Up in the North, the ponies have successfully found who, or rather, what was damaging the mine. But their quest is not over, as they go to look for the source of the trouble. In Baltimare, Iron, Silver, and Dark Star enjoy the fruits of defeating the cultists, while Midnight herds the remaining rescues.
We welcome any new players to join
1653 replies and 45 files omitted.
>>127827Her smile softens somewhat
"I guess that is true. I just think collecting may be a bit less of a challenging for us than calculating"
>>127829Iron can't help but widen his smile, turning slightly mischievous. "Oh come on," Iron mutters out, chucking somewhat before looking at Cauldron "do you see me as a pony who backs down from a challenge?"
>>127830She smiles wider at him,
“I see you as a pony that didn’t do any better at math in school than I did”
She giggles
>>127831Iron chortles at the response, lightly tapping Cauldron's chest. "Hey," he mock protests after a bit "I will have you know my father made me study the magical number thingies or unless I sought to get spanked." He pauses, smiling widely "I admit my flank got beet red more than I would like to admit."
>>127832She gives a toothy, kind of awkward smile
"My father wanted me to do well in school, I just kind of... slacked off and did other things"
>>127833Iron cocked his head. "Oh?" he lets out, intrigued by her potential hobbies as a filly "What did you do before?"
>>127834"Well, you know. Talk to other fillies and colts. Play around."
She looks down at the notepad
"I would often ask the teacher when I would ever have to use math in life. I had no idea..."
>>127835Iron can't help but chuckle. "Me too, actually," the native admits sheepishly, rubbing his cheek "I did not expect to have to use them for all sorts of things either, even less that it would apply to something like this."
The native pulls up his foreleg, looking pensively "I thought we would simply be coercing ponies from the money they owed, nothing more."
>>127836"No, you have to get the money to lend out from a boss, find creatures that need money but can't get it from the bank or pawn shop, sell them the loan, keep track of where they are, how much they owe, and then collect on it. And this is on top of issues like the police, or if borrowers are borrowing to cover debts to a different lender"
>>127837Iron can't help but smile at Cauldron. "Seems you caught on pretty quick, I would say," he replies gingerly, wrapping a foreleg around the zebra "to nopony's surprise, of course."
>>127838As Iron places a foreleg around her, she at first pulls away from the movement, but then relaxes into it
"Well, you either catch on, or you fall behind. That seemed okay in school, but it isn't in life, so I caught on"
Her smile is subtle and confident
>>127839"I sure can tell," Iron confirms warmly, "from your snout poking prowess to this stuff we just went through, I bet you could do anything you wanted with enough time and effort."
Iron moves his head to stick by hers, glancing at her from her side. "Speaking of, do you think all of the goods I have gotten would be able to be invested in a trade you really want?" he asks
>>127840She stops, her eyes are focused, her ears go straight up, and her fur seems to stand up
"What do you mean?" She asks
>>127841Iron tilts his head. "What do you mean 'what do you mean'?" he asks in return. The native feels something is off, making sure he didn't miss anything in terms of her emotional state.
[1d20+2 = 8]<Sense motive roll
>>127842She seems surprised or excited
"What are you proposing?" she asks
>>127843"You know, the whole potion maker business," he clarifies, rubbing her back with his foreleg reassuringly "in order to boost your money making further up, help your family and be safer from this crackdown in the future, remember?"
>>127844"Yes. And?"
She is definitely excited
>>127845"Well, I
did create a lot of capital through the goods I have gotten," Iron suggests happily, excitement clear in his voice "meaning you could be able to invest in preparations for it. Not to mention I got a few extra hoooves as well if you need more hired help either at your father's place or with your promising enterprise."
>>127847"Yep!" Iron confirms happily, eyes closing and smiling at Cauldron.
>>127848And...
WHOMP!
Cauldron jumps on him, hugging him
"Thank you! Thank you!"
>>127849Iron's ears straighten, eyes widening at the glomp as he finds his body falling backward due to both unpreparedness and tiredness, but happily accepts the hug, now on the floor, belly up, wrapping his forelegs around her back. "O-oh it is nothing, Cauldron," he stammers out, taken aback by such a massive gratitude exhuding from the mare, clearly blushing hard "you did f-far more."
>>127850After finding she's knocked him to the ground, she stands back up, blushes and smiles awkwardly
"I mean... Thank you"
>>127851Iron blinks once or twice, still laid down on the ground, before looking back at Cauldron, laughing heartily, eyes closing as he waves his hoof dismissively. "Oh do not be worried about my personal space," he comments happily "I am glad I could help you after what you did for me."
He extends both of his foreleg, yet stays prone, smiling warmly "Besides, it is not like you could sour my mood after such a cute display," he comments.
>>127852She scrunches her mouth in a twisted smile, then walks over to Iron, over top of him, and hugs, or lets him hug him
>>127853Iron gladly reciprocates the hug, being overly gentle and caring, feeling all the Tartarus he went through back at Hoebuck and the Pier worth it. Her coat... her hugs... her smile...
her. It was all for her, for what she did for him so far.
He would suffer a million wounds, drown a thousand times, break all his bones and even hoof over his life.
All for that smile, that joy, that cheerful enthusiasm.
He closes his eyes, enjoying such a peaceful, soul strengthening climax as they both hugged for as long as Cauldron wanted.
