. Some have portions in Ponish, some are largely in a foreign language that is probably Herlandish, and some have both. But
all have some third language. A language not identifiable, and not sounding much like any speech of griffin, nor kirin or zebra. There are many creatures out there, and who can say what they speak or don't speak? But the harsh consonants and bizarre grammar of this alien tongue seem...
wrong.
>>123483This leather, you can bet is >>123484What do the Ponish portions say?
>>123485It's difficult to grasp the entire contents of a book in only a few minutes, flipping through. Yet a scanning read, and a few pages flipped here and there, gives a glimpse....
A wise griffin, a sorcerer or druid, named Vortigan, consults with spirits under moonlight. Using the mind as contact to something deeper... broader. Broad as the vastness of space. A tribe called the Maarverni, who found these secrets. Here is an illustration. It's like a giant statue of a griffin, made of sticks, wicker and twine. More than one griffin is inside, and another outside carries a torch. Another illustration of the location of stars, though these are not stars visible in the sky. Descriptions of shadows dancing across mist filled craters on the moons far side, whispering their wisdom to those hidden things that pass in black ether of space
>>123486"Maarverni...were these original worshipers of Maar, then? These must be books of worship, then."
Silver investigates the book presses.
>>123487A number of plates with lettering on them that rotate and press into ink, then onto paper. They are smaller than the printing presses of formal publishing companies and newspapers, yet still fairly large. Only black ink seems to be used, and there are plates off to the side that are not in immediate use but must rather be switched out. The press seems to be powered a black
coated electric cable that comes down directly from the ceiling and no through normal electrical outlets. It isn't entirely clear how the leather cover is added, but one of the machines has many pages in it
>>123488"Hmm...seems normal, I suppose, though I have never seen printing presses before. But why is window looking into this room...?"
>>123489From this side, it's completely covered up. They must not have wanted what is in this room to be visible into the other any longer. Over to the right is another door.
At this point, a couple of Silver's followers make their way in. Johann almost seemed to have smelled it, walking in and taking a look. Blue Skies, likewise looks around, becoming less interested when she sees the room is clear. And Mala walks in after the griffins, keeping his head low
>>123490He nods to the new arrivals to the room.
"Looks like they have been printing Maarist 'holy' books."
>>123491Johann is already staring down the presses. The room is dark and Johann is only barely visible in the light Silver uses to illuminate the presses. But his eyes gleam, and Silver can see the death stare he gives the presses, as he slowly walks closer, and looks down to the books on the table. He does not bother to pick them up. After a pause, he responds to Silver
"So they have"
Then he reaches out a claw towards a book, and four inches away, pulls his claw back
"All of this... must be burned. Kill it before it spreads. Metastasizes..."
Skies walks around, looking at other parts of the room, and is somewhat confused. She actually speaks before Johann starts
"Like a damned cancer spreading"