/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>130451
"Silver Sword. I am pony who cleared undead from quarry and catacombs."

He steps aside to show Mala.

"This is my partner, Mala. I heard bodies leftover from when I cleared this place were going to be recovered, and I came to offer assistance."

>>130453
"Did you not have this 'hangover' thing haunting you?"

>>130455
"Well yes, that's why I need alcohol. To help my hangover."

>>130454
Peer Review looks over at Mala, who raises his head and his diamond shaped ears
"I see"

Then Peer Review looks back to Silver
"We were hired to do an archaeological evaluation of this site before it was dug up for construction, per city ordinance. There are indeed equine remains here that must be interred as well. Tell me, you cleared this site?"

>>130456
"Oh," he pauses, blinking once in mild puzzlement before sniffing slightly "alright then."
Having said that, he turns to Blanche. "That will be all, unless there is more you have to offer."

>>130456
"As far as my knowledge goes. Is there issue?"

>>130457
She blinks
"Well, if you want an appetizer, or anything else"

White Sands adds:
"Coffee. Get me coffee."

>>130458
"No, just... that explains the destruction..."

The green unicorn is walking over. Silver can see that the table below Peer Review has a sketch of what is presumably the below ground facility, and the cloth has on it items like a rusted sword and a hat. The green unicorn must find Mala interesting, because he looks towards him, and Mala looks back

>>130459
Iron ponders the offer for a moment before nodding. "Add what she ordered for me as well," he answers "that will be all."

>>130460
She nods, and walks away

>>130461
Seeing Blanche leave, Iron turns to Sands. "So alcohol and coffee make you recover from the ailment that is 'hangover'?" he asks

>>130459
Silver rubs the back of his neck.

"Ahm...inside structure or outside?"

>>130462
"It helps" She says, placing her hoof to her head again

>>130463
He moves his head back, and his ears twitch. He seems to relax

>>130463
"Well... Yes. Underground, mostly."

>>130464
Iron's ear flicker as he tilts his head. "I see," he mumbles before his ears straighten in a flash "oh, I did not hear you order some food before."

>>130464
"Oh! Good! Not destruction I mean, that I was not cause of internal damage. It was likely caused when they started quarrying operation."

>>130465
She moves a hoof around
"Oh, no matter. I will eat from some of yours."
Then she widens her eyes, and looks to Iron
"May I have some of yours?"

>>130466
"Um hmm" He nods skeptically
"Did you gleam any information about what went on here?"

>>130467
Iron nods. "Sure," he answers gladly, blinking once in mild confusion "you do not really have to ask, considering how long I have not seen you eat since back at Hoebuck."

>>130468
She holds her pastern up, and angles her hoof down.
"Oh, I'm fine"

>>130467
"Plenty. While I do not know exact purpose of this place before it was buried, in 8th century it was rediscovered by Joseph Curwhinny, who owned farmhouse near here. He used it to conduct necromatic experiments on its denizens, zebra slaves, and others in attempt to discover how to bring his wife and foals back from dead, after they had all died of plague."

>>130469
"Is it a unicorn thing to have little need to eat food because of horn stuff?" he proceeds to ask, now becoming curious at how nonchalant Sands is currently being "or is it more about keeping under a weight threshold?"

>>130471
"Oh no, I just had food after you went to sleep yesterday"
She waves again

>>130470
"Hmmm... The record from this region is that there was a dispute over customs in which Joseph Curwhinny was killed. High Chair believes this incident to have been an example of a bourgeois lead attempt at revolution against the old order. That is preposterous of course, as Joseph Curwhinny was a member of the bourgeois class, and I think it was something closer to a peasant rebellion, or even a proto-proletariat rebellion. The crux of the question is of course who the violence was directed against... There are more zombies than I expected..."

>>130472
"Oh," Iron utters before nodding assertively "right." He softly rubs his foreleg a little as he looks to the side "I got a bit worried you were not eating for some reason, but that makes sense."

>>130473
"Don't be silly" She closes her eyes, and again waves her hoof dismissively
"So... what is this? Zebra food?"

>>130474
Iron nods "Igborncs-made, if what I heard recently is accurate. No idea what makes a food that, but it tastes real nice."

>>130475
"Right..." She seems skeptical

Blanche comes back, and gives White Sands what looks like a beer, and a cup of coffee

White Sands takes a sip of the beer

>>130476
Iron tilts his head. "What do you usually eat?" he asks as he waits on his food.

>>130477
"Not Zebra ethnic food, I can tell you that"
She takes a sip of the coffee, and then uses both hooves to hold the coffee

>>130478
"Do you have many bad experiences with eating foreign foods?"

>>130479
"No, it just seems sort of lower class, you know?"