>>127854She actually doesn't feel all that soft and fluffy. Certainty not as much as White Sands. A kind of hard and muscular body underneath short, if kind of soft fur. But she hugs him more. A little harder now even. She closes her eyes, and seems to have tears coming down from them
>>127855Iron's ears straighthen at the sight before hugging her slightly tighter as well, letting her pour all her emotions on him. "I am glad to help, Cauldron," he whispers to her ear, lightly nuzzling her cheek "You deserve it."
>>127856She kind of tenses and curls her neck in at the nuzzling
"Well I don't know about
that"
>>127857Iron chuckles, retreating his snout, the back of his head returning to the floor, smiling wide. "At least I think you do," he honestly replies, half lidded, grateful eyes staring at Cauldron's own "and nopony could change my mind about it."
>>127858She smiles, now warmly
"Thank you"
And then she leans in, and hugs him around the neck
>>127859Iron reciprocates the hug, happy to have her hug his neck as he closes his eyes and hugs her back, smiling warmly as well. "Thank you as well for giving me this much time of the day," he mumbles happily, content as ever to hug her crush so intimately.
>>127860Zebra is hugged"Oh, it's no problem Iron. You know that"
>>127861Iron hums happily at Cauldron's words, heart fluttering slightly. "You are going to make me blush with words like that," he mock protests, still calmly hugging the zebra.
>>127862She smiles again, warmly, but pulls away from the hug
"So... We have items to sell, do we?"
>>127863Iron nods. "Indeed we do," he confirms, turning himself around and standing up.
>>127864"Well... I haven't touched it since last night. I'm not sure what all you had there. I could see that you were really in a hurry last night."
>>127866"Some directly useful notes and bits, along with some fancy coins I have never seen before and 'bonds', whatever those are," he recounts "as well as some papers, some having pictures of a stallion bedding a mare or two used for blackmail for some reason, then some shiny gemstones and some fancy looking liquids."
>>127867"Uh.... Okay then. You
really have a lot to learn if you want to be a good criminal here. But there's probably something good in there."
>>127868Iron nods understandingly. "Perhaps we can go back and you can take a more thorough look?" he suggests.
>>127869"I think we should. Yes."
>>127870"For the best," he agrees "lead the way."
>>127871"Alright"
She goes out from the back room, into the bar, picks up her sweater, and onto the street. It's a walk of many blocks before they get back to her apartment, her unlocking the door, then locking it back after they enter inside
>>127872Iron blinks a bit, still slightly tired from yesterday's events before turning to Cauldron. "Alright, so I believe it is time for your judgement," he suggests with a grin.
>>127873She goes into the closet, and unwraps the towels that cover the horde
"Jewelry and gems." She says, looking at the first portion of the find. "We'd need to take this to a jeweler or somegriff who can determine the exact value of these, but these are at minimum a few hundred bits. Probably more." She looks at the cash. "Nice! A thousand bits. Or 1100, more like." Then she looks at the bonds. "Even better. 1500 bits worth." She quickly looks at the photographs, and as quickly places them away without comment, as if she were forbidden to look upon them. She holds up the coins. "I don't know the exchange rate on these, but it's worth something to the griffins, especially on the foriegn markets." She looks at the crystal glass, and almost drops it as she immediately starts laughing. "Hahaha!" She places it back down without comment. Then she looks at the vial of pink. "Hmmm... Now this is something. I don't know the retail value, but 100 bits minimum." Then she looks at the three rifles, operating the lever action on the lever action gun. It fits her hooves well. "I don't know if you were intending to sell these.... Well, these aren't really as desired as bolt actions. They don't have quite the range or power. But they are easier to create fake permits for, they look more like legal guns, and in any case, guns are at a premium in the city now. Maybe 250 to 350 per gun."
>>127874Albeit the stallion jumped after hearing her laugh at the crystal glass, Iron listened intently at Cauldron's appraisal, nodding slightly.
"So, the next priority is to go to a jeweler?" he asks, trying to get into the ropes before looking at the rifles "Maybe we can keep one in case the gang is not as charitable with their weapons."
>>127875"They will be less charitable now than they were a week ago, I can tell you that. But we can go to a jeweler, yes."
>>127876Iron thought for a second, considering his future, planned lineup. "...actually, let us keep the metal shooters," he informs " we may need them for later use."
With that, Iron looks over at the gems. "Would now be a good time for looking for jewelers?" he asks, a bit unsure mostly out of ignorance.
>>127877"Well, they may want to close up for lunch hour. But that won't necessarily stop them from wanting to do business"
>>127878Seeing a likely successful outcome soon-ish, Iron nods. "Then let us make haste," he proclaims eagerly before looking from side to side. "...where is the jeweler again?" he asks
>>127879"Over in Cowtown, near the water. We can make it"
>>127880Iron nods understandingly, trotting in place and ready to follow at the pace she deems necessary.
>>127882They leave her apartment, down a straight road in the direction of the harbor, and up another road.
"Here it is" She says, as they approach a single story shop
>>127910"Should we mention anything about the origin of these gemstones?" Iron asks Cauldron in a whisper, leaning his head over to her ear.
>>127911"No. And he will not ask. That is why I go to him."
