1835 replies and 45 files omitted.
>>130897Mala jumps back into water, and wades closer to Silver. He says to him in a lower voice
"Your kind was made to eat grass, or at least it used to be. If I eat green things, it just goes right through me, but it powers you. And so we Kaftar were made to eat the corpses of animals and creatures. Rotting dead bodies that bloat under the sun, victims of predators, old age, or even sickness. I have a very strong stomach, and I have swallowed worse things than this. I can handle dirty water, and this flesh is sterile, if anything. I have self control, I will not eat any of these bodies and I will try not to swallow anything. I know it is important to ponies, and I know what you told me we were here for. I am not hungry anyways... But I can move rocks, if the winged pony will let me."
>>130898Her eyes are big, and she looks up to Iron
"Go on..."
>>130899It's a... terrier? Hard to tell. The park is a single block, between several two and three story buildings. Saint Eligius's towers are very visible, as is the Shipping Company building towering over the town center
>>130900Has Amber been to the shipping company before?It's a cozy park.When she is close enough to the mare she tries to casually ask,
"It's a very nice dog. What kind is it?" >>130900He smiles at Mala some more.
"I trust you, friend. Whatever it is
you want to do, do it."
>>130900"Think of it like this," Iron starts with a small smile "a potion maker can be extremely versatile in what it can sell to others, meaning that the potential amount of ponies willing to buy them is massive the more it knows. Apply that with Cauldron's special knack and previous cooking experience and she is brimming with potential for being a frontrunner in potionmaking, which can be used to improve all three of our lives with the fabled paper."
>>130901Amber has been to a different prominent building, but not that oneShe turns around, and picks up a leg, more than a little surprised that Amber is talking to her
"It's a Jack Russel Terrier"
>>130902He looks at Silver, then walks forward, dives his head underwater, and pulls up a piece of bone that sank into lake
>>130903"Hmmm.... What do you want me to do?" She asks
>>130904He chuckles, and pats Mala's head.
>>130905Mala smiles contently, with a large equine leg bone in his mouth. An ear twitches up and down
>>130904"You are better at words than I do," Iron starts "and can also cover my back far better during the executions of my plan since you do not really have much else to do like me while Cauldron gets to slowly lose her chains."
With a smile, he turns to Sands "I ask you to lend me your charisma and speech skills to further the cause, propel her business forward through attaining favorable reputation and ensure it does not get sabotaged by potential enemies."
>>130906Silver continues to move corpse pieces out of the water.
>>130908Silver, and to a lesser extent Mala, are able to move quite a bit out of the water. The pieces are more than a little dispersed, either by damage over the years or the bomb. A few have damage from bullets. It seems like a good guess that more will be revealed when the water is fully drained. More than once, Mala pulls up a branch.
>>130909She moves back a little
"Yes... It's a nice dog to have. She likes her walks"
>>130907"Well... I guess I can help while I wait for the telegram responding to me..."
What Iron is looking for is a shop on Westhaven. Black colored boards, and the name "Curio's Corner"
"It's nice to encounter other ponies in the local park to have a chat. Anyway…have a nice day!" Amber smiles and trots off. She decides to go to the shipping company building.
>>130911"There it is," Iron calls out to Sands as he spots the shop "we will see if we can get some ingredients imported for Cauldron, maybe figure out what is the potion supply and demand."
With that, the native steps forth into the shop, wondering if it was open and the mare in question present.
>>130912The building is tall with three sections to it. A center section that is taller than any other, a section behind it, to the east that is around 60% of the height, and a section in the west that is about 50% of the height of the center section. Both sections on the side are thinner than the square shaped center, and are deliniated from the center by a strip of what seems to be chrome steel. The building is white, with stone facade strips running along side, protruding past and separating the tall and thin windows.. Ever section tapers slightly so that the top of the building is slightly thinner than the base, and ever corner has a small stainless steel spire. The building must be thirty or so stories tall. In Manehattan or even Fillydelphia would be a fairly ordinary, if above average building, blending into the skyline and maybe half the height of the Crystaler building. But this is Baltimare, where low rises dominate, and this building is one of only a hoof full of skyscrapers. It is visible almost anywhere in the city.
