Ambergriff wonders her way through the bog at night, looking for safety. Silver leads a heroic assault on the infiltrators before they can destroy the city. Both will have to wake soon...
Hopefully Spark's line will continue soon as well.
>>168724It seems that Harmony has become more inclusive since the books in the Magehold library were written. To the credit of the nieghborhood, Posey has not heard any gunshots, nor seen any armed altercations in the few minutes she's been here. Either that is harmony, or the weapons control is working.
Posey can tell why the abandoned buildings here are more disturbing than elsewhere. More buildings than not have pockmarks and broken bricks, sometimes filled with mortar, but more often left as they are. Quite a few have large sections made of slightly lighter bricks and stones, implying major repairs. Some are blackened and vacant by fire. But in the most severe cases, the apartment buildings are removed whole, leaving a dirt or concrete hole in a wall of buildings, like a gap in a row of teeth. Not here. Here, the most severe cases appear as decayed or burned-out husks, with the outer walls intact, but the interior floors collapsed in on themselves.
Posey gets the impression she may not be the first to think of inhabiting the abandoned buildings. Peering into one of them next to the road, Posey can see the remains of tin cans, food wrappers, and army blankets. Walls are decorated throughout the town with various symbols. An "A" with a circle around it is popular, as is "Fuck [Name of person or organization]," though there is considerable variation in the art. Posey passes a pink chalk stick figure drawing of a smiling quadrupedal creature on a wall next to a diner. Though such art is uncommon on residential structures, the warehouses, abandoned buildings, and even the lamposts can be covered in it.
>>168729>diversity>weapons control>people squating in warehouses>evidence of children living in these conditions>Anarchists who do nothing but larp with spray paint symbols while the system keeps stealing from themPosey comes from a country that's just liches and vampires ruling over thousands of shambling thralls, and it's still somehow looking better than urban neoliberalism.
>description"Hmmm, I'll bet nopony would notice if a few of the locals went missing here. Ripe with opportunity." Posey wonders to herself
Do any of these nearby buildings look particularly shady, as if they might be home to criminal gangs, drug dealers, smugglers, monster dens, or other dangerous activity?
Rolling a Local check, for street smarts
[1d20+3 = (3+3) = 6]Also, while I know what the 'A' means, Posey wouldn't necessarily know that, so she stops by one of the symbols and squints at it, trying to identify the meaning of the sigil.
"Triangular pattern, line through the center, sealing ring.. abjuration, perhaps? It shant be warding anything with such a sloppy application. Perhaps it's chaos magic." The foreign mage mutters aloud, visibly puzzled by this eldritch rune that evades her arcane knowledge
Rolling arcana because I like rolling for stuff
[1d20+9 = (20+9) = 29]Posey continues towards the address, unless anything unusual catches her attention or obstructs her.
>>168729>"Fuck [Name of person or organization],"Are there any particular organizations or persons that appear more often?
>>168733>Arcana rollSeriously?
Posey actually remembers reading about this symbol. It belongs to, and signifies, a comprehensive set of beliefs popular in Griefenwald and the Equestrian Southeast, though not really anywhere else. This system of beliefs essentially holds that harmony is the natural relationship between all creatures (at least emotionally mature adults), and that the institutions and traditions built by civilizations tend to create unnatural divisions between creatures and to feed and provoke the inner demons of greed, hatred, and pride. These divisions serve only to benefit a tiny few, while the great majority are reduced to despair and poverty. Removing hierarchy and distinctions of nationality, religion and the like, combined with good education and the material surpluses allowed by efficiently used magic and industries will allow the better angels of creature-nature to bring about universal harmony. With regards to spirituality, this ideology could be considered atheistic, rejecting the existence of a spiritual realm and considering powerful entities like alicorns and draconiquises nothing other than that. With regards to metaphysics, the ideology is materialist, holding that the only things that exist are physical things like what is studied by the sciences. Magic is considered a fifth fundamental force alongside gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Magic is a companion to nuclear reactions, gravity, and magnetism, not of a transcendental nature over it. The symbols are to mark territory, to signal solidarity with likeminded individuals, and to demoralize the stooges of the ossified status quo. They are not intended to summon magical forces, save insofar as friendship and solidarity is magical.
>Street SmartsThis entire section of the city looks shady and crime infested.
>>168734The single most common name is "Lavender Berry," but "The Fascist," "The Occupiers," "The Police," "Haygle," and "The Blackhooves" are also common. There are a few one-off names like "Alcoe," "Brittle Band," and "Halcyon Shores"
>>168726I do not use cityscapes
>>168725Posey does know what these creatures are. They are Crocutta. They are a race of carnivorous creatures indigenous to central and southern Zebrica. A sister race to the Kaftar, they have a worse reputation to the latter's already very poor reputation, with a history of raiding, piracy, mercenary work, and most recently as collaborators with the Storm King. If the Kaftar and the Crocutta hate each other, that hatred is not as strong as whatever is pushing them together.