>>130472
"That I figured out, as well, thanks to letters I found on militia ponies and Curwhinny's own notes. He fell in love with mare, Wood Hill, who was betrothed with prominent sailor named Whipperwhill. He broke off their engagement and married Wood Hill, even having foal with her. Whipperwhill's anger, combined with one of Curwhinny's friends, Cinnamon Corn, betraying knowledge to him that Curwhinny had been performing necromancy and had supposedly achieved lichdom, caused him to raise milita to attack catacombs. Curwhinny was sealed away, but his experiments were released and none of attacking militia ponies survived. Wood Hill and her foal with Curwhinny escaped, however. I still have many of notes and letters that document this, if you are interested."

>>130480
Iron tilts his head as an ear droops. "Eating certain foods are signs of somepony being of lower class?" he asks in mild disbelief.

>>130481
"Well, that's quite a story. I suspect the Tall Sails shipping company will not want this story to get out, all the more reason why we will. Yes, I would like to see these notes and letters"

>>130482
She moves her head back a little
"Well, I had just sort of thought of it that way."

>>130483
He tilts his head to the other side, drooping the opposite ear instead. "How did you reach that conclusion?" he asks, plainly curious.

>>130484
"Well... Zebras are mostly poorer, and the recent immigrants are the poorest of the zebras. The more closely connected to the Zebrican cultures, the poorer."

>>130485
"Zebras are usually poor?" Iron asks once more, surprised as his minds goes back to the painting Obere had made with all the fancy sights he drew. "...did you ever get to visit Zebrica?"

>>130486
She turns her head
"No..."

>>130487
"Do you know anypony that has gone to Zebrica that told you this?"

>>130483
Silver nods, and gives him all of the notes and letters he had acquired looking through the catacombs...minus those he had given to the Black Hooves previously, but he doesn't mention that. He particularly points out the letter Curwhinny left behind to Wood Hill when Whipperwhill attacked, the correspondance between Whipperwhill and Cinnamon Corn, the account of the 8th century plague, and Curwhinny's own retelling of the events that lead up to him marrying and having a foal with Wood Hill in his final letter to Cinnamon Corn.

>>130488
"I mean... I mean the immigrants, especially in Manehattan. I have met some ponies who have gone to Zebrica. They tell me many things."

>>130489
Peer Review looks down at the letters, and then looks over to the other stallion
"Mr. Loans, come over here. Look at these."
He starts moving the letters with his own yellow magic

>>130490
"...how peculiar," Iron surmises as he pokes his chin "perhaps the ones you asked did not really have the best experience there."
One second passes before his ears straighten up in realization, blushing lightly as he meekly shrinks into his seat "Wait, I did not make you uncomfortable by asking all these zebra-related questions, did I?"

>>130491
"... No?"

>>130492
"Oh," Iron replies as he relaxed his posture. "I figured I asking a lot of questions you did not know how to answer."

>>130493
"I just haven't been asked those questions before" She answers

>>130490
Silver is actually interested in hearing what they will talk about, so he stays to listen.

>>130494
"Does nopony you have ever met ask you about that?" Iron mutters aloud as his ears droop lightly "...do you not have others that may be curious enough as to ask them?"

>>130496
"Well, I've only been offered Zebra food like... twice, before. Once I didn't say anything, and the other time they didn't say anything when I said it was lower class"

>>130497
"Ooh," Iron can't help but coo in wonder "What were your first impressions when you tasted it?"

>>130495
Peer Review says to Mr. Loans,
"This pony says that he found these letters down stairs. He says they prove that Curwhinny was a Necromancer, and that there was a dispute over a mare."

The Unicorn repsonds
"I know, I heard him"

Peer Review:
"Then help to check the dates and put these in order. If these are real, they could cause controversy. And that would help to boost the publicity."

>>130498
"Well, it was from Colthage. Some of it was just rice, and there was this jelly like substance I don't remember the name of. That tasted sweet, it was alright."

>>130499
"I see," Iron replies, nodding "so who invited you to eat zebra food in the first place?"

Sorry I'm late
Amber uses the toilet (which presumably was designed with quadrupeds in mind, and hopefully is not too dirty) washes her hooves and face in the sink, perhaps struggling to figure out how it turns on. She goes into the "kitchen," unlatches her saddlebags and pulls out a parcel wrapped in waxy paper. Unwrapping it reveals some brown bread, cheese, and a couple of tomatoes. What kind of cheese would be common for the area?

She retrieves her knife and washes it in the sink, which hopefully is also not too dirty. About a third of the bread and cheese is cut off into thin slices and one of the tomatoes is cut in half. These she eats slowly, savoring the flavor of each bite. When Amber is finally finished she carefully wraps the remainder of the food, including the tomato half, in the paper and puts it into a cupboard if she has one. She washes the knife and decides to test the taste of the water from the faucet.

>>130500
"A stallion in Manehattan. Met him when I was a waiter in a different restaurant."