>>130913The door opens, with a "ding ding ding" from a bell. On the shelves are all sorts of oddities, like a small taxidermied monkey and a fortune teller's ball.
Behind the dark wood counter and the cash register, is a peach colored unircorn with a blue mane. She lights up at the sight of Iron
>>130915"Hello there," Iron calls out to the familiar unicorn as he daintily trots over "I am back from the tiger's jaws."
Amber looks up at the building with an expression of awe and wonder. Wow…
She'll walk up until she can see the bottom floor and what's on it.
>>130917"Golden Rays isn't here. She went out on a personal frolic" she says to Iron
>>130917The bottom most section has stone or marble walls, with a set of concrete steps leading up to revolving door entrances lined with with brass, and doors that swing open to either side. There are many windows there, but no shops on the outside. The building is recessed inside the block, and though part of the steps go out to the sidewalk, there is a parking lot over one side, and to the side, a series of fountains, and a chrome steel statue of a sailing ship
>>130918"Oh," Iron stops in his tracks, looking midly shocked in his mid-walking freeze "well... I suppose you can help me with some matters regarding potion making process?"
>>130919"The potion making process? What about it?"
>>130920"Particularly how to get most of the ingredients a potion maker needs in order to start a business...?" Iron answers tentatively with a strained, nervous smile on his face.
>>130921She looks up at him, locking eyes, lifting one lip and an eyebrow
"You want help in import-export?"
>>130922Iron nods softly, confirming her suspicions.
>>130923Her expression becomes more serious
"Very well. What is it specifically you want. Don't worry, you can speak freely here. There is no one to listen. No one, anyways, who would dare cross me."
>>130925Nodding and relaxing his posture, Iron finishes trotting over to the mare with a little exhale. "I wish to help start up a potion business and she needs some items that cannot be obtained easily due to lack of trade agreements, harvested only in the deep jungle and more of the... spooky chemical thingies."
>>130924I understand...>>130926"Mhmm. You don't have to tell me what you want it for, just what you want. I special in matching things to buyers that aren't exactly easy to get"
>>130927"Well..." Iron thinks, trying to remember the things he remembers Cauldron asking about "there is New Mareland's darkwood bark, aluminum powder, kelp and tiger fur. Those are the specific materials I know she wants."
"Tiger fur... Guh! You know where to get that. New Mareland Ironwood is a bit rarer and there's that export ban, but nevermind that. Aluminum powder can be obtained by scraping down the side of a bicycle, and kelp, well... that's out in the water, and some of the hippogriffs eat it"
>>130929Iron snorts amusedly at Germane's first answer before nodding along to the rest. "What is a 'bye-see-cle?'" Iron asks curiously.
>>130930“You’re kidding, right?” She answers, with a skeptical look
>>130931"...no," Iron answers reluctantly, rubbing his foreleg softly before looking confused at the unicorn mare he's speaking "b-but I do want the items I have said in bulk. Do you think manually obtaining each and every thing will suffice?"
>>130932She tilts her head, and raises an eyebrow
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘manually’... But if I can’t obtain an item for you, at least, items that are not one of a kind, then I am not sure you will find anypony in this city who can.”
>>130933"Oh," Iron replies, becoming ever slightly more flustered at his own understanding of the discussion "so you think you can get the items I have said in bulk for me, then?"
>>130934“Perhaps. Kelp is relatively easy to acquire. Aluminum, well it’s a bit harder, considering the metal rationing. Tiger fur... I’ll let you be the judge of how difficult that is. New Mareland Ironwood bark... now that’s a bit trickier.”
>>130935Iron can't help but raise his eyebrows, smiling softly. "Really? That is great!" he proclaims with an excited little hop "If I can do anything to make it easier to get the harder ingredients, you only need to ask."
