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.
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>>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."