1885 replies and 48 files omitted.
>>130501The 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."
>>130499You said Tall Sails...that is shipping company Curwhinny left behind to his family, yes?"
>>130504Iron pouts lightly, humming softly. "Did you get the chance to reconnect with the ones you knew?"
>>130504She 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.
>>130505Peer 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."
>>130507And 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."
>>130508Amber asks around what's in the local neighborhood. Gather information:
[1d20+2 = 12] >>130510Factories, 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"
>>130511Amber 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?"
>>130514Yes, one. A diner
>>130515She 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?"
>>130516She 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"
>>130518In side, there is a counter with a glass, and a large stallion with a large beard
>>130519Amber trots up to the stallion.
"Hello, mister. I'm new to these parts, but…may I see a menu?" >>130519Iron, 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?"
>>130520He 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
>>130521She smiles awkwardly
“Yes... I remember”
>>130522Iron 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.
>>130525Iron 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
>>130527Amber asks around where the closest library is. Gather information:
[1d20+2 = 8] >>130529Somewhere 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”
>>130530Amber 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.
>>130532Iron 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.
>>130533Going 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
>>130534Blanche 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.
>>130536Smells like Okra, but there is definitely pepper as well. It isn't particularly hot
>>130537Iron hums softly before looking at Sands. "Want to test the soup?" he asks her
>>130538She 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.
>>130539Iron, albeit a bit surprised at the lack of sound, remains composed, eager to see what she thinks.
>>130540She licks it, and licks it again. Then she scrunches
>>130541Iron 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.
>>130543With 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>>130544The 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.
>>130545His 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.
>>130535Amber 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.
>>130546She just sniffs the rice. But the Okra remains mostly good, if a bit saturated in spice
>>130547Suits 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.
>>130548Iron 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.
>>130548Amber thanks the stallion and looks for the library around the center. How long does it take her?
>>130549She blinks, and looks at him
>>130550Not particularly long. A few blocks
>>130551"Are you going to try it?" he asks Sands.
>>130552She picks her head up, and looks directly at Iron
"You first"