>>130502
"Ah," Iron muses as he scratches his chin "why did he do it?"

>>130501
The toilet and the sink have at least been cleaned since the room was last occupied. She does indeed have a cupboard. Probably Cheddar? Something cheap. The water has a slight metallic taste, but is otherwise passable

>>130503
"Oh, I think he though he was being avant garde or whatever in suggesting the food from Colthage. You never can tell for sure with Stallions, though."

>>130499
You said Tall Sails...that is shipping company Curwhinny left behind to his family, yes?"

>>130504
Iron pouts lightly, humming softly. "Did you get the chance to reconnect with the ones you knew?"

>>130504
She smiles to herself. It's not that bad, as soon as I pay off this loan things will be looking bright.
Amber fills her canteen and packs it, her coin purse, her key, and her knife beneath her burlap cloak as she puts it on. She's still wearing her green headscarf, of course. Amber leaves her apartment, making sure to lock it behind her, and exits the building.

>>130505
Peer Review turns his face to Silver, and he has a small smile
"Of a sort, yes. Tall Sails was the name of Curwhinny's colt. He renamed the company after himself to disassociate it with his father, and it's had the name ever since."

>>130506
"Here in Baltimare.... I tried to find a couple. One wasn't there, the other, I just talked to him."

>>130507
And so she is back on the street

>>130508
"Oh," Iron mutters as his hoof keeps on scratching his foreleg "it does not seem you had that many others to rely on before you got... you know."

>>130508
Amber asks around what's in the local neighborhood. Gather information: [1d20+2 = 12]

>>130510
Factories, tenements, and a few shops. One firestation. There can be more, the further out you go.

>>130509
"Not here... I have a message to get out though"

>>130511
"Did you have a chance to look into concerte options while I fell asleep yesterday?"

>>130512
"I looked, but it seems some leads have gone cold"

>>130511
Amber trots north and looks around as she proceeds. Are there any restaurants in the area?

>>130513
"So we are most likely to look for options again today?"

>>130514
Yes, one. A diner

>>130515
She tilts her head
"I'm not sure we are on the same page. 'Concrete options'?"

>>130516
"A place or pony to go and send the message you wanted today," Iron clarifies "what was your side of the leaf?"

>>130516
She trots toward the diner and looks in when she's close enough. I might not be able to eat there today but I hope they don't mind if I look around.

>>130517
"Uh..." She looks at him strangely

"I can try again"

>>130518
In side, there is a counter with a glass, and a large stallion with a large beard

>>130519
Amber trots up to the stallion. "Hello, mister. I'm new to these parts, but…may I see a menu?"

>>130519
Iron, in turn, tilts his head to look at her. "Worst scenario we go do some favors, I suppose," he answers as he blinks softly, looking at Sands in mild confusion. "...you do remember you told me about that message you wanted to send your mother, right?"

>>130520
He points a hoof up
“Look right there on the board.”

Behind him is a black chalkboard with a number of food items, most sand which written down

>>130521
She smiles awkwardly
“Yes... I remember”

>>130522
Iron can't help but let out a chuckle at Sands' awkward smile, averting his gaze. "I was not too blunt there, was I?" he asks once more.

>>130522
She nods, "Thank you," and walks out.

>>130523
“No...”

>>130525
Iron shakes his head. "L-let us start from the beginning again," he replies with a hopeful tone "what did you interpert as a 'concrete option'?"

>>130524
“Well okay then.” He says, and Amber walks out

>>130526
“I just didn’t know what you meant.” She answers

>>130527
Amber asks around where the closest library is. Gather information: [1d20+2 = 8]

>>130529
Somewhere o’er in west town, just north of center. Neat where she was before, actually

>>130528
"We both know that at this point," Iron replies with an amused smile before shaking his head and letting out a sigh "now, I do want to help you out with that message sending. Is there anything I can contribute in order to reach that objective faster?"

>>130531
“I don’t... think so? Unless you have contacts in Equestrian Union”

>>130530
Amber goes west then, eager to get back to where she knows ponies are a little more friendly. Along the way, though, she tries to get a feel for the neighborhood: how the different creatures talk, what storefront businesses there tend to be, the sort of cutie marks the ponies wear, and glances down those ubiquitous narrow alleyways.

>>130532
Iron pouts softly as his ears droop. "I see," he mumbles softly. He pauses, simply waiting for the food as he has exhausted his talking options for the time being.