>>130936“I don’t know if you can, but there is indeed a hang up. You remember that tiger, right? That tiger was sold a week ago, yet it’s still in my store. Customs has gone mad. They’ve always been a pain, but that’s been my job. Then they lit Manehattan on fire, and it seems to have spread here. Literally. An entire pier was set on fire, a ship crew murdered, then a big raid on the old poorhouse. Now customs has a continuous presence on every pier. They even keep political police around, to discourage bribes. It used to be simple to smuggle animals out. Hide them in a warehouse, then wait for a time when customs was not there. They never checked ships going out, only in. Now, they even keep guards by the warehouses. It’s harder to smuggle at the main docks.”
>>130937Iron pouts lightly, blinking softly. "...sounds like it is going to be rough to ask for what I potentially want later," he says with a hum "but I assume you have some sort of alternative for the smaller stuff, right?"
>>130938She waves a hoof, as if she could physically wave away Iron’s concerns
“It’s a matter of loading and unloading goods at a point away from the main docks. They may still intercept the incoming ships, sure, and find the smuggled goods, but they may not, and they may just walk right past anything that isn’t weapons, since I’m pretty sure that is all they care about. And of course, any ship leaving the harbor will not be intercepted and searched.”
>>130939"Oh," Iron answers with a sheepish grin and a stroke of his foreleg "so you think you can handle my requests for ingredients in the long run?"
>>130940“The situation is... volatile, but I am not without a plan b”
>>130941"What would you want in return?" Iron proceeds to ask with a small tilt of the head, expecting the twist.
>>130942“Getting the tiger out would be a good start” she says
>>130943"Hm..." Iron ponders softly "how could I help?"
>>130944“Well, securing the means of transport is the issue right now. All ships coming into the harbor are searched, sometimes they are even intercepted at sea. While ships leaving the harbor are not searched, the warehouses are guarded. So it’s a matter of using smaller boats to meet up with the larger ships. The first thought would be rowboats, but those are not large enough to leave the harbor, and would be kind of suspicious if they went further. Fishing trawlers can go further, but are suspicious next to freighters, and may end up searched anyways. So the plan is to avoid the harbor all together. The community of North Point has fishing trawlers that have gone unused since the War cut off export of cod to Griffonia. They are less likely to be searched, and can go far enough to pick up crates with floats attached to them, dropped off outside the harbor. And
that is my business model. Until they change things again, anyways.”
>>130945"How does that involve me?" Iron asks with a tilt of the head "Do I drop the tiger at the designated position?"
>>130946"Maybe it's not a fair assumption that it does. First, a question for you. What
can you do?"
>>130947"Buck stuff and carry... much," Iron replies, at first puffing his chest proudly before pouting softly "that rhyme did not go too well."
>>130948"Well, either way, there is another hang up in North Point. Some of the trawlers have been bought up by a fishing company that is known, by us at least, to be a front for the Ginovicci crime family out of Bronc and Manehattan. Rumor has it one of their leaders even bought a house in North Point. This has never been an issue before, given how unimportant North Point was to us, or even to them... But by Tartarus, what a difference difference these last few weeks have made. If they don't appreciate how valuable the shipping of North Point is, they will soon."
>>130949"I see," Iron replies with a little nod "so basically I should beat these folk up before they bolster their defences?"
>>130950"Well, I don't know if I would use such strong language as 'beat,' but if somepony were to remind them who is in charge of Baltimare... well, it would go a long way"
>>130951"I see," Iron replies with a nod "but would they really be intimidated about having some of their goons being reminded of the ruler of Baltimare?"
>>130952"Then remind the head." She answers succinctly
>>130953"Got it," Iron answers with a nod "consider it done."
With a determined, proud strut, he starts to go to the door before his ears straighten sharply as he stops. "Uh... how do I get to North Point?"
>>130955"Thanks," he promptly replies before continuing his confident strut "should I go back here to report directly, by the way?"