Entering in the shop, they see counters, display cases, and in the center at the end of the room, a lone griffin. He has a double chin, white feathers and the standard amber fur underneath, with hazel eyes that meet the entering native and Zebra
"Shalom" he says to the new customers
>>127913Iron's snout scrunches at the new word, eyes widening as he looked at the griffon. "What?" he asks, flabbergasted.
>>127914He pulls his lips back and up, in what is presumably a smile on a mouth that doesn't allow for much expression
"I take it you came here to sell" He says
>>127915Recovering from the shock, Iron nods before pulling up his bit pouch, where he comfortably stored the gemstones, taking them out to show the griffin.
>>127916His smile grows, vindicated in his assumption. Quietly, he reaches a claw down, beneath a counter, and pulls out a looking glass. With a lone talon, he moves around the gems, inspecting each beneath the glass, which he sometimes twists whichever way, which moves the device in and out.
"Ah. Diamonds, yes? A ruby. An emerald. All, carefully cut."
He holds up a single, green jewel
"This emerald here, it's damaged. It looks as if it were ripped out of it setting in a necklace or ring."
He looks back up to Iron and Cauldron
"I see why you came to me"
Smiling widely,
"Sixteen hundred for the lot"
>>127918Iron looks at the griffon for a few seconds, before slowly leaning back into Cauldron's ear. "...is that a good deal?" he asks in a whisper
>>127919Whispering back,
"I don't even know. But he could tell it was stolen"
>>127920Figuring it would not hurt much by trying to rise the reward, Iron leans away before smiling softly. "I would say the cutwork deserves a little more than that, even if one of them is damaged" he starts "1700."
>>127922He smiles back
"You must not know much about diamonds," he says, pulling up a particular gem
"It isn't about the damage, or the cut, but what the cuts and the damage implies." Then diverting attention to the diamond
"This is an 'asscher' cut diamond." Then he pulls up another. "Pear shape." Then another gem "An here... A ruby."
Then he looks to Iron
"A diamond is only cut before it is set in jewelry. Here, we have not only a cut diamond, but many diamonds, and many gems. Cut not just for a necklace, but for many necklaces. Do you care to explain to a different jeweler where exactly you got so many
different cut gems?"
>>127923Charisma >>127925Iron nods. (Well that did not work out,) he thinks to himself (at least he knows what he is saying)
"...I understand," he relents, not overly hurt by his small prodding attempt, but his ears fold slightly and his small pout at the loss of potential extra dosh "I accept your price."
>>127926He continues his smile
"Mazel Tov! Let me get the money"
He goes back for a minute, and comes back with a number of paper covered rolls. He sits before Iron, opening the coins and counting out coins, until there is a definite large stack of coins before Iron, which he pushes over with his foreleg. Then, he offers a claw to shake
>>127927Iron aligns his bit pouch, pushing the coins inside with a foreleg as he stares at the extended claw for a few seconds, cocking his head slightly.
Coins nicely snug inside his trusty pouch, Iron decides to bump his claw with his hoof, thinking that may be the thing he's looking for.
>>127928He smirks his mouth, and looks at Iron strangely
"Very well"
It is a
very large number of bits, more than can fit in his bit patch
>>127151Don't think I added anything to be honest. Just put a bunch of pressure on the dm and then didn't commit to be part of the campaign.
>>127152Sorry, about that btw.
Yeah, that was me. No, that wasn't the reason. I just had troubles making a character. Those troubles being laziness. Also, at the time. I had other things on my mind.
>>127929Iron stares at the admittedly larger bit amount than he can comfortably carry, looking back at Cauldron, hopeful that she'd aid him with an extra container.
>>127938You can definitely still join. We'd love to have you
>>127939It takes her a moment, but she turns around, takes off her saddle bag, unlatches it and places it next to Iron
The quoting system is one thing I can honestly say I love about the update. I hated how quoting a post in a long thread before would lead to long loading times>>127938Please do join! I'm joining the game next in-game day
probably gonna be a month or two of irl time from now at this rate and although I was planning to join Dark Star on a quest, it might be more practical to team up with you activity depending.
>>127940Nodding, Iron proceeds to place all of the extra bits into Cauldron's saddlebag. "Thanks," he lets out.
Alright, I am going to start a series of commentary. Mostly on the Hoebuck questline, but the first instance will be a solo encounter for, and a character only ever interacted with by a character and player who is no longer here. Still, it has left an impression on me.
It starts when Ash and Iron are rescuing the orphans from the gangsters in the Northside cannery, who were seized when the orphanage could not repay a loan. A cream colored Pegasus filly who is on the older end of the lot, seeing the druid Kirin Ash – a type of creature she has never seen before, and who practices magic and belongs to some unknown religion – promptly starts screaming, accusing Ash of buying the orphans for “virgin sacrifice” to pagan gods. The panic is infectious, and soon, several younger orphans are running about along with her inside the abandoned cannery. Iron picks them up, and they are on their way. As Ash leads the herd back to the orphanage, she loses sight of the cream-colored filly on a street corner, and they chase her again. Foals making assumptions about strange magic users that seem rational in the mind of child.