>>168733>>168724>>168714But of course, the most important feature of any neighborhood is the people. The streets are, again, neither bustling with activity nor abandoned. The largely residential character of the neighborhood doesn't seem conducive to retaining it's population at these hours. But the presence of multiple shops and large factories within a few hundred feet ensures that there is indeed some activity. As it was before, mostly she is ignored. A Crocutta... male? hard to tell - stumbles while trying to walk straight, while in front of a set of stairs going into a tenement building, a pair of Crocutta pups play tug of war with each other, pulling on a red rag and growling. The most direct attention she gets in all of this time is from a grey pony stallion who shouts "hey there" at her, and continues walking along with two other stallions. But she isn't completely unnoticed by the crocutta, who stand at their storefronts, or look out from their windows, at this obviously alien element. In the dark of the night, their reflective golden eyes stand out, peering at her like big cats stalking their prey. The act has the semblance of malintent, though whether that is an accurate reflection of the situation, or the fearful herbivorous nature of the pony corpse Posey is built from seeping through and imposing an atavistic interpretation of the situation on her, is hard to tell.
Posey arrives. The building is much larger than most of the tenement buildings she's seen, and appears to have a completely different design. Whereas the average building is tall and narrow, spaced immediately next to some other structure, and with a courtyard in the back, this building is square in shape, presumably with its own internal courtyard, and has a space between it and the large government building (presumably a school) that Posey has just passed. This one has smaller square windows and a facade that is grey stone by the first floor, and brick above. Across the street, posey sees a staircase that goes down, evidently into the underground. This entire block seems longer than the average, and the city layout between 32nd and 33rd streets might be an outlier.
>>168738>staircase that goes down, evidently into the underground.Ooh, a dungeon
Posey pays the onlookers no mind, unless they get any more aggressive. She proceeds towards the address of the supposed witch doctor.
>>168736>With regards to metaphysics, the ideology is materialist, holding that the only things that exist are physical things like what is studied by the sciences. Magic is considered a fifth fundamental force alongside gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. Magic is a companion to nuclear reactions, gravity, and magnetism, not of a transcendental nature over it.Interesting take on magic, although I guess it makes sense in context of a high-magic, modern-tech setting.
>rejecting the existence of a spiritual realmLol, said the necromancer, lmao even
>>168737I would like to roll to see if Posey knows anything about this Lavender Berry:
[1d20+3 = (5+3) = 8]
>>168740They do not get anymore aggressive. Posey has come upon the address, or more accurately, the building containing the address. But before she may enter, Posey must come to terms with her greatest fear, and face her greatest nemesis...
A DoorClosed, and at the top of a few steps
The harmony of the night breaks slightly when there is a sound of distant bang, followed by many taps that Posey may at first mistake for an item dropped at a nearby warehouse, but with the passage of seconds and the occurrence of still more taps, are unmistakably the sounds of an explosion followed by automatic gunfire. A couple passerby's on the street look in that direction, but upon determining that it's nowhere close, find the sound uninteresting and continue on their business.
>>168742See
>>168743>>168741The difference in opinions isn't entirely based upon a different set of accepted facts and experiences (though that is certainly a large part of it) but more often a different interpretation of the same phenomenon. It isn't necessarily that something like a "life force" or soul doesn't exist, per se, it's just that it's viewed as a collection of magical energy that inhabits the physical body, analogous in nature to electricity in nerve functions, that dissipates upon entropy of the body. If there is any such thing as a "plane," that is a different dimension of space and time, and if there is anything that Posey may call a "god," it is but an energy being or collection of magic. What they reject absolutely is the existence of a non-physical substance.
Think of how Descartes thought that the soul interacted with the body by means of the pituitary gland, like how gravity acts upon atoms. Of course Descartes was a Dualist who believed in God and an Immaterial soul, but you get the point... I think.
>>168744>upon determining that it's nowhere closeHow far does it sound? I might like to get involved.
>doorOh no..
Posey clams up as she approaches the door, winces, and knocks
>>168745Posey knocks a little harder.
Then harder.
Then harder again.
"Hello!?" she calls, with a neurotic twitch
>At least a mileHmm, that's pretty far.
>>168748Posey, due to listed phobia, has not even considered touching the door handle yet, and yet she let's out a blood-chilling roar
"I SAID HELLO!"
Rolling intimidate
[1d20+11 = (8+11) = 19]
>>168750Success! Posey's strength of will forces the door to backdown, the handle turning, and the door opening inwards. The door opens to reveal a Crocuta, holding on to the edges of the now intimidated door with her paws. With her black muzzle and trapezoidal ears, she looks at Posey and says in a voice slightly deep for a female, and conveying annoyance, "Are you crazy?!"
>>168752>Are you crazyHahaha...
"Pardon me, ma'am. I'm... under orders not to enter any building without invitation."
Bluff
[1d20+12 = (14+12) = 26]She twitches a little bit
"...May I come in?"
Diplomacy
[1d20+6 = (11+6) = 17]
>>168754She looks at Posey perplexed.
"who ordered you here?"
Also, opposed (Because I like opposing diplomacy rolls)
[1d20+5 = (13+5) = 18]
>>168755"Well, I sort of came here on my own, but I have to follow... Customs.."