>>130956"You may. I am not the only one interested in killing this problem in the cradle, but I think we would prefer a bit of... deniability, in case this goes badly"
>>130957"Got it," Iron replies before going out with Sands in tow.
Having gotten outside, he turns to his companion mare. "So, any opinions on the ensuing 'discussion' I am about to provoke?"
>>130958"Do you know who the Ginovicci are?" She asks him
>>130959"No," Iron replies with a shake of the head as he starts the trek towards North Point "what can you tell me?"
>>130960"They are a splinter of a much larger syndicate in Wingbardy, and are no small players in Manehattan. Not at all. This is a very power family known to have many hitgriffs and carry out many killings. I don't think they will cow easily."
>>130961"Do they have some sort of duel to demand respect or do they understand with enough knocked out griffins?"
>>130962"Respect is a big deal for them, and they have something like a sense of honor. But I doubt they'd accept a duel. Well, maybe. But they are the type to shoot you as you walk down the street."
>>130963"Do you have any advice on how to properly spook them?"
>>130964"If I had to say any one thing, make them think there are more of you, and more of you coming. If possible, try to make them think they are under attack from a political faction - any of them. Money is a powerful force, and a powerful motivator. But it loses against ideology. Money isn't worth dying for, ideology is. They know this, and they fear the political factions because of it."
>>130968*chitinous clicking noises*
>>130969I think we left off with Spark asking the wolves to go with him into the forest.
>>130971Alright, Spark’s turn for dialogue
>>130972"A quick look around won't hurt. So what do you say?"
>>130973Waabishki asks
“What is it, exactly, you are looking for?”
>>130974"Just looking for trouble I suppose you could say, before it finds us."
>>130975“There is more than enough trouble that comes to us. We have no need to look for it.”
>>130976"Then how do you suppose that you stop trouble from returning time and again?"
>>130977She shakes her head
“Stay out of the affairs of others.”
>>130978"You can only come to that point if you can keep your land a place where that can hold true. Right now you are up against something that doesn't have that same ideal. If you don't, then you will always involve yourself in the affairs of others on their own terms."
>>130965"I see," Iron replies, pondering on how he'd be able to do such a thing "...is there any candidates which I can ask for an outfit of theirs? Anything to make them think I am from a political faction that you know of?"
>>130979Makade walks in rather angrily
"We've had others involve themselves on their terms for a thousand years now! Ever since the ponies came in and drove our kind into the darkest forests we have been, at best, vassals of the ponies, unable to do much without their prior approval. We know outsiders do not share our ideals. The ponies' ideal has been to dominate over everything around them, be it rocks in the earth, the trees, or other creatures. This is nothing new for us, only for you ponies, to experience for yourselves what we have for for many years. We are not going to get involved in any offensive matter that leaves our own lands unguarded. Not without reward or benefit."
Waabishki bares her teeth towards Maakade, but remains in a serious stance when she turns back towards Spark
"I don't think you understand. We are weak. We know we cannot fight our enemies off forever, or by decisive force. That is why I had faith in you, what I thought you were here for. When you came you I though you could help us to secure peace, or at least, to secure backing. Now you tell us you fight.... something. Changelings, is it? We have fought Changelings before, and of that Makade can tell you better than I. We do not want more war, certainly not unsupported war. That will destroy us."
>>130980"The Popular Front usually wear no clothes or civilian clothes, save for a black and red bandanna, tied around the head or covering the muzzle. The Equestrian Liberation Front can vary, they prefer to have old Equestrian military uniforms. When this fails, they wear civilian clothes, often with a small Equestrian flag bandanna or cloth protruding from a pocket, or if no clothes, then the same flag bandanna or cloth around the neck. Garrison troops will always wear uniform, generally khaki or dark green. SSA will be completely normally clothed in the scouts, but wear black uniforms in raids.."
