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.
>>123849Perfect. Since last Brie and Zu spoke, it would not be untoward for Brie to take flight, and so he does so, all the while keeping an eye on Lang. Intended elevation of about 150'.
>>123849I suppose Spark makes his way back to the forest.
>>123850Brie flies up, up and over, out of the pit. He can see all of the pit, its rocks and gravel, trucks and power shovels. He can see most of the town, if obscured by trees, upon the hill, with a steeple, a school house’s bell, and the top floor of the company building sticking out. He can see the railway, and the grinding mill that sprawls north and west of the pit. He can see a lake, and the edges of a second pit north, and to the East. And he can see an endless sea of pine trees, against which the lake, town and pits stick out as islands.
Zu Lang walks out to the edge of the pit, between the mill and town
>>123851Spark crosses the railroad, towards that cleared area, and the trees with the damaged limbs
>>123852Brie adjusts to a glide, and aerially shadows Lang, positioning himself to transition into a dive.
>>123853Lang walks slowly, changing his direction towards town. Brie has to make a circle to make this work, but he can dive from behind
>>123854Brie maintains his shadowing pursuit, waiting for things to blow up to signify the start of the plan.
>>123855This isn’t possible
strictly speaking, as Brie must fly faster, to maintain flight, than Lang’s walking pace. Of course circles can maintain an approximate position, with wider circles, especially those that go over the forest, being less suspicious to any guard who looks up.
>>123855Oh. I'm the one blowing things up? Ok, I misunderstood that part.
>>123857I was under the impression that Spark was going to light the spark, yes. The other explosions will be from Brie.
>>123856As needed, that's fine. I don't know what to expect from Lang
>>123849Fair enough."Hmm...it is difficult to figure out. And if I am remembering correctly, there is still one doorway to atrium that is without door."
He looks up at the griffon.
"So, you are more experienced than I am at leading and coordinating groups. Perhaps you have advice you could give?"
>>123858Then Spark will wait till sundown like discussed.
>>123860“The door way between the buildings closes” she says
“If you want to strike quickly, and with power, keep everyone together. To be more cautious, but have less power when you strike, keep some in the other room. Of course there is also a risk to the creatures themselves if they enter combat. It may be possible to go contact the police or customs now, though that would take a pony away from the action. It would help secure those that are captured though.”
>>123861Are you sure?
>>123859Lang is walking towards town. He has a slower pace than he could have. His lieutenant walks up the ramp, and towards another pony near the edge of the pit.
>>123861He’s flying now though
>>123862Silver nods.
"I did not consider this last option. This seems wisest."
>>123862>>123863I don't know. Is it? I'm kind of relying on you guys doing whatever you need to to get ready and then I go now that I'm the trigger.
>>123864“Do you... want me to go find customs? How about the police? It means I won’t be in the combat though, unless nothing happens until they arrive”
>>123865I guess I just sort of assumed it was go-time. If not for Spark's plan, Brie would be engaging in a recon/bombing run right now. Oh well, too late to retcon, Brie is in tactical strike position.
>>123867I will bomb whenever. I just need to know when it is. Is it now? Is it in a couple of actions' time?
>>123866"..."
Silver scratches his chin in thought.
"Hmm...well, what do you think? Would you rather be in fight, or get police or customs?"
>>123868I'd say play it by ear. If the coast seems clear and Spark is comfortable, fire away. He can always decide to wait.
>>123869“The captures being released is a definite hazard, but the real question is probably this: where do you want the weaker creatures to be when the cultists are confronted?”
>>123870Brie can reasonably assume that Lang is going towards the police station, or if not the police station, a different covered structure that even the 500 lb bombs of formal dive bombers would face moderate difficulty collapsing. It’s near a mile up to the town, away from the pit and mill. Lang will take several minutes at the least, and circling him like a carrion bird for all that time is unlikely to remain unnoticed.
>>123872Of the police station? It is hard to say, Brie saw only one waking past it. But Zu Lang is out in the open right now, and Brie is even more so
>>123871"Preferably out of way of fighting, if they are unable to support us using ranged weapons."
>>123873Brie triggers his cloak and disguises himself as part of the skyline
>>123875Imperfect given the limitations of the cloak, but he does reduce his presence to something more like a bird. Clouds further away offer even more cover, but they are
further away >>123874“Well, then give them all guns, place them in one of these rooms, or lock them in the dormitory building”
>>123875A new development that may be concerning. The lieutenant, who looks over in vain towards Spark, gathers an earth pony stallion in chains and a gendarme guard, and starts his way towards the station. He’s behind Zu Lang, 200 feet or so, and so has the ability to see what is behind Zu Lang - and likely, what is above him
>>123877Alright, how many ponies/bugs are in play, around Lang? There's the Lieutenant, the stallion prisoner, and the guard. Anyone else?