That was the end of that, until Ash’s player wanted more play time while advancement to the next day was pending. So I improvised a “bonus round.” Ash wakes up in the middle of the night to see a shadow running by. Exiting the room, she follows the figure to a downstairs door, through the orchard, through a slim patch of woods, and to a clearing where ponies gather – orphan ponies, including a rust colored earth pony colt recognizable from among those rescued – sitting around a fire under the light of a gibbous moon. The cream-colored filly stands in a prominent position, I believe wearing a hoodie, and holding a rabbit in her hooves. A pony recognizable from among those rescued the day before, and who seems to be the one who Ash followed to the clearing, hooves a kitchen knife to the filly. Ash watches as the filly holds up the rabbit, says something in a black tongue, and slices the rabbit’s throat with a knife.
Now Ash intervenes, revealing herself from the bushes and telling the foals to stop. But the cream-colored filly speaks more in black tongue, and a cold wind picks up, lowing beneath the canopy. In the tree line, a giant black dog with glowing red eyes appears, and sets his eyes on Ash. Ash summons magical powers of her own, and sends down a bolt of lightning on the dog. But the dog survives, rushing Ash, and biting into her. After a struggle, the hell hound is dispatched, and the orphans are rounded up. The nuns are awoken and informed of what has happened, and Ash goes to search the room of the cream-colored filly. She finds a book with an innocuous dust jacket taken from a travel guide. But inside, the book is written in three different languages, Ponish, a griffin language, and black tongue. She can determine readily that this book describes part of the history and some spells for the worship of the Griffinion god Maar.
The nuns are very much disappointed and stunned to hear what the foals have been up to, and while talking to them, Ash learns that the filly is named “Abby Willows,” and has only recently come to the orphanage. The next day, when Abby Willows is confined by the nuns alone in the dorm upstairs to write lessons in an endless series as a part of her punishment, Ash comes to visit her, delivering her food. Ash takes note of the fact that Abby’s mane and tail are cut short in a rather masculine fashion, and she clearly resents Ash after the episode the previous night, crossing her forelegs in a guarded pose. Ash tries to break the tension by starting to braid Abby’s mane. Ash tells Abby that she really shouldn’t be tangling with dark magic and unknown spirits, as it can be quite dangerous. Abby asks Ash if she knows why her mane is so short, and of course Ash responds in the negative. Abby then informs Ash that her mane was cut short by the gangsters during her captivity as a measure to prevent or reduce lice infection. She then explains to Ash that she consulted with spirits of a questionable nature because others failed to protect her, adding “my father thought he could protect all of us fighting in the Army, but he died in the process.” Ash tells Abby that she needs to have faith in the ability of the nuns to protect her from dangers. Abby responds by pointing over to the empty dorm room across the hall – empty because the nuns were forced to give over half the orphans to systems overseas after pressure from the fascists – and says “how can I trust them to do that?!” This leaves Ash speechless. Ash asks her if there were any other books, conspirators, or any other parts of her plan, and Abby vehemently denies. Ash does, however, calm Abby down enough to make her pay attention to the food Ash brought, which she gobbles up quickly.
Though that was the end of Abby’s direct appearances, and shortly thereafter, the end of Ash, it wasn’t the last part of the story. The next day, Iron returned to the orphanage, and helped the nuns by clearing dead trees in the orchard. Bucking a tree, a large, leather bound plain covered book falls to the ground, with pages opening to a strange and alien language Iron takes the book to Sister Marery, who confirms that the book is a religious and spell text belonging to a religion based around an evil griffin spirit, and connects it with Abby Willows and her misadventures.
>>127947Even though the story never goes anywhere after that, and the character hasn’t been seen in well over a year now (and probably never will be again), I am kind of proud of having come up with and executing the ritual in the woods almost immediately after the player indicated they wanted to play. I was pleased by my own blending of EAW lore and the circumstances into making a character who has compelling reasons for doing evil things, and a series of events that recontextualizes earlier happenings
I was very much impressed and pleased for Ash and the player to reason that a rabbit for a hellhound was an unfair trade tilted in favor of the foals, and surely any spirit making such a trade must have more sinister plans. I was disappointed that the character would not call out the teenage girl for being a liar and I did not entirely understand why she didn’t promise to help protect the filly herself. I was most disappointed that neither Ash nor Iron made any sort of inquiry as to where Abby got the books from.
“Abby Willows” is named for Abigail Williams, the accuser at the Salem Witch Trials. I gave her the name while phone posting at a Mexican restaurant, and so was going by memory rather than looking it up, so mistakenly thought that Abigail Williams was the
accused. I blame that “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” movie with Nicholas Cage for confusing me. Considering that Abby Willows makes her first appearance by accusing Ash of being a witch who is buying foals for the purpose of Equine sacrifice, it still fits her.
>>127938Yay! More players!
>>127943I'm sure they can wrap up the day to let you join.
>>127940Can we continue in the north today?
One thing that was not mentioned in the commentary:
when Ash opens the book and reads an incantation, the incantation is taken from H.P. Lovecraft's "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward," but with the names of various human gods replaced with villains from the My Little Pony generations, especially generation 1, and several from EAW, including the Smooze and Grogar before he was mentioned in season 9 of the show. The line from Lovecraft translates into English from Latin as:
"By Adonaï Eloïm, Adonaï Jehova, Adonai Sabaoth, Metraton On Agla Adonaï Mathon, the pythonic word, the mystery of the salamander, the assembly of sylphs, the grotto of gnomes, the demons of the heaven of Gad, Almousin, Gibor, Jehosua, Evam, Zariatnatmik, Come, Come, Come!"