>>130533
Going in the direction of the Library, Amber Sunset nearly retraces her journey from an hour earlier, save she is one or two streets further northward. Though the distance traveled is not great, maybe a mile, there is a noticable difference between the East and West sides. The east side has worse smelling air, a prevalence of tenement buildings, and sporadic factories. The West side has more office buildings, nicer apartment buildings, and cleaner air. Non-ponies are more common in the East, and while Amber hasn't explored the whole city, it seems reasonable to believe that there are some areas further east and south where ponies are a minority. Even the ponies on the east side tend to seem... 'different,' many of them probably hailing from other areas of Equestria. At one point, Amber hears ponies speaking in a foreign language. Cutiemarks relating to industrial professions are more common there, as are those relating to less prestigious service jobs and even a few ponies with bottle cutie marks. Non-ponies don't have cutie marks, except for Zebra, so who even knows with them. The Westside, by contrast, is almost respectable. There are more office jobs, factory managers, and other parts of the service industry like professors and doctors. Non-ponies are fewer in number, but Hippogriffs and Griffins make up most of the non-ponies in the west side, few that there are. The city center has large government buildings, office buildings and hotels, and office buildings and hotels that have been converted into government buildings. Commerical offices are slightly off center to the west, industry is sporadic, but mostly towards the east. The city seems to be denser further south, with row houses more common that apartment buildings in the North. A few buildings are taller than 10 stories, but by and large the city seems to be dominated by low rise buildings. Green areas and parks are more common in the west. A few streets in the East side are diagonal, and break the grid pattern, but almost the entire west side obeys a grid pattern

>>130534
Blanche returns
"Okra soup and Jolof rice"
She places the two dishes down before Iron

>>130535
"Alright," Iron announces as he rubs his frogs together in anticipation, mostly to recover from the conversation with Sands "let us dig in."
Having said that, he approaches his snout towards the soup, hovering over it to test its hotness as well as sense its smell.

>>130536
Smells like Okra, but there is definitely pepper as well. It isn't particularly hot

>>130537
Iron hums softly before looking at Sands. "Want to test the soup?" he asks her

>>130538
She leans her head over, places her muzzle over the soup, and sniffs the soup. At least she seems to. Her nostrils move, but she's completely silent as she does so. He muzzle is rather thin and long, and viewing the white and pink muzzle over the soup only accentuates that.

>>130539
Iron, albeit a bit surprised at the lack of sound, remains composed, eager to see what she thinks.

>>130540
She licks it, and licks it again. Then she scrunches

>>130541
Iron tilts his head at Sands. "Hm?" he utters out, aware of her current scrunching before looking down at the soup for a lick of his own at the soup, wondering what caused her reaction.

>>130542
"It's... a bit peppery"

>>130543
With his tongue sticking out, Iron looks at the soup before going in for a lick anyways as a reminder to what pepper feels like.

>>130542
>>130544
The soup has a somewhat slimy texture to it, perhaps to be expected from Okra. There is a noticeable amount of cilantro and pepper as well.

>>130545
His eyes widen at the texture and spicy, prickly flavor. After smacking his lips slightly, Iron shrugs before starting to gulp out the soup, inviting Sands to try the rice instead.

>>130535
Amber marvels at how a change in scenery could be sudden. I must be right in the center with these grand buildings, and they probably divide the west and the east like a river does. North or south though…I don't have time today to explore both so I have to make up my mind. Is it the case that ponies in the west tend to wear more clothes, or is their style of clothing different from those in the east?

In any case, she aims to ask a pony nearby who looks to be a sophisticated native of the city about the differences between the north and the south, other than their style of buildings. "Which is more likely to have a nice library? Which has restaurants and social gatherings? How about scenery? Where do ponies like to play or listen to music? Is any place safe to go after dark?" Her words practically tumble out of her mouth in eagerness.

>>130546
She just sniffs the rice. But the Okra remains mostly good, if a bit saturated in spice

>>130547
Suits are more common in the west, and uniforms more common in the east, with a little more clothing over all in the west. The difference isn't that great, and is most noticeable as it involves non-ponies"

A stallion in a suit explains that the quality of the libraries depends mostly on how the city council treats them, with the one by the center in the best condition, and one in a southeastern neighborhood fairing the worst. There are restaurants and social gathering places in many parts of the city, and you can go where ever depending on what kind of scene is preferred, with the densest set of bars and nightclubs in strip just east of center, between the commercial districts and the bay-side neighborhoods. Some areas in the North and the West are safe at night, but in general crime has been a serious problem. The southern sections of the city are closer to the river, and so have been inhabited for longer.

>>130548
Iron doesn't take long finishing the acceptable dish, optimistic about Khoi's chances in the kitchen. With one last gulp, the soup's gone from his mind. "Ah~" he lets out with a grin "she will get the hang of this in no time if she got this almost right."
Having said that, he turns to Sands expectantly, wondering if she'll make him taste first instead of her.

>>130548
Amber thanks the stallion and looks for the library around the center. How long does it take her?

>>130549
She blinks, and looks at him

>>130550
Not particularly long. A few blocks

>>130551
"Are you going to try it?" he asks Sands.

>>130552
She picks her head up, and looks directly at Iron
"You first"