>>123878Two immediately around Lang, a guard with the Lieutenant, a chained pony prisoner, and three gendarme guards are visible around the pit (they are kind of far away and closer to the pit).
Two familiar black dogs roam around the edge of the pit, looking about
>>123879Can Brie estimate the approximate freefall time to reach the ground from here? At 150' I would assume it would be less than 10 seconds, but I know the acceleration speed of a falling object.
>>123880Round about 3.1 seconds if exactly 150 feet and no effort throwing it down
>>123881Is there any form of cover in the vicinity of the group or are they in an open area?
>>123882The forest is maybe 100 feet away., and the walls of the pit are 30 feet or less. Depending on the exact location, there are objects ranging from a dump truck, a ditch next to the railway, and even a steam train
>>123883Alright. Last question. What are the gendarme equipped with, assuming its visible?
>>123884The Gendarme are full soldiers of the Changeling Army. The ones around the pit (further away) have bolt action rifles. The ones standing with the officers have semi-automatic carbines. The officers have at least pistols. It is harder to say if anyling has a Submachine gun
>>123885e_e
Alright. Brie, who is naught but an innocuous bird
I don't see why he can't camoflage as the skyline, but w/e begins ascending, endeavoring to keep Lang in his sights, or if not to keep an eye on wherever he goes.
>>123886Okay, maybe his cloak can turn him solid blue.
It’s probably fair to say that Brie can sense that his confederate has had a hiccup or difficulty of some sort
>>123887Spark would be setting up the bombs along the forest, probably to knock over trees, as well as the train station Spark had previously found.
>>123888Spark can easily place a charge at the base of a tree, or on a tree. The civilian train station that Spark found is around a hill and almost a mile away - are you sure that is what you want to try to attach explosives to?
>>123888I assume Brie can see this
>>123889No, the one where the workers are loading things onto.
>>123890If Spark is really in the woods, then he’d be just out of Brie’s field of view. Brie would see him entering and leaving the forest easily, though.
He could see him along the track and in the side of train cars as well.
>>123891Anything in particular? A train car, the track, a locomotive?
>>123892The building itself, a wall.
>>123892That also means that Brie would have a bird's eye view of what Lang and co were doing, and whether or not they were observing, following, or shadowing Spark.
>>123895The Lieutenant does indeed look around, first at Brie, and then at Spark, evidently expecting Spark to meet with him. He stops later, gets the pony prisoner and goes in the direction of town. Zu Lang heads in the direction of town immediately and pays no mind to anyone except possibly the two drones accompanying him. Aside from some curious black dogs it really looks like the Gendarme around the pit are more concerned with looking over the pony workers, and the pony workers go about their business - if sometimes at leisurely pace
\r
>>123896Having been looked at, even in disguise, Brie will decide "he's gained enough altitude" and will peel off toward the forest. How much time does he have to kill before sundown?
>>123897If he’s waiting until sundown, almost two hours
Alright, little ponies. Now what?
>>123899Brie wants to keep an eye on Lang, planning to pull a death-from-above when the fireworks go off. He took off because he thought it was later than it was. Since its far earlier than I thought it was, and since the lings are still expecting him to run recon, he'll minimally do that, but more to kill time than to actually run recon. According to Spark, there
is no insurgency, so after about an hour (still before sunset) he will return to the city, "before setting out again to locate the insurrection" (but really just to be in position).
>>123899Spark needs to try and keep that prisoner around, so he heads to the lieutenant.
>>123900Lang walks on, into Blackwood. He walks first into the company building, and is in there for a while, before walking into the police building. The Lieutenant walks directly to the station with the prisoner. Gendarme soldiers occasionally walk between the town and the pit, but mostly the same ones look over the pit.
Over at the mine, there is something like the end of a shift, with many workers walking back and to the mine. The grinding mill stops its incessant pounding, and the steam train, with a whistle, slowly pulls out from the mill. The cars do not look to be full.
Of in the forest, there is something that looks like smoke off in the distance. A wolf howls. Night begins to fall
>>123902Brie returns to the town, intent on speaking with Spark. He's seen a fire in the distance, which grants legitimacy to the story he's going to spin for the gendarme, should they ask.
>>123901>>123903>>123900New interpretation! If Spark left the conversation thinking he was supposed to blow up the bombs
immediately, he is going to set the bombs off immediately
>>123901Fine. Cancel that. I'm moving ahead with the whole thing. Spark gets to cover and sets the fuses. He preps his illusion spell for the moment the explosion happens.