Unfortunately I do not have my ponified version as the new code has completely removed the ability to search the website, but it was as stated above, with the reference to "slyphs" certainly remaining in a nod to the brony artist "SlyphStorm."
>>127950Sure. The last post made to Spark is
>>127800>>127944She nods to him, and places the saddlebag back on her bag
>>127952But no signs of what could have made it?
>>127953Some disruption in the surrounding branches and bushes, the dirt seems to have been moved aside or even pressed in, and the oval clearly has more pine needles in it then normal. Otherwise, no.
>>127954Spark investigates the bushes.
>>127955There are a couple limbs that are torn and pressed down, most in a particular path of approach, while others are undisturbed. There does not seem to be anything placed in them, nor do they look like they've been eaten
>>127956Spark shrugs and tries to find the tracks again, perhaps this was not the destination, but simply a stop along the way.
>>127959There are some slim hints of tracks, and a number of silhouettes in the treeline around Spark
>>127961Hmm... Spark follows more tracks. Where do they lead this time?
>>127962Another dice roll, also wisdom modifier
[1d20 = 9]>>127963More dice, no wisdom mod. The only mods I have are -1 strength and +3 charisma.
>>127964A few disrupted patches of needles going off at an angle, and the definite sound of feet, paws, or hooves crunching needles
>>127965Do they sound like charging speed steps?
>>127966Slower. Walking speed and picking up, losing caution
>>127967Spark turns to observe if the shadows are coming closer for him.
>>127968They stop, but they've come closer to Spark since he saw them and ignored them
>>127969Spark resumes walking and listens for more steps.
>>127970Immediately they start again. More than one, and varying degrees of speed
>>127971He turns back. Are they in viewing range yet?
>>127972Yes. Roll spot if you want to figure out just how much detail Spark can discern in the limbo between setting moon and rising sun under forest canopy
>>127974Quite a bit, actually.
Wolves. Four of them visible, spaced around Spark almost evenly in a circle, to the degree Spark may wonder if there are more behind him. One of them is the white wolf Spark saw earlier, now identifiable as a female, though the rest seem to be male, and have a grey coat in two instances, and a pepper-grey in another. They seem to have something covering over portions of their fur, particularly around the front and the chest, and in two instances on the left foreleg. A couple are at a distance from Spark as he saw the white wolf earlier, but two have come closer to him, a grey male in particular.
>>127975Poor doggos. They are probably going to pick a fight and get burned. Do they halt now that Spark has turned back towards them?
>>127976Yes. For Spark, it's almost like a foal's game of "statues," where the statues in the garden are imagined to move and sneak up on you when you are not looking, but freeze in place when observed
>>127977Spark plays their game and stand there, staring back at them.
>>127978For the moment at least, they simply stand there, looking back at Spark. A wind picks up through the trees
>>127979Spark continues the stare game.
>>127980Spark can see now that the darker patches around their chests seem to be clothing of some kind. Leather.
>>127981Armored puppers? Oh no. This might be harder than I suspected. He still holds his ground, forcing them to make the first move.
>>127982More than this. There are large irregularities on their bodies, protruding out. A best guess is weapons of some kind. At least they are sheathed, if that is so
Slight cracking behind Spark
>>127983Spark glances behind himself to see if there are shadowy warrior pups there too.
>>127984There are indeed. Two of them, thus placing all of them in a definite circle around Spark. Both have a grey color scheme, although one is definitely lighter. One of them, the lighter one, seems to have been moving slowly, coming closer while the other was standing his ground. He stops.
>>127985Spark casts an illusion of himself behind himself, locking both sides of dogs into a statue state.
>>127986Kek
Spark now has the dogs locked
>>127987Nice! Spark tries to make out their faces. Are they angry?
>>127988It varies by the individual creature - one of the grey males especially looks kind of angry. But by and large they are cautious or even curious, and seem to be looking over Spark and watching his movements
>>127989He waits for them to come closer with him watching. Hopefully that will make them more friendly.
>>127990After some time - not quite a full minute - the white wolf breaks ranks, turning her body to Spark, and starting to move towards Spark in a circle around him counter clockwise, moving forward as she rotates around him, almost like an object spiraling into a gravity well. Clouds in the sky glow yellow in the pre-morning twilight, as the level of light steadily grows. Spark can see the wolf's golden eyes, leather around her chest, around her left leg, a leather guard around her right ear, and a large bow - somewhere between a recurved shortbow and a crossbow - is slung around her back, along with a small quiver. Then the pepper wolf follows behind her, likewise moving in a spiral counterclockwise, around and towards Spark. A grey wolf at distance moves to be right in Spark's field of view, staring right at him
>>127991Spark is a bit nervous, but holds his ground.
>>127992The white wolf continues looking at him, as she continues in a spiral around Spark. The peppered wolf, likewise, grows bolder, and spirals in closer.
Then, from behind, Spark can hear the distinct sound of a dog sniffing
>>127993Spark knows that if he moves, he will be seen as either a threat or prey, so he keeps as still as he can.
>>127994On Spark's right, he sees a wolf walk by, head lowered and sniffing Spark. It's not the white wolf, but rather the light grey wolf that was attempting to sneak up on him earlier.
Then it happens. The light grey wolf pokes Spark with a paw, the first physical touching. It's a soft pad, and almost a "dabbing" action.