>>130981"...I think the Popular Front are the most likely to try and kick their flanks, considering their whole murdering and upholding those ideals they despise," Iron offers thoughtfully "not to mention it will have the added effect of potentially antagonizing the wrong ponies and and be seen by the majority as a bunch of rabid killers even more."
>>130982"Popular Front is... 'Decentralized.' Some of them follow a hierarchical structure and many of them are, well, the exact opposite of that. Some of them have no issue with the gangs and some of them do. In order to sell this, you have to make them believe there is a particular reason why they are being targeted, and how they were found out. The bad reputation of the gangs isn't necessarily enough. Not when almost no one knows they are there."
>>130983"What about spreading rumours they have been oppressing the denizens there?"
>>130984She turns her head
"Are you trying to start an uprising or something?"
>>130985"More like ensure they do not become a problem later in case they try to tighten their grip on that area without making sure I get its benefits," Iron clarifies "and I will do whatever it takes."
>>130986"Okay.... But what does that mean, exactly?"
>>130987"Well," Iron starts "I do want to get every possible ingredient Cauldron will need so that we keep our options open and cater to every possible request given."
>>130988"But... what was that about the rumor? What is the plan? How? How do you do these things?"
>>130989"Total victory," Iron answers "do not give them any sort of thought to betray what I wish. I was simply planning to be a physical reminder, but your input does left me wondering if only that would work out."
>>130910Silver wipes some sweat off his brow.
"Whew...if nothing else, this is good way to show what happens when you detonate bomb right on top of pony. If undead ponies are at all representative, that is."
>>130991Mala's eyes widen at this quote, and he moves and places a piece of flesh on the rocky shore
"Actually, ponies are much squishier"
>>130990"However powerful you may be, they will not be afraid of you. Beatings, even killings are all just a part of the business. They are not afraid of any one pony, or other creature.... But if you are just the first taste of something bigger, especially if it
isn't just business to you... They might not care to stick around. And if you are into business... well,
maybe they could be put into a negotiating kind of mood with a strong enough kick to the head."
>>130992Iron nods softly, considering the backing of the most powerful, established Baltimare gang. "So all I gotta do is make them think there are more of me that will come back if they try to one-up me again, right?"
>>130993"Well.... there could be more of them too... You must make them think they will not win"
>>130992"Hmm. Maybe. Then again, I have never seen actual pony blown up by bomb, and ponies I have fought have been battle hardened like me."
He looks over the collection of body parts they've gathered.
"As for this, I do not think there is much else we can do while water remains. Let us do other task, like moving rocks."
>>130994"So excel individually and then declare there are more like me that will come if they do not conform," Iron concludes with an assertive nod before tentatively glancing at Sands "...right?"
>>130995Silver can see that the more easterly portion of the Quarry has a higher elevation, and thus lower water. At some portions, mud and branches stick out of the water, with trees and dirt having evidently accumulated over the bottom of the quarry as time went on. These are what Feather Duster spent most of his time moving. Now, Feather Duster is by the damaged and blown out entrance, moving these rocks to the side. Dr. Grant is by the entrance as well, looking at bricks. On one cloth is the fleshy particles Silver and Mala, the remains of what was Green Basin, parts of a mare in a decayed white dress, and a Mummified pony. On another canvas is pieces of armor, a ruined bicycle, a lantern, and a sheathed large sword.
Feather Duster stops, and looks at Mala kind of strangely as he approaches.
>>130996"Well, yeah. More or less. Make them think there will be more, or there could be."
>>130997Silver can't help but look over at the sword as he trots to the two ponies. If it's any comfort to the two professors, Silver seems relaxed while around Mala. He points out the sword on the tarp to the professors.
"Where did you find that sword?"
>>130998Feather duster speaks for the first time. His voice is a bit higher, younger, and less polished than Grant's or Peer Review's
"It was right there" he points with a wing to a bare spot sort of in the center of the rocky area.
"Next to the... to the, to the body with armor"
>>130997"Got it," Iron agrees with a grin before blinking softly "so what will you do when I start the reminding process?"