>>123904Oh I do hope that Brie can see Lang when this happens
>>123907He will not yet be to the tree line of the town when this happens
>>123905>>123908It is what it is. Lets blow some shit up.
I assume its too late to acquire or have acquired an incendiary device? >>123909Unless he had matches with him, or a zippo
Should have made your character a smoker like Silver. Maybe he can run and find something
>>123910He'll improvise. Not everyone can see in the dark, odds are he can find something when the time comes. The most critical part is stuff blowing up while he's in the air. He doubts that Lang is gonna hide when bombs are going off, and if he does, he'll just go find him.
>>123911If only there were some location where the sun where blocked out, that is dark even in day, and that the changelings could easily be persuaded to run into....
Oh well. So long as they don't know Brie is attacking them he really has multiple shots at this
>>123912Spark casts his illusion as the fuses near their end. He uses the beast he encountered in the forests outside the farm as his mental picture to base this creature on, but exagerates it in many was, giving it large fangs, wings that appear to have a razor edge, and eyes that only a demon could posses. He starts it inside the forest and makes it walk tought the trees towards the pit. The bombs should give it all the attention it needs.
>>123913Damn. Now for the explosions...
>>123914Alas, I can't find any Visioneers memes about The EXPLOSIONS
It comes out of the woods like a silent contender. Approximately it looks like a 25 foot Owl Bear, with with a sharp hooked beak with fangs bending down, matted grey fur cast in shadow. Sharp, angled wings like that of some malign dragon. And glowing, blood red eyes.
It announces its presence to the world with a "PING!" exploding behind it, sending a tree falling down, and into another tree, knocking off limbs as it falls down and in the direction of the tracks. Another tree is knocked lose, and into the wood. The cracking of limbs and falling timber is nearly a roar against the silent perpetrator.
The Lieutenant and his guard are the first to look back
Drie: "What is that thing?"
Guard: "That is.... not like what I saw... It is something else"
Zu Lang and his two guards stop in their tracks, and turn back. The two guards pull out their guns, and level them at the monster. Zu Lang pulls out his pistol with a magical glow.
"Well? Shoot it! Make it go away!"
It Starts to walk forward with silent steps, even as the trees crash behind it. The guards at the edge of the pit look back over towards it now.
Then, "PING!" There is an explosion on the side of the grinding mill. A feeding conveyer falls down to the ground, and a steel cover flies off. This is the event that, more than anything, gets the attention of the Gendarme, as a howl and shriek of bullets start to fly
BANG BANG BANG BANG
The leitenant's guard starts to shoot, then the Lieutenant with his pistol. Zu Lang seems to have a different perspective:
"Saboteurs! They are Saboteurs planting explosives! Hold the area! More bombs will be forth coming! Everyling, on duty!"
His guards are shooting their carbines in the direction of the monster, and perhaps indiscriminately at the forest.
A particularly scared pony stallion appears through the dust cloud by the grinding mill, having evidently been near the source of the explosion. A black dog looks around before jumping towards the pit
The guards around the pit have all turned and were among the first to start shooting. Zu Lang yells at them
"Look out for insurgents in the mines! Watch them!"
From around the mill, and over around the town, there is buzzing, with presumably more changelings coming to join the fray
For the dozen bullets shot at the Owl Bear from Tartarus, nothing seems to hurt it. They may as well just pass through
>>123916Brie in his return flight, will visually target Lang. He'll draw his short sword, shift his cloak to look LIKE Lang, and then descend on a death-from-above course.
>>123917Lanng has his pistol out, and is yelling at Guards. To each side is a guard with guns drawn, focusing on the monster before them
>>123920Its probably ill advised, and it might hurt Brie a bit, but, Brie is going to use his current dive-bomb formation to run Lang through with his short sword
>>123921So soon? Will he announce to the guard what he is running through Zu Lang for, so as to discourage retaliation?
Alright...
Roll Die >>123916To keep the illusion going, does Spark need to remain stationary? While he ponders when a good time to run back to the others would be, he casts Ghost Sound to make the beast of his making seem more believable. He makes it make a noise as if it feels the bullets trying to tear though it with some shrieks and roars, as well as its footsteps closer to the group of confused ponies and changelings.
>>123923And so are added
ROAR sounds, the stomp of giant feet, and flinches and raised arms as bullets tear at it
[1d20 = 7]>>123922Nah, these are Lang's bugs. He's under no illusion that he's getting off easy.