The white wolf circles around, to almost directly in front of Spark, looking at him
>>127995Is he trying to not show fear? >>127996At least it wasn't teeth or a sharp claw. Should I roll not to show fear at the touch?
>>128001Spark shows very definite signs of fear, surrounded by an entire pack of wolves
Then the light grey wolf turns to the wolves in front of Spark, and
speaks:
"Wii bwaa aanjibii`ige aawan"
>>128003No problem. Not every story can go as planned. That makes it interesting.
>>128004Spark is very nervous with the strange speech.
"Umm... h-hi?"
>>128005Spark now has three wolves directly in front of him. The light wolf that just spoke is invading his personal space, the White wolf is not far beyond that and looking at him, and the darker grey wolf much further away is staring at him
The light wolf's ears go up
The white wolf responds,
"Hi"
The grey wolf responds
"Why are you here, Pony?"
>>128006"Well, I was looking around for creatures that attacked the changeling mine."
>>128007Even though he is far away, he answers Spark with a very firm response
"And you will not find them here"
The white wolf gives an answer of her own in a much softer voice
"We do not... know anything of any attacks. We heard gunfire, but that is all"
>>128008"The creatures was able to disguise themselves and fool even changelings. If they are still around, I have to make sure they don't attack again. I didn't mean to trespass, but I hope you understand my presence is temporary to make sure we are safe."
>>128009Grey wolf:
"But your presence
isn't temporary. Is it?"
White wolf
"We've seen Changeling reprisals before. But why have they sent a pony?"
>>128010"Temporary indeed. I sent myself because a friend and I had saved the changelings and volunteered ourselves to have a look on their behalf."
>>127952Iron turns his gaze over to the griffon, nodding as well. "I believe that will be all in terms of exchanges," he concludes, looking around at the goods displayed as well as his physique, particularly looking for his age.
(Perhaps he may be interested in a potion to boost his working,) he thinks to himself.
>>128013He holds up a wing, as if to wave
"Zay Gezunt" he says
He looks older, minimum of 40 and probably older. Either he normally has a hunch or he adopts that pose when sitting. He's somewhat overweight
The goods on display all appear to be jewelry. Rings, necklaces and brooches. Diamonds, pearls, and other gems. If any of the items offered are for purposes other than aesthetics or signs of love or status - such as historical artifacts or magic - it's not evident by looking at it.
>>128014Iron hums slightly, nodding to himself before turning to Cauldron. "Alright, let us go back," he proposes "I need to discuss specifics about the future project."
>>128015She nods, turns, and leaves quickly. They go their way back to either Cauldron's apartment or The Watering Hole
>>128016Deciding to go to her apartment, Iron enters it, letting her close and lock the door once again. "This is going to be a rather long talk," he starts, going for the living room and sitting next to the sofa "but I want to know what sort of potion brewing you can do for certain so I can plan on who should we be targetting as customers."
>>128017She sits down in front of him, and starts
"Well..." She holds a hoof up near her chin, and looks up
"I
know I can make health potions."
>>128018"We both know that by this point," Iron replies in a slightly amused tone before humming, looking up as well "so there is a focus on either accident prone or dangerous jobs that we know for sure as a second wind to keep their productivity up."
The native looks at Cauldron inquisitively, tilting his head. "What sort of work do you know fit into at least one of these categories, aside from gangsters, 'poh-leece' and hunters?"
>>128019She blinks
"Oh I know one for sure, if you want to sell to them. The Overseas."
>>128020Iron tilts his head. "The Overseas?" he asks, puzzlement clear on his face. "Who are they?"
>>128021Her ears go down near to her neck, and the smile disappears
"All you particularly need to know is they have seemingly endless resources, endless demand for medical supplies, and deal with them at a distance because they are the biggest sons a bitches out there. Contracts can be problematic... but damned if it isn't consistent. Now, the resistance. That's an option."
>>128022Iron nods softly, looking at the ground in thought. "...anything of note about this resistance?" he asks tentatively, slightly munching on his lower lip, calculating the amount of success and failure expected.
>>128023"They are several groups in one, not all of he police like them, and their resources vary"
>>128024"So a mix between guaranteed, dangerous profits or safer, fluctuating ones."
Iron scratches his chin softly. "You said the former's contracts can be problematic," he starts thoughtfully "What do you mean by that?"
>>128026"Wanting exclusivity and an appearance of legitimacy. They don't want to be 'off the book.' They want to be on the book and make sure no one else is."
>>128027"That indeed sounds problematic..." he muses, shaking his head "It seems the resistance is a good place to start the venture, albeit probably will be stuck with them for a while."
Iron then looks at Cauldron, starting up his question process once again. "What about the potions you are uncertain you can do?"
>>128028"Well, there are very many potions out there. Hair-growth is one. Certain plant growth potions are another. Strength and endurance potions are still other options."
>>128030Nodding softly, Iron visibly raises her ears at the variety of pony changing potions, tilting his head. "...I believe the last set should be the most applicable to the most amount of ponies," he suggests "so if there are potions to increase strength and endurance, are there others to make one dexterous, wiser, smarter, charismatic, and more?"