"I work for some associates of someone who I believe resides here, a creature named Umoya."
>>168756This answer alarms the Crocutta
"You're working for Customs?! She don't live here no more."
>>168757"I don't work for customs. I just... have to follow rules." she bites her lip, silently embarrassed of having let her impulses get the best of her
She looks left, and then right, then forward
"I don't have very much time. Friends of my friends have been dropping left and right from recent police raids, and if I'm not mistaken Umoya is one of the few who hasn't already been slain, so tell me, does the lady Umoya still reside on this mortal plane?"
>>168758She hesitates
I'd kind of like another roll
>>168761Posey frowns in disappointment, as this was a creature she would have preferred alive to dead.
"I see. When did it happen?"
>>168762"Less than a week ago." She answers, and opens the door wider
>>168763"Ah, so they did get her in the raids. I heard the police wanted her but the locals wouldn't let them; perhaps I was mistaken."
She steps towards the door, but then freezes, in rigor mortis
"M-may I come in?" she standers
>>168764"Police didn't get her. Customs did. Uh, yes, I suppose."
She steps slightly aside, and her glare conveys that she still doesn't entirely trust Posey, even as she is letting her in.
>>168766Posey gives a breathless sigh as she clip-clops over the threshold, her demeanor stabilizing
"Customs, you say? Those are the ones who finished Rue Dumare: the raids were likely coordinated, clearing the region of experienced artists such as Umoya and the like."
Her expression softens, and she bows her head respectfully
"You have my deepest condolences."
Bluff[1d20+12 = (17+12) = 29]
>>168768"Artist? She asks. After a pause, she asks "How did you know her?"
>>168769"I didn't get the privilege of meeting her myself." Posey says
"But she had friends in far places, friends of my friends, all of which were splendid artists."
Her expression darkens
"But it appears the local authorities don't have the same appreciation for the arts as we do, and so they've decided to flush us out. Umoya was a casualty of that crackdown." she grits her fangs somewhat
>>168769"Were you a friend of hers? What was she like?"
>>168771>>168770"Not really, no. She taught my children and would perform spells, so I did know her. She was strong in will and very wise. I don't think anyone is surprised the ponies finally got her. I am only surprised she did not take more of them with her."
>>168772"She sounds like a formidable individual." Posey says with a nod
"Did she live in this building?"
>>168774"If you wouldn't mind, may I see her room? I believe there's something that she may have left behind."
>>168775"It's not mine" she says. Posey can see that this entry foyer is a common area with a row of mailbox slots with locks on them, a door, a window with bars over it, halls going either way further in the back, and a set of stairs going up and down
>>168776Of course. I should've gotten that.
"Thank you, ma'am." Posey says, as she turns towards the stairs and walks away, making her way to Umoya's room
>>168777Is she able to find the room?
>>168776Now that she's entered the building, Posey glides across the halls with an air of impunity, as she searches for her destination.
>>168779>>168778>>168777Well, let's see, it's Apartment 24, which means it's on the first floor... wait no, there is no apartment 24 on the first floor, so that means it must be upstairs, to the... left? Past the end, and here we are. At a unit on the second floor.
The walls are whitewashed, though in a few areas the color has come off and revealed grey underneat. The ceiling likewise sags in areas, or has flakes of paint that fall off. The floor is wooden, and while intact, has obvious scratches in many places, and what looks like water damage. The floors are definitely dirty, with dust, dust bunnies, and periodic candywrapers. A few of the apartments have cracked doors or numbers that have fallen off, which does not help Posey's efforts to locate the apartment.
>>168781>>168779>>168777>>168778The air inside of the building, though stuffy and suggestive of mold, is noticeably warmer than outside. The building is heated
>>168781I'm going to roll search to find my way to the apartment
[1d30+4 = (11+4) = 15]
>>168781I doubt I'm going to find any treasure here either, but I've come this far, so I shall proceed.
>>168783I see I have mistyped that roll
[1d20+4 = (8+4) = 12]
>>168783>>168786Posey has found it - second floor, to the left, evidently on the corner.
>>168785All Posey has found thus far of any value is slave labor and potential mercenaries, which would perhaps explain why the Equestrians let them there in the first place
>>168787>slave labor and potential mercenariesTrue, it's part of what Posey came to appraise.
Plus with blood magic and sacrifice, any life is a potential profit.
>the Equestrians let them there in the first placeDoes not seem like a very stable source of mobilization, imo, especially not for a group that calls themselves nationalists. I guess that's their call though. They'll all join the horde eventually.
>evidently on the cornerPosey moves towards the apartment number in question.
>>168788>especially not for a group that calls themselves nationalistsThe nationalists weren't in charge when they were brought in. That honor belongs to the Celestia and Twilight regimes. The nationalists appear to want them physically removed, so to speak.
>it's part of what Posey came to appraiseThey are nocturnal, which makes them great for nightshift labor. They are (very slightly) larger and stronger than ponies, and certainly more intimidating. It's not clear that they are trustworthy though, which makes them undesirable for the job they'd be best at - nighttime guard duty.
The apartment is before her, number 24. Posey is staring at...
A Door...