No strength modifier, not sure if he has a BAB, and I dunno the (any) bonus for the sword
>>123925+3 BAB, +2 Charge bonus (Because this is a dive), and +2 from the Sword. It's enough to penetrate the fur coat of the flat-footed Zu Lang
>>123927Yes. Don't forget your Sneak attack bonus
>>123928"So sorry, I seem to have gotten turned around. I was looking for the person responsible for discipline around these mines. I seem to have slipped." Brie says, pulling his blade from Lang and readying it for another blow, since Lang is prone.
[2d20 = 20][1d20+2 = 12]>>123930And so 15 damage down to Zu Lang, who is knocked prone.
Brie has the advantage of looking more or less like Zu Lang, but anyone who can see position and weapons could see who is who.
Left guard
"
This is the monster!"
>>123931His green eyes narrows right on Brie
He should probably roll initiative
[1d20+3 = 20]>>123932"You could have avoided this by relaying with the Queen. Now you're my problem. No hard feelings, its just business." Brie says with a sneer.
>>123933>>123932Brie first, then a gendarme, then Zu Lang, then the other Gendarme. No other creatures have yet joined in, as they are focused on the monster
[1d20+5 = 13]>>123934Alright. Brie will attempt a second stab with his sword, per dice. If he can he will also prepare a throwing knife, and if he can throw it (not expecting to, but if he can it will be at one of the gendarme).
>>123934"Let's play a game, you and I. Or I and I. Depends on how you look at it I suppose."
"Winner takes the other's head. How's that for sport?" Brie says mockingly
[1d20+7 = 25]>>123937His eyes seem to change color under Brie, from Green to something... different. Black. Pure orbs of black that soak in the light and give nothing back. They stare at him
But with his pistol, he shoots back at Brie
[2d6 = 10]>>123940>>123939Brie is exceptionally lucky, for both Gendarme refrain in the chaos and confusion from shooting at either of the two Zu Langs before them
Where he is not so lucky is in Zu Lang's return shot with his pistol, which goes right through a gap in the jacket.
Zu Lang's head twitches again, in a strange way
>>123941"Tit for tat. Come then Lang." Brie says, showing his bat fangs.
>>123942Brie furls his wings menacingly
>>123942Zu Lang has.... stopped responding in any kind of normal way. The last reciprocal action he undertakes comes when he, too, bares his fangs. His right fang is three and a half inches long, the left one is two inches, so it is established. With this, comes a grin.
Now, it is not unusual for Changelings to change shape and appearance. What is new is to do so without a green flash. Before Brie's eyes, slowly, over the course of seconds, Zu Lang's chitin starts to drain color, and change texture, becoming a whiteish brown at parts, and looking almost like dried, dead naked hide from a pony. His chest starts to expand, as does his back, slowly becoming longer. His legs become longer, and lankier. His belly does not grow, however, and he looks exceptionally emaciated. His wings don't seem to change much, becoming crackled and small on his back.
He grins with lips that become ever thinner, and with broken yellow teeth behind, as his muzzle seems to become longer. And he stares right back at Brie with those soulless, black eyes
>>123944Brie is going to activate his cloak to attempt camoflage, and attempt to take flight.
>>123942>>123943>>123944Underneath Brie, staring back at him with giant, soulless eyes is a creature that looks, in a way, like a pony. A pony who has holed themselves up in the winter, gone long months without any food, who has had their flesh exposed to the cold, and watched their limbs die in the frost bite, become black and mummify over the bone even as the pony lives. And then, before the warm of spring can rescue them, death comes. Drained of blood and every last gram of fat andd muscle fiber, reduced to hide stretched over bone and sinew - that winter stricken corpse is like the figure under Brie.
With one
critical difference. The figure beneath him starts to grow. Become bigger, until soon it will be twice as big, or bigger, that the comparatively innocuous creature from whence it came. It reaches out a bony, white leg with holes you can fit a knife through, towards Brie.
The two guards next to Brie seem to have in large part lost interest in Brie or defending their captain. The past six months have conditioned them to wild rumors of fantastical creatures drempt of by the natives who have dwelt in these forests long before the three tribes came. They are spooked by the appearance of the owl bear. They are unsettled by the attacker come from above. And now the figure underneath Brie appears to them as the verification of ever horror whispered about in these cold woods
"So the ponies weren't shitting us... It's the Wetiko"
>>123945The guards are distracted. This is perfectly possible
>>123946>>123945From his crocodile leather muzzle, Zu Lang smiles back with red blood dripping out of his mouth.
>>123948Fire. Brie searches frantically for a fire.
>>123949Unfortunately, the explosions were fairly clean and left nothing on fire, and in any case the areas near the Owl Bear monster are showered with bullets.
Spark is a pyromancer though. It may be worth finding him