>>128032"That sounds like something we should focus on ensuring you know first, considering the possible applications," Iron theorizes, rubbing his chin "selling a temporary edge on their normal lives usually excellent. I can imagine all of the stallions seeking them in order to woo their mares." He can't help but snicker at the thought, imagining a thin, frail stallion suddenly become the horse embodiment of Chad, nailing all the mares in his vicinity from a single potion sip.
>>128036That'd make a great television commercialShe smiles back
"I suppose I have a bit to learn..."
>>128033Hue>>128037Iron nods, giving a smile back as his ears fold slightly "Of course," he replies, still somewhat sheepish at the raunchy imagination taking place, lightly blushing. "We can go with whatever you feel like learning after that, since it should be covered by the health and body-altering potions that we will distribute to the public."
>>128039"Well, we'll see what we can sell legally" she answers
>>128040Iron can't help but tilt his head slightly. "You believe there are restrictions in place?" he asks.
>>128041"Well, the city doesn't particularly like selling health potions without a medical license, and there's usually inspections for making potions that can be consumed... which is most of them. But it varies by the potion."
>>128042Iron purses his lips, not eager to go seek medical licenses for something he knows works. "...I see..." he replies before shaking his head. "So you needed a pony who would take your shifts back at your father's establishment?" he inquires. "I believe I have one that could help, but I need some help tracking her down."
The native clears his throat as he remembers Khoi's details and past history, relaying what he knows to Cauldron.
>>128043"Is this...." She turns her head, and one ear falls down
"That kirin you told me a couple days ago you were in love with, or something?"
>>128044Iron shakes his head. "Not at all," the stallion denies "she probably would not have been eager to help me do this in the long run, considering her lifestyle. This one is more eager for a stable job, considering her status as a recently freed slave that seeks to make a living here."
The native awkwardly looks away, pouting softly. "As for her, I concluded we would not work out."
>>127940>>127943>>127950Thanks for the enthusiams even though I didn't even talk about it. But sure, I might throw together an simple illusionist wizard when I have read enough of the player's handbook to feel educated.
>>128045Black Cauldron places up a hoof on Iron's neck, and pets him, softly
"Well, cooking right takes some skill. But it's still a skill that can be learned. Maybe my father could have some use for her. Depending on how things go, I might even need an assistant..."
>>128046Huzzah!
>>128047Iron glances back at Cauldron, smiling softly, leaning into her hoof. "That is good," he answers, blushing slightly at the act "she seems to be an eager, capable learner."
>>128048He pauses, looking pensive inbetween his affectionate permission to be petted. "I have no clue where she currently is, but I did tell her to meet me at The Watering Hole last night. Think you can find her?"
>>128049>>128048She smiles to him
"Good. There aren't too many young Kirin females at the Watering Hole. I
think I can."
She looks at him for a moment, then adds
"I did't know you were in the business of helping young mares get on their hooves"
>>128050Iron can't help but chuckle at the remark, glancing away as he blushed slightly. "Would you believe me if I told you only one of the potential candidates was a stallion dog-looking thing only by sex?" he asks tentatively, smiling sheepishly.
>>128053She twists her mouth and head, and an ear flops down and back up
"What? Stallion dog sex?"
>>128054Iron briefly thinks of that one diamond dog he sweettalked that one time, wondering how would that work before quickly shaking his head. "No no, what I mean is that the only one with something between their legs was a weird looking dog," he quickly corrects himself, blushing further at the word scramble mishap and the thought of how would dogs and ponies copulate.
>>128055She looking at him blankly for a moment
"Oh... Hahaha."
She blinks
"Still, it's new turn for you. To be so nice"
>>128056Iron twiddled his hooves, pouting slightly. "I can be nice when I want to," he mumbles, looking downwards sheepishly "specially when it works in our favor."
>>128057Now, she definitely laughs
"Hahahah, there we go!"
Then when she stops
"Anything else?"
>>128058Iron decides to promptly boop her snoot in retaliation. "Bully," he mock proclaims, pout still present.
The native proceeds to look downwards once more, face contorting into a thinking expression. "...there is one last mare that could help me ensure I get the best deals with almost anything," he suggests "but she seems to have high standards and has a secretive demeanor, as if she is being hunted down, considering she does not like to give a lot of information, and when she does, it is mostly related to shady subjects."
The native looks back towards Cauldron, pensive look still present. "It was the mare that came with me with the weapons, if you recall. What do you think of her?"
>>128059"
Yip Yip!" She barks at the touch, scrunching, moving back and then rubbing her snout
"She was wearing bandages, using towels of all things to hide rifles. She was wet - so were you. She seemed to be one of those pretty mares the pony stallions love to go after, and she kind of looked like she played that up for all its worth... or at least I assume she would if she weren't covered in salt water. From what you're describing it sounds like she was into some bad business, and possibly even some important pony's significant other, someone she wants to get away from. But I can't be surprised if she feels 'hunted.' There's a lot of factions that could want to 'hunt' somepony."
>>128060Iron looks down, flicking his lips from left to right as he mulls over the information. "I suppose that could be it," he surmises, considering her charm and physical attractiveness "I would wish not to be suddenly surprised to find the pony that is looking for her in one of our runs, but I suppose that is a constant risk to deal with."
The native can't help but sigh softly, feeling distanced from Sands and not be able to provide her security for the time being, as he was busy establishing the method to achieve it. "...what else, what else..." he mumbles before looking at the two fluids before looking at Cauldron. "Do you think those two would reveal something for you if you studied it?"
>>128062Iron cocks his head. "You do?" he asks, astonished. "What are they?"
>>128063She pulls up the decorated heart shaped vial with the "9" and pink liquid.
"
This is a love potion."
Then she pulls up the vial, which has another substance of a pink-reddish color.
"
This is Changeling honey. It
is love."
>>128064Iron blinks, looking back and forth between the two vials. "...I do not get their use," he replies, puzzled.
>>128065She looks at him blankly, then holds back up the elegant vial
"This one causes the drinker to become romantically infatuated with a particular subject. Usually the first member of the opposite sex they lay eyes on... though that can go wrong in several ways. Or, add a hair belonging to somepony in there, and whoever drinks the potion will fall in love with the origin of the hair."
She holds up the simpler cylindrical vial
"This right here.... well, imagine that Changelings are bees, and ponies and other creatures are... like flowers..." She closes her eyes and shudders
"Or don't, the point is that Changelings turn the positive emotions of other creatures into a jelly. That jelly, when consumed, causes the consumer to feel those same emotions. All of the experience of falling in love for the first time, so they say. It's very hard to come by, for obvious reasons. This stuff can also function kind of like a love potion, though not as reliably."
>>128066Iron's ears fold as he tilts his head, eyes widened substantially after such a revelation. "Love in a bottle?" he asks incredulously, blinking off his surprise. "That is ludicrous."
>>128070“You could say that. But those who want a good feeling can and have gone so far.”
Well, this is irritating. I wanted to play HOI4 with the EaW mod–well, not really play it on my toaster of a PC, but just load the map so I can check province names–but the launcher says it cannot access the directory and thus mods, DLCs, and settings won't load. I tried installing the mod manually by making a "mod" folder under Hearts of Iron IV in documents, putting EaW in it, and editing the .mod file to create a pathway. This did nothing. A cursory look through forums and tickets got no results, and trying to load the "old launcher" of Hydra edition to get mods to show up broke it entirely. Apparently even with the current version I cannot boot up HOI4, with the game appearing briefly in task manager using 0% CPU and then disappearing without fanfare.
I decided to do a clean reinstall. Problem is that although the game itself uninstalled from Steam, the caches/logs in my documents folder (I'm guessing this is the troublesome directory) are a different animal. I am actually able to create folders in the folder of Hearts of Iron IV and add files, but I cannot delete or even edit those nor the other folders. Folder access is denied and Windows Explorer asks me to provide administrator permission. Although I am on an administrator account hitting "Continue" tells me that I still need permission from my administrator account–which I'm currently on–to make changes and tells me to try again, which of course is ineffectual. I'm essentially soft-locked out of my own files despite being on an administrator account and I should fully be able to do whatever I'd like to those files. All permissions are allowed except for "Special permissions" which I cannot change.
Keep in mind that I bought and installed HOI4 back in 2017 which is presumably what the directory dates back to. Because I can't really play the game with any real performance I just let it sit there until recently when I updated the game. I don't think it's so much of a game issue as it is a broader software issue because I'm locked out of essential tasks. I don't think I have a virus. I don't know where else to ask this technical question except maybe /cyb/ but it bugs me. I just want an interactive map of Equestria.
>>128071Iron can't help but purse his lips disapprovingly, but nods nonetheless. "I suppose it cannot be helped," he muses with a small shake of the head before returning his thought process to the main subject. "So, to summarize, we start to deal with the resistance for the next couple of months, hopefully providing enough so you can research on the pony-altering potions. I will act as a courier alongside White Sands, the mare that came with me, while you find, meet and teach Khoi on your works." He pauses, poking his snout pensively. "Did I miss anything?"
>>128073“If that is the way you want to do it, that should work”
>>128072>>128072Aww. I’m not sure how to solve the problem. I would have thought downloading the game from steam would work. In any case, be sure to get the 1.91 Husky patchI can try to get a map >>128075Iron nods before humming softly. "Do you have another way you want to suggest?" he asks curiously.
>>128076“No... or not necessarily. Just know that depending on what is sold, creatures sometimes take interest. They don’t like it when someone competes with them, or sells something that helps their enemies.”
>>128077Iron nods understandingly. "You are correct," he promptly answers "for potion transactions, we might have to conduct them at the Watering Hole exclusively, particularly in a private room, so you can detect any would-be pursuers seeking information while I am standing in the open." He softly rubs his chin, thinking something. "If I am being followed, try to make the bartender tell me some sort of code for it, like a particular drink. That way I would know and not jeopardize our operations."
>>128079Alright, I'll try to give some kind of maps as a filler.
Here you can see Baltimare, located on the corner of a landmass with ocean to the north and east, with a neatly horseshoe shaped natural harbor that the city itself is located on. I am pleased that my guess that the city is mostly north of the river that lets out into the harbor, and that the peninsula is more inhabited than the south side of the harbor, is reflected in the map. Notice there is a narrow strip of land on the northern coast line that is not covered in forests and is inhabited, but everything south of this strip is dense wilderness including forests and marshes.
My version of Whinnysota deviates more heavily from what is in the game, and is actually based more upon a real life location than what is in EAW. For instance, the game has that whole area as grassland plains, while I have it as dense forests with more than a few lakes and hills. It would also require imagining a tributary of